The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) plans to field a presidential candidate, which it is yet to name, said ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Speaking to journalists on Friday (15), he said his party would definitely win the next election.
Meanwhile, SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa said their party has not collapsed despite any challenges.
Speaking at a public rally in Hambantota, he recalled how the SLPP elected the president ofits choice via parliament amid all the trouble.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe is considering dissolving parliament in April and going for a snap general election around 20 July, according to political sources.
He is being prompted to do so due to an increasing loss of support to him from the SLPP and the existing popularity for the NPP.
If parliamentary polls take place mid this year, the NPP could likely gain the most number of seats, but the SJB too, is set to secure an almost similar number of seats.
In such a scenario, Wickremesinghe will get the Tamil and Muslim parties to support the SJB to form a government.
He hopes to contest the presidential polls by allying with the SJB.
If a general election is called in July, it will come in the way of holding presidential polls due to issues of funding and timeframe.
Pro China Sri Lanka has refuted recent claims from US intelligence that there are potential plans for a Chinese military base to be established on its soil.
State Defence Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon told Daily Mirror that Sri Lanka has not engaged in any discussions with foreign governments, including China, regarding the establishment of a military base within its borders.
“Sri Lanka has not held discussions with any foreign government including China for a possible establishment of a military base here in Sri Lanka,” the State Minister said in response to a question on the US claims.
In its annual threat assessment 2024 report this week, the US Intelligence Community said that China is exploring the possibility of establishing military facilities in various countries including Sri Lanka, in a bid to bolster their power projection capabilities and safeguard national interests.
“The US intelligence report on the possible establishment of a Chinese military base in Sri Lanka is inaccurate; we vehemently deny these claims,” the minister said.
The State Minister has affirmed that Sri Lanka will not permit any foreign country to establish military bases within its borders under any circumstances.
The US report also stated, “Beyond developing its military base in Djibouti and its military facility at Ream Naval Base in Cambodia, Beijing reportedly is considering pursuing military facilities in multiple locations, including—but not limited to—Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, and the UAE”.
The Anunayake of the Ramanya Nikaya Most Venerable Kappitiyagoda Sirivimala Thera stated yesterday that if the current trend persists, the entire parliament will soon resemble an elders’ home and also emphasized the importance of elderly members stepping down to allow the youth the opportunity to contribute to the country’s development.
The Anunayake Thera emphasized this, when former Minister of Sports, MP Roshan Ranasinghe yesterday (14) visited him at the Getambe Temple.
“Government employees are retiring after reaching the age of 60 because they are no longer able to work hard. However, there are many people who have surpassed the retirement age in the Sri Lankan Parliament. Some individuals retire from government service and transition to parliament. They enter parliament to pursue their next job, showing no inclination to make way for the younger generation and vacate their positions. They are seen struggling to reach parliament with the aid of a walking stick,” the Thera emphasized.
“They have no regard for the people of the country. Their focus is on selling the country’s resources to benefit their own generation. If an ordinary citizen in the country steals fifty or one hundred rupees, they will face the maximum punishment. However,if a powerful individual steals billions of rupees, the law does not seem to apply to them properly,” the Anunayaka Thera said.
The Thera also emphasized that elderly MPs should leave parliament. If they do not leave voluntarily, new laws should be enacted to remove them.
China is reportedly exploring the possibility of establishing military facilities in various countries, including Sri Lanka, in a bid to bolster their power projection capabilities and safeguard national interests, a latest report by US Intelligence Community revealed.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will continue to pursue the establishment of overseas military installations and access agreements in an attempt to project power and protect China’s interests abroad,” the annual threat assessment of the US Intelligence Community 2024 stated this week.
“Beyond developing its military base in Djibouti and its military facility at Ream Naval Base in Cambodia, Beijing reportedly is considering pursuing military facilities in multiple locations, including—but not limited to—Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, and the UAE,” it said.
Beijing will focus on building a fully modernized national defense and military force by 2035 and for the PLA to become a world-class military by 2049, the 40-page report stated.
The report, outlining the collective insights of the US intelligence community, says the US “…faces an increasingly fragile global order, strained by great power competition, transnational challenges and regional conflicts”.
It further cautions that China, Iran and Russia are challenging the current international rules-based order.
Sri Lanka’s next parliament will be a more balanced one if parliamentary elections are held before a presidential election and won’t result in any one party monopolising political power, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) national organiser Basil Rajapaksa said.
In an exclusive interview given to the privately owned NewsFirst network on Thursday March 14 , Rajapaksa said power should not be concentrated around one party.
“The party that wins the presidential election may secure unlimited power. I don’t think that’s a good situation. So before that, so as not to be influenced by the result of the presidential election, if the parliamentary election is held first, that will result in a more balanced parliament,” he said.
“No one will be washed away or disappear. This was why the proportional representation system was introduced. We showed that that was of no use,” he added.
Rajapaksa said that following the 2019 presidential election, which the SLPP won in a landslide securing 6.9 million votes, the parliamentary elections that were held in 2020 after some delays due to the pandemic proved hugely beneficial to his party.
“We got a two thirds’ majority, which is unlimited power. The people must decide if it is right to give that much power to one party,” he said.
Asked by the interview if Rajapaksa was saying the SLPP should not have won so big, he said: “There is a belief in the country that both the presidency and the two thirds’ majority concentrated in one place is not ideal.”
Constitutionally, Sri Lanka’s next presidential election is due to be held between September 17 and October 17 this year. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who heads a government led by the formerly rival SLPP, has said that the presidential election will be held before a parliamentary election.
But Wickremesinghe hasn’t yet said definitively that he intends to contest the election.
Government spokesmen have also alluded to proposals of abolishing the executive presidency this year, which would effectively render the prospects of a presidential election null and void.
The SLPP is currently trailing behind other parties in at least one voting intent poll.
High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka met former Finance Minister and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) founder Basil Rajapaksa yesterday.
During the discussion, they exchanged views on bilateral relations, political developments and other subjects of mutual interest.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should urge Sri Lanka’s government to abandon draft legislation that would severely curtail civil society and jeopardize the IMF’s program in the country, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a letter to the global lender that was released today (March 13).
Issuing a statement in this regard, the HRW – an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human right – highlighted that the proposed Non-Governmental Organizations (Registration and Supervision) Act in Sri Lanka is among several recent and planned measures that would curtail fundamental freedoms, despite the critical role of public scrutiny in promoting good governance and combatting corruption.
“The IMF’s US$3 billion bailout of Sri Lanka – which is linked to government commitments to reform – helped stem the immediate economic crisis after the country defaulted on its foreign debt in 2022, but further progress is threatened by the adoption of laws by President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration that would severely restrict basic rights”, it mentioned.
The statement also points out that the Online Safety Act, enacted in January, creates vague and broad speech-related offenses punishable with lengthy prison terms. Further, the Anti-Terrorism Bill, currently before parliament, contains sweeping new speech-related offenses and arbitrary powers of arrest, and the draft law to regulate nongovernmental organizations could make independent civil society activity all but impossible in Sri Lanka, it said.
“As the economy collapsed in 2022, Sri Lankans demanded good governance and an end to corruption, but instead now face draconian laws and policies that threaten human rights and undermine reforms,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The protests helped bring President Wickremesinghe to power, but instead of listening to calls for change, he’s clamping down on peaceful dissent.”
The HRW citing a 2023 IMF study of Sri Lanka known as the Governance Diagnostic Assessment, stated that “anticorruption efforts are unlikely to achieve their objectives unless they also encompass initiatives designed and led by groups outside of government who are committed to rule-based inclusive economic and social progress.”
However, the study found that civil society’s participation in oversight and monitoring of government actions has been “restricted by limited transparency, the lack of platforms for inclusive and participatory governance, and by broad application of counter-terrorism rules.” As a result, “opportunities for public participation and oversight of official behaviour, including by civil society, are increasingly restricted”, according to HRW.
Additionally, it expressed that the government on, January 30, 2024, provided the draft NGO law to selected members of civil society, who were given three weeks to respond. “The bill does not address any evident need, but instead seeks to subject civil society organizations to invasive government scrutiny and interference, and threatens civil society members with prison if they don’t comply with cumbersome administrative procedures.”
The HRW also recalled that the National Collective of CSOs and NGOs, a coalition of Sri Lankan civil society organizations, has written to the government on February 28 raising concerns that the proposed law would ‘violate the fundamental rights to freedom of association and expression,’ while damaging the delivery of services by civil society organizations, including to ‘the many families who are struggling to make ends meet in the midst of severe economic hardship’.
Drawing reference to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk’s March 1 update to the UN Human Rights Council on the crisis in Sri Lanka, the HRW highlighted that he was “concerned by the introduction of new or proposed laws with potentially far-reaching impact on fundamental rights and freedoms … which variously strengthen the executive, grant broad powers to the security forces, and severely restrict rights to freedom of assembly, association and expression, impacting not only on civic space but the business environment.”
The IMF should protect the credibility and efficacy of its program in Sri Lanka by publicly calling upon the government to abandon the proposed NGO law, impose a moratorium on use of the Online Safety Act, and amend the Anti-Terrorism Bill to ensure that it respects human rights standards, HRW noted.
“The IMF and other international partners supporting Sri Lanka’s economic recovery recognize that this crisis has its roots in misgovernance and corruption,” Ganguly said. “If their efforts are to be successful, they need to stand firm against the government’s attempts to curtail fundamental civil and political rights.”
The Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Eric Walsh called on the Leader of National People’s Power (NPP), MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Wednesday morning (March 13).
During the meeting, which took place at the JVP head office, the current socio-economic and political situation in Sri Lanka was discussed at length.
Taking to his X handle (formerly Twitter), Dissanayake said views were also exchanged between the two sides on the plans of the National People’s Power to build national unity.
“The High Commissioner also took this opportunity to congratulate us on our upcoming visit to Canada to meet Sri Lankans living in Canada,” he added.
Patrick Pickering, the Second Secretary (Political) of the Canadian High Commission in Colombo and Comrade Vijitha Herath, the National Executive Member of the National People’s Power were also present at this meeting.
A Chinese military delegation recently visited the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal to discuss further cooperation in defence issues, Beijing said Wednesday.
Beijing is seeking to build closer ties in South Asia in a push to counter its strategic rival India for influence.
Last week, the Maldives said it had signed a “military assistance” deal with China after ordering Indian troops deployed in the small but strategically-placed archipelago to leave.
And Beijing confirmed Wednesday that a delegation had visited the country and met with pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu during a trip that also took them to Sri Lanka and Nepal from March 4 to 13.
In all three countries, “they exchanged views on military relations and regional security issues of common concern”, the Chinese military said in a statement on its official WeChat account.
The delegation of officials from the military’s international military cooperation department focused on “in-depth consultations on promoting bilateral defence cooperation”.
“A series of consensus was reached to further enriched defence cooperation between the PLA and the relevant countries,” it added, referring to the Chinese military by its official acronym.
India is suspicious of China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean and its influence in the Maldives, a chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands stretching around 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator, as well as in neighbouring Sri Lanka.
Both South Asian island nations are strategically placed halfway along key east-west international shipping routes.
Beijing also enjoys close ties with Nepal, led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, an ex-Maoist guerrilla known by his nom de guerre Prachanda.
Source: AFP
