Category: News

State intelligence has alerted authorities about an ongoing conspiracy to create racial and religious clashes in the south again.

According to government sources, involved in this plot are certain members of the clergy and extremist politicians, who had kept their silence for some time.

They are using social media to spread extremist sentiments, say state intelligence reports.

Abayatissa Thera’s warning

Meanwhile, Prof. Medagoda Abayatissa Thera urges the people to remain vigilant about forces against the country.

Addressing a function in Colombo on 19 November, he said no one should forget the enemy still had its divisive tactics, which could come out in a different form.

What Namal says

In the meantime, SLPP national organizer Namal Rajapaksa, in a post oni X, refers to the withdrawal of an army camp in the north

It is of utmost importance that national security is maintained whether it is in the north or south, he says.

The stunning electoral sweep of the National People’s Power (NPP) led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is “an earthquake in Sri Lankan politics”, says Erik Solheim, the former Norwegian peace facilitator in the island nation.

The former diplomat also feels that the strong showing by the NPP in areas populated by Tamils, particularly in the north, marked “a very strong call for a new start in ethnic relations in Sri Lanka”.

Solheim, who has interacted closely with many Sri Lankan leaders, however, warned that while the NPP’s inner core “is for sure non-corrupt, eradicating corruption is a huge task”.

‘Voters angry over corruption’

Solheim, now a committed green activist, piloted the Western-backed peace process which led to a historic pact between Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in early 2002.

But the process collapsed, triggering a renewed war four years later that led to the decimation in 2009 of the LTTE and the annihilation of virtually its entire leadership including founder-leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

A former leader of the Socialist Left Party in Norway, Solheim remains a keen follower of developments in Sri Lanka, where he once came under attack from sections of the majority Sinhalese community for allegedly being pro-LTTE, a charge he has repeatedly denied.

In an email interview with The Federal from China which he frequently visits, Solheim said he did expect the NPP “to be very successful” in the November 14 elections but “their sweeping victory was even bigger than I (expected)”.

He added: “It is an earthquake in Sri Lankan politics. For the first time, Sri Lankans elected a president and a party from outside the Colombo establishment, the son of a labourer in Anuradhapura.”

He said the voters, particularly the less privileged, were angry over corruption, felt that the traditional elite had not represented them well, and were upset they had to cut meals following the economic collapse of 2022.

Solheim said that while individually many traditional Sri Lankan leaders were very nice, “as a class they have failed Sri Lanka and made the nation underperform compared to say Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia or Tamil Nadu”.

Is Tamil voting for NPP a rejection of Tamil nationalist politics?

For this, he blamed narrow ethnic appeals that led to a prolonged war – “and no country marches forward in the midst of a civil war”. There was also little ability to formulate a winning economic policy for growth and poverty alleviation.

Solheim said the unexpected scale of electoral support to the NPP – a party otherwise rooted in Sinhalese regions – in Tamil areas was “an astonishing vote of confidence from many Tamils” in the Left-of-Centre party. “I believe it represents a strong desire for peace and normalcy in the north and east. It also comes from a trust that the current NPP is not the same as the JVP (Janatha Vimukti Peramuna, People’s Liberation Front) of the past.”

The NPP, whose core strength comes from the leftist JVP, won a whopping 159 seats in the 225-seat parliament, decimating a divided Opposition. It also picked up seats in the Tamil-majority north and the multi-racial eastern province.

Asked if the Tamil voting for the NPP was a rejection of the Tamil nationalist politics, Solheim said: “It is a very strong call for a new start in ethnic relations. If the NPP is able to deliver for Tamils and keep their support, it represents a historic shift.”

The NPP victory in Tamil areas is considered significant as the JVP, the party’s dominant constituent, opposed devolution of power to the Tamil region, stood for a unitary state, and got the once united north-eastern province de-merged into two – all to the chagrin of traditional Tamil politicians.

The Norwegian, a former Undersecretary General in the United Nations (UN), said the new government’s priority would be to negotiate a better deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and to formulate a winning strategy for economic growth with a fairer deal for the poor.

‘Left-wing parties with old-fashioned ideas don’t win elections’

Solheim added that the NPP’s performance – it also won the presidency in September – showed that the Left can win elections if they put Left-wing sectarianism aside and come up with a policy with a broad mass appeal.

“(Dissanayake) embodied this with his inclusive approach. Left-wing parties with old-fashioned ideas don’t win elections,” he said, pointing to the electoral rout of the once powerful Communist Party of India (Marxist) in West Bengal.

“If AKD (Dissanayake) like (President) Lula (da Silva) of Brazil introduces policies for the poor while at the same time working closely with business, the NPP can stay in power for long. It’s too early to tell whether we have experienced a new epoch in Sri Lankan politics or just a change of government for five years. This is the chance for the NPP to establish themselves as a long-term ruling entity with the capacity for a big shift in Sri Lanka,” he said.

Solheim, who often met LTTE leaders including Prabhakaran, reiterated his view that a peace deal could have been found in Sri Lanka in 2002-04. “Unfortunately, we didn’t succeed… The result was the loss of tens of thousands of lives, mainly Tamils but also many Sinhalese. The war of course also brought huge economic hardship to all communities. Sri Lanka was once the shining star in Asia which nearly every other nation wanted to emulate. Now Sri Lanka needs sustained green economic growth for a number of years to catch up with many neighbours.”

Does he, as a Sri Lanka watcher, have a message for President Dissanayake?

“My advice is to focus on economic and ethnic inclusivity. Uplifting the poor is important for all ethnic groups. Added, AKD should respond favourably to the call from Tamils and Muslims for equal rights and self-government,” he said.

Source: The Federal

A sharp split in the Muslim vote in many parts of the country at the recently concluded general election has deprived both the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) of parliamentary representation in several districts.

None of the SLMC candidates who contested last week’s general election from the Puttalam, Trincomalee, Kurunegala and Vanni electoral districts on the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) ticket, were returned.

However, the SLMC, on its own, won a seat each in the Batticaloa and Didamadulla electoral districts where former parliamentarian M.L.A.M. Hisbullah and ex-Eastern Province Minister Meerasahibu Uthumalebbe, respectively, were elected. The SLMC fielded candidates under its ‘Tree’ symbol only in those districts.

SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem, who contested Kandy on the SJB ticket, managed to retain his seat with a paltry 30,883 preferential votes. Among the nine elected on the NPP from the Kandy electoral district were Riyaz Faruk and Mohimed Pasmin who polled 64,043 and 57,716 votes, respectively.

Twelve Kandy District seats were won by the NPP (09), SJB (02) and NDF (01).In terms of the SJB’s agreement with the SLMC, the latter was to get two National List slots, sources said.

“We have proposed our General Secretary Nizam Kariapper as one of the NL nominees. That was for the votes polled by the SLMC in areas outside the Batticaloa and Digamadulla electoral districts,” a well-informed source said.

SLMC leader Hakeem was not immediately available for comment.

The ACMC managed to secure two seats in the Vanni on the SJB ticket while on its own the party, led by former Minister Rishad Bathiudden, won a seat at the Didamadulla electorate. The ACMC contested under the ‘Peacock’ symbol in Digamadulla.

Responding to The Island queries, Bathiudeen said that the unprecedented split in Muslim vote had affected them adversely. The former Commerce and Industries Minister said that they hadn’t been successful in the Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Kurunegala and Batticaloa districts.

Bathiudden retained his Vanni district seat. The ACMC leader acknowledged that the emergence of the NPP, as a major political force in the Northern and Eastern regions at the general election, had changed the overall dynamics of the contest.

“We expect an NL slot as agreed in the run-up to the election,” Bathiudeen said.

Other sources said that the SLMC and the ACMC won a seat in the Puttalam district by contesting under the Muslim National Alliance (MNA) banner at the 2020 general election. However, that alliance collapsed when Ali Sabry Raheem, elected from MNA, was caught while he was trying to smuggle in a large number of mobile phones and a stock of gold in early 2023. Raheem contested last week’s general election but was not re-elected.

SLMC sources said that several defeated candidates had demanded that they be given the two NL slots at the expense of those listed on the NL. Party leader Hakeem had come under heavy pressure with the rejected candidates and their supporters converging at party headquarters Darussalam. However, the SLMC is of the view that the allocated positions should be given to those listed on the NL.

In a move under the Army’s restructuring plan, an 8-acre land of the Katkolam Army camp in the north will be returned to civilians, the Army said.

The camp, operated by the 4th Sinha Regiment, is set to be disbanded as part of a broader initiative aimed at returning land occupied by the military to local residents.

The Army is in the process of dismantling the camp’s infrastructure, which is located between Point Pedro and Kodikamam.

Army Spokesman Major General Rasika Kumara said that the decision to remove the camp was made as part of the restructuring efforts.

He said during the security review of the restructuring plan, it has been identified that the camp can be removed.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said that plans are underway to review and return several other lands occupied by the military to the civilian population, although a specific date for the handover has not yet been finalized.

However, the disbandment of the Katkolam camp has not been without controversy. In August of last year, residents of Point Pedro staged a protest against the move, voicing concerns over the potential rise in crime in the area. Protestors, who rallied with placards in front of the Army camp, claimed that the presence of the military had helped reduce crime and played a crucial role in rescuing people during emergencies.

In a similar effort to align with government directives, the Army released 8.6 acres of land in Sittandy, Batticaloa, in 2023, previously used by the 4 Gemunu Watch troops for operational purposes.

National People’s Power (NPP) Gampaha District Member of Parliament Member of Parliament Asoka Sapumal Ranwala has been unanimously appointed as the new Speaker of Parliament.

Dr Mohamed Rizvie Salih was appointed as Deputy Speaker.

His name was proposed by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.

It was seconded by Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.

There were no other contenders for the post.

Ranwala addressed the forum thereafter

The first sitting of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka commenced at 10.00 a.m. this morning (21) with the participation of the newly-elected legislators.

Welcoming the new Speaker, representatives of political parties including PM Harini Amarasuriya, Samagi Jaba Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauf hakeem extended their best wishes to him.