Category: News

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), while challenging the recently ousted MPs Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila to make the Government lose its majority in Parliament, as they claimed they would, also squash speculation that UNP Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe would soon be appointed as Prime Minister of a soon-to-be-formed National Government.

SLPP MP and Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena addressing a media briefing yesterday (28) when Gammanpila and Weerawansa have time and again said the Government will lose its majority in Parliament but has not done anything to that effect.

Abeygunawardena said, certain people have issues with the Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa and are trying to slander him, noting that Rajapaksa was the one who formed the SLPP and has worked relentlessly to make it victorious.

He rejected claims that UNP MP Wickremesinghe would be appointed Prime Minister. Meanwhile, General Secretary of the SLPP Sagara Kariywasam added the most suitable person to be Prime Minister is currently in office and there is no need to make any change.

Kariyawasam said the Government is strong and will overcome the economic crisis and will secure a huge win in the next election.

Weerawansa on 23 March, stressed that they will ensure the Government would lose its majority in Parliament, while visiting Malwathu and Asgiri Maha Nayaka Theras in Kandy to present proposals of 11 constituent parties of the Government.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris discussed the reconciliation efforts underway in Sri Lanka with Ambassador of South Africa Sandile Edwin Schalk, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last Friday (25), as per a Foreign Ministry media release.

The ministry stated that the main focus of the discussion was the experience of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa. The Foreign Minister explained to the Ambassador that it was the intention of the Government of Sri Lanka to closely study the positive experiences of other countries, while taking care to ensure that these experiences were creatively adopted to suit the circumstances of Sri Lanka.

Ambassador Schalk comprehensively briefed Prof. Peiris on all aspects of the process in South Africa, and on various initiatives by former South African President Nelson Mandela upon his election as President.

Prof. Peiris had said last week, at a media briefing held jointly with US State Department Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, following the fourth Sri Lanka-US Partnership Dialogue in Colombo, that the Government hopes to develop a truth-seeking mechanism, similar to the one used in South Africa, as part of Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process.

“The Nawaz Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report is very informative. One of its recommendations that we want to develop is the truth-seeking mechanism. Here, we do not wish to reinvent the wheel. There is no purpose in going back. No two situations are exactly alike, when we look at the experiences of other countries such as South Africa in particular. But we are always taking care to adopt the successful experiences of other countries to suit the circumstances in our country,” Prof. Peiris had said.

He added that the assistance of the US is “most welcome” in this endeavour of a truth-seeking mechanism.

Nuland had said that the notion of setting up a truth-seeking mechanism is a “very good step” and that the US looks forward to supporting Sri Lanka in that process.

“Setting up a truth-seeking mechanism, as other countries with difficult histories have done, particularly taking advantage of the South African experience, is a very good step,” she noted.

The 11 parties which unveiled their own manifesto recently, despite being the coalition partners of the incumbent Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led Government, plan to present a motion to Parliament to dissolve Parliament, as soon as nine more SLPP Members of Parliament (MPs) join their group.

Speaking to The Morning yesterday (27), Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) Leader MP Udaya Gammanpila said that only nine more MPs need to join their group to pass a motion to enable the dissolution of Parliament, as there are two SLPP MPs with them already.

“We need only 11 SLPP MPs to defeat the Government. However, when a motion is submitted to Parliament, there may be last-minute changes in the minds of certain MPs. For instance, MPs are vulnerable to various perks such as ministerial portfolios, vehicles, and cash rewards. There may also be threats to expose certain MPs’ misconduct and corruption. Therefore, we need MPs three times higher than the actual requirement, so we need 33. This is so that we can be 100% confident that a motion is passed in Parliament. Right now, we have 24 and as soon as the remaining nine MPs join us, we plan to submit such a motion,” he said.

The said 11 parties including the National Freedom Front (NFF), the PHU, and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) last week warned that they would soon collectively take away the parliamentary majority of 113 seats enjoyed by the current Government.

Asked if they would be able to get the support of the remaining nine MPs any time soon, Gammanpila said that the support of those MPs would be delayed if the public was to receive some relief thanks to the Indian credit line. However, he claimed, even if so, “things” would worsen again in some time, and that it would be possible to get the MPs’ support at such a time.

When the said 11 political parties’ representatives met the Mahanayakes (chief prelates) of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters of the Siam Sect on 24 March, Gammanpila said: “Our 11 parties have 30 MPs. When those 30 are removed, the Government will be left with only 124 seats. As soon as another 12 MPs quit the Government, it will lose its parliamentary majority. Because of the mad things this Government is doing, there are far more than 12 MPs who are extremely disappointed and disillusioned.”

NFF Leader and SLPP Government MP Wimal Weerawansa, during the meeting and speaking to the media afterwards, stated that it would not be difficult to take away the parliamentary majority of the Government.

“An all-party conference was convened for all parties to work together in unity, but Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa has shown that he is arrogant so much so that he called a former Prime Minister (a reference to incumbent United National Party (UNP) Opposition MP Ranil Wickremesinghe) ‘you’. He wants to create a conflict there as well. This country cannot move forward with such an arrogant, ‘ugly American’. We will soon end this Government’s majority of 113 seats and thereby put an end to this arrogant regime,” he claimed.

Following the said 11 parties of the Coalition Government having unveiled the “Mulu Ratama Hari Magata (the entire country on to the correct path)” document – a set of proposals to overcome the current economic crisis in the country – on 2 March, Weerawansa was removed from the post of Industries Minister. In addition, Gammanpila, who attended the launch of the said proposals, was also removed from the post of Energy Minister.

A bilateral naval exercise between Sri Lanka Navy and Indian Navy commenced in seas off Colombo on 26th March and it will be held until 29th March.

The exercise is being conducted by Sri Lanka Naval Ship Sayurala and the shipborne Advance Light Helicopter – IN 715 of Indian Naval Ship Sharda, which arrived in Colombo on 23rd March.

Chief among the exercises demonstrated were deck landing and communication exercises between the ship and helicopter. The exercise is also joined by a group of personnel from Sri Lanka Air Force.

This bilateral naval exercise is expected to increase operational readiness and interoperability between both navies when conducting coordinated search and rescue operations, anti-smuggling operations in the Indian Ocean Region as well as to strengthen cooperation between both partners.

Further, this kind of naval exercises will pave the way to find collective solutions to common maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean Region as well.

Venerable Muruththettuwe Ananda Thero says that in order to minimize the public dissatisfaction which has built up towards the government, the Finance Minister’s position should be handed over to the Prime Minister.

Speaking to reporters in Colombo, the Chief Incumbent of the Abhayarama Temple in Narahenpita said that the people of the country did not appoint a government to stand in queues or stay in the dark or travel by foot.

He said that the aspiration of the people was to develop this country and build a beautiful Sri Lanka. The Chancellor of the University of Colombo said that although 69 lakh people voted to give power to the government, it is not listening to those 69 lakh people.

He accused the government of listening to only one person and doing that person’s work and that this has led to an increase in the public’s dissatisfaction.

He proposed that to minimize the disappointment and frustration of the people, the Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa should be handed another development task, and the the affairs of the Ministry of Finance should be handed over to the Prime Minister for him to take the country forward.

The Venerable Thero said their only demand is that the President continues to hold the presidency.

He said that if this “era of queues” continues for much longer the people of the country will fall from the prying pan to the fire.