Midweek Review

Supreme Court stands tall

Published

2 years ago

2024/08/28

The Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government ignored concerns raised by both local and international organizations. The Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA) and the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) declared their concerns over the government’s refusal to comply with the SC court order to release the funds allocated by Parliament for local elections. They also raised the subsequent referral by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena of the three Supreme Court Judges responsible for the decision to the Parliamentary Committee on Ethics and Privileges. But, the arrogant political apparatus turned a blind eye to such concerns.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

None of the Supreme Court justices namely Preethi Padman Surasena, Janak de Silva, and Priyantha Jayawardena, PC, who had heard the petitions against the postponement of the Local Government polls, early last year, represented a five-judge bench that delivered the final order last week. Jayawardena retired in the last week of February this year.

The SC held that President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Finance Minister, violated fundamental rights of the people, guaranteed in terms of Article 12(1) and 14(1)(a) of the Constitution. The SC also found fault with the Attorney General and the Election Commission.

Had the government adhered to the March 3, 2023, directive that funds necessary for the conducting of the LG polls be allocated without delay, it could have averted the stunning blow just weeks away from the first post-Aragalaya national election.

The SC bench that gave the unprecedented order, in respect of political party leader and executive president, comprised Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, Justices Vijith Malalgoda, PC, Murdu Fernando, PC, Gamini Amarasekara, and Yasantha Kodagoda, PC. Let me mention the full list of Supreme Court justices, CJ Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, Murdu Fernando, PC, Preethi Padman Surasena, S. Thurairaja, PC, E.A. G.R. Amarasekara, Yasantha Kodagoda, PC, A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Kumudini Wickremasinghe, A.L. Shiran Gooneratne, Janak de Silva, Achala Wengappuli, Mahinda Samayawardhena, Arjuna Obeyesekere and K. Priyantha Fernando.

Altogether four parties, the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB), Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) moved the SC against the refusal on the part of the Wickremesinghe-led government to hold scheduled polls. The PAFFREL spearheaded civil society efforts to pressure the government.

With the Ninth Presidential Election just four weeks away, the SC order couldn’t have been delivered at a far worse time for the incumbent President accused of circumventing apex court interim orders in respect of petitions filed against IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon and private consortium IVS-GBS and VFS Global dealing with visa issuance.

The SC’s response to threatening moves made by a section of the parliament at the behest of President Wickremesinghe with regard to the interim order given by justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Janak de Silva, and Priyantha Jayawardena has proved the failure of the disgraceful political project.

Obviously, government strategists failed to comprehend how their game plan could end. No one in Wickremesinghe’s camp would have envisaged the devastating outcome of the LG polls petitions, especially after being blinded by mistakenly thinking that the presidential powers they thought they had could help them to bulldoze their way through anything. RW may have also been emboldened by the kid glove treatment he got at the Bond Presidential Commission probe earlier.

It would be pertinent to mention that the major beneficiaries of the SC order are SJB candidate Sajith Premadasa and JJB candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the Sept. 21 presidential contest is widely believed to be among them and the incumbent President.

The devastating SC order severely embarrassed the Wickremesinghe camp, particularly the rebel SLPP parliamentary group that blindly pledged support to the UNP leader, possibly fearing another foreign-backed sinister Aragalaya worse than what they experienced in 2022, or to save their political life. Examples are aplenty if we look around at what happened to our neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. They can’t repeat their success that easily in Myanmar as China is keeping a close watch. How would Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, who also holds the Justice portfolio, responds to the developing situation?

Govt. issues warnings

Close on the heels of the interim SC order on March 3, 2023, Attorney-at-Law Premanath C. Dolawatta, who had identified himself as family lawyer of the Rajapaksas, strongly criticized the apex court with regard to the directive issued to the Finance Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana and then Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC.

Acting at the behest of President Wickremesinghe and the SLPP parliamentary group, first time entrant to Parliament Dolawatta, in spite of being a lawyer, alleged on March 07 that the SC order violated powers and privileges of Parliament. The SLPP National List MP argued that the SC interim order interfered with Article 43 (1) read with Article 148 of the Constitution thereby seeking to undermine parliamentary control over public finance. Without hesitation, the politician targeted one of the three justices. Declaring that the interim order violated the principle of natural justice, MP Dolawatta alleged: “One of the learned Judges who issued the interim order is related to a petitioner in a similar case being heard before the other bench of the Supreme Court. The learned Judge has not disclosed the relationship, nor has he recused himself from the case.”

MP Dolawatta couldn’t have been unaware of the outcome of the petitions filed against the postponement of the LG polls. But, the MP had no option but to condemn the Supreme Court, regardless of the consequences. That decision, obviously being taken at the highest level, at the end not only caused embarrassment to the President but the entire Parliament as well.

Three days after lawmaker Dolawatta’s controversial declaration, State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe stepped up attacks on the SC. Lawmaker Semasinghe asked Parliament to disregard the SC’s interim order until the Ethics and Privileges Committee dealt with the issue. The SLPPer demanded that a letter sent by the Elections Commission to the Finance Ministry consequent to the SC directive, too, be referred to the Ethics and Privileges Committee.

The Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government worked overtime to sabotage the LG polls. PAFFREL questioned the combined efforts made by President Wickremesinghe and Premier Dinesh Gunawardena to influence the then Election Commission. The government involved the then AG Rajaratnam in its efforts and the whole political project later exploded in the wake of President’s failed bid to grant a six-month extension to the official.

In spite of declaring its intention to summon Preethi Padman Surasena, Janak De Silva, and Priyantha Jayawardena, PC, the government lacked the political will to go the whole hog. The Opposition lambasted the government over the contentious move.

The government acted in a way that it felt could put off LG polls without suffering major political damage but the final SC verdict seemed to have dealt a devastating blow to Wickremesinghe.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena owed the public an explanation as he accepted MP Dolawatta’s assertion that parliamentary powers and privileges had been violated and the matter be referred to the Ethics and Privileges Committee.

Towards the end of 2022, the Opposition raised the possibility of the government exploiting a private members’ motion, submitted by MP Dolawatta, to enhance youth representation in governance. One-time External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris who fired the first salvo against the attempt to put off the LG polls further, alleged that the motion could be utilized to delay the polls indefinitely. The one-time top law academic recalled how the Yahapalana government postponed the Provincial Council elections indefinitely.

The rebel SLPP Chairman pointed out that the government had chosen MP Dolawatta’s motion, handed over to President Wickremesinghe on Oct 31, 2022, though SJB’s Imthiaz Bakeer Markar submitted a private member’s motion on the same lines much earlier. However, that strategy, too, never materialized. TheWickremesinghe-Rajapaksa combinnation simply forgot the LG polls while the UNP leader undertook a high profile project to make the Presidential Election, too, disappear.

President’s questionable strategy

Having quit the ruling SLPP parliamentary group, ahead of the parliamentary vote on a new President to complete Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s five-year term, Prof. Peiris fiercely attacked efforts to undermine the electoral process. The former Vice Chancellor of the Colombo University questioned the President’s attack on the electoral system at an event organized by the BASL in the second week of June 2023.

He chose to challenge Wickremesinghe on the postponement of the LG polls at the BASL’s National Law Conference held at the Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya, for questioning the very basis of our electoral system. Before the Judges of the SC, as well as the Court of Appeal hearing petitions filed against the indefinite postponement of LG polls, President Wickremesinghe declared that the people had no faith in elections.

Prof. Peiris emphasized that there had never been a previous instance of a President declaring elections weren’t important as the vast majority of the population, including the youth, had lost faith in elections and the political party system.

In the following month, businessman C.D. Lenawa sought to derail the Presidential Election by preventing the calling of the poll until the SC delivered its interpretation on the date of the presidential poll. A five-member SC bench consisting of Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Vijith Malalgoda, Murdu Fernando, Preethi Padman Surasena and S. Thurairaja dismissed the petition. The petitioner was fined Rs 100,000.

The JJB, IUSF on behalf of the Jana Aragala Sandhanaya, NFF and SJB filed petitions against Lenawa’s move that was dismissed in July.

Amidst accusations that the government was behind Lenawa’s move, the President’s Media Division (PMD) denied President Wickremesinghe’s association with the person concerned. The court proceedings on July 08, 2024 exposed Lenawa’s intention and he was asked to pay as cost Rs 100,000 by the SC.

Regardless of Lenawa’s fate, another person, Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri, moved the SC claiming that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution hadn’t been enacted properly, he called for the SC’s intervention to conduct a referendum before the presidential poll. The SC dismissed that petition, too. The SC ordered the petitioner to pay a court fee of Rs. 500,000.

That ruling was made by a bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justices Arjuna Obeysekera, and Priyantha Fernando affirming the formal adoption of the 19th Constitutional Amendment without the need for a referendum, in line with prior rulings from 2015.

In his petition, Laksiri claimed that the 19th Amendment amended Article 70 of the Constitution, which deprives the President of the power to dissolve an elected Parliament after one year. The lawyer contended that the amendment has not been approved by a referendum, despite a Supreme Court ruling indicating it should be.

During the proceedings, the Attorney General emphasized before the Supreme Court that the Presidential term is constitutionally defined as five years.

Having scuttled the LG polls, President Wickremesinghe, in late February 2023, explained the circumstances he decided not to conduct thebLG polls. Participating in a debate on the Essential Public Services Act, President Wickremesinghe underscored his strategy that his priority was building the economy and not politics. Obviously that was nothing but a signal for the country and the justices hearing relevant cases. By then, the President’s actions and that of his government had effectively prevented the holding of the LG polls as stipulated on March 09, 2023. The PMD aptly headlined Wickremesinghe’s February 23rd statement: “The President tells parliament his priority is building the economy and not politics.”

President Wickremesinghe defended Finance Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana and others under him whom he didn’t identify over the denial of funds required for the conducting of LG polls. This was in the wake of the Election Commission declaring before the SC that the election couldn’t be held as a result of the Finance Secretary taking up a position that the required funds weren’t available.

The President contradicted the Election Commission. Having done so, the UNP leader acknowledged that he personally briefed the members of the Election Commission on December 14, 2022, regarding the unsuitability of holding the LG polls due to the volatile economic situation in the country. Wickremesinghe wanted the polls delayed till the total number of LG members was reduced to 5,000. The country must be reminded that the number of LG members sharply increased during the period Wickremesinghe served as the Prime Minister of the Yahapalana administration.

Making reference to the transitional provisions of the 21st Amendment (In Part 3 under the Interim Provisions) to the Constitution, President Wickremesinghe categorized the Election Commission as a temporary Commission accountable to the Parliament. He found fault with the Election Commission for failing to discuss the issues at hand with the House before making representations to the SC.

President Wickremesinghe is on record as having claimed that he along with Premier Gunawardena and AG Rajaratnam met members of the Election Commission on January 05, 2024, against the backdrop of what he called division among the members regarding the holding of the LG polls on December 23, 2023. According to the President, the Election Commission should have consulted a lawyer, representing the interests of either SJB or the JVP. Instead, the Election Commission sought the advice of Saliya Peiris, PC, whom members of the Election Commission described as one who engaged in politics.

President Wickremesinghe questioned the authority of the Election Commission to go ahead with the scheduled elections while alleging that the Election Commission didn’t properly take a decision to conduct the election on March 09 regardless of rumours. President Wickremesinghe found fault with the then EC Chairman and Attorney-at-Law Nimal Punchihewa and member M.M. Mohamed.

The PMD quoted President Wickremesinghe as having told Parliament on February 23, 2024: “We don’t need to postpone the election, but we don’t have money for it. If we need, we can discuss and come to a decision, but for the moment, we don’t have money. On the other hand, there is no election at hand as well. So, what have we got to do? The Commission is answerable to the Parliament. The Parliament has asked to appoint a select committee on this matter. So, I request to appoint it, record all and take the report to the Supreme Court. According to section 4 of the Constitution, the financial power is vested in the Parliament. After the 1688 Revolution, according to the Magna Carta Agreement, all monetary powers are vested in Parliament. Therefore, give that report to the Supreme Court through a select committee.”

The recent ruling by a five-judge bench meant that the SC obviously thought otherwise. Let me mention the Counsel who appeared for the petitioners in the historic case: Upul Jayasuriya, PC. with Nisala Fernando instructed by Sampath Wijewardane for the SJB, Viran Corea with Luwie Ganeshathasan and Khyati Wickramanayaka instructed by Sinnadurai Sunderalingam & Balendra for CPA, Nigel Hatch, PC. with Shantha Jayawardena, Ms. Wihangi Tissera, Ms. Azra Basheer, Hirannaya Damunupola, Ms. Niroshika Wegiriya, Sunil Watagala and Ms Illangage for the JJB and Asthika Devendra with Pulasthi Hewamanne, Kaneel Maddumage, Vimukthi Karunarathne and Ms. Abheetha Dinethri instructed by Manjula Balasuriya for the PAFFREL.

The SC was moved in terms of Article 17 read with Article 126 of the Constitution. Argued for 15 days, the decision was announced on August 22, 2024.

Some crucial SC rulings

In the run-up to the unprecedented SC ruling on August 22, 2024, the apex court emphasized in no uncertain terms that politicians, regardless of their status, couldn’t expect favoured treatment under any circumstances.

* Following a landmark SC decision, former President Maithripala Sirisena in March 2022 vacated his official residence at Mahagama Sekara Mawatha (formerly known as Paget Road), Colombo. Sirisena had no option but to leave after the SC quashed a Cabinet decision taken in October 2019 to grant the residence to him after his retirement. The residence in question was the former President’s official residence during his tenure as the Head of State. The Supreme Court held that the Cabinet decision while he was at its helm is arbitrary, unreasonable, ultra vires, illegal, a breach of the provisions of the President’s Entitlements Act, amounts to a violation of the Rule of Law and the Fundamental Rights guaranteed to the petitioners and the citizens of Sri Lanka.

* In January, 2023 SC ordered ex- President Sirisena to pay a sum of Rs.100 million as damages to the victims of Easter Sunday attacks. Sirisena completed the payment two weeks ago on a staggered basis. The consequences were devastating as underscored by the former SLFP leader’s failure to reach a consensus with any candidate contesting the Presidential Election.

* Sirisena suffered yet another setback when the SC invalidated his decision to grant a presidential pardon to a convict who murdered a Swedish teenager Yvonne Jonsson 19 years ago. Sirisena granted Jude Jayamaha a presidential pardon just a few weeks before the 2019 Presidential Election. Jayamaha was convicted in 2012 for killing Yvonne Jonsson in what was known as the ‘Royal Park’ murder case. Jayamaha was sentenced to death. the SC fined Sirisena Rs 3 mn.

* The other judgment was delivered in November 2023 with respect to petitions filed against the economic crisis that led to the declaration of bankruptcy status in April 2022.

The SC held that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, former Prime Minister Mahinda, were among several government officials whose conduct contributed to the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.

* Two other SC decisions that sent clear message were the ruling on IGP and the on-line visa issuance facility.

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Midweek Review

Opp. caught up in CIABOC offensive

Published

18 hours ago

2026/06/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

Mahinda Rajapaksa leaving CIABOC on 12 June, 2026

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on 12 June questioned former President Mahinda Rajapaksa regarding the USD 2 Mn bribe allegation directed at the late SriLankan CEO Kapila Chandrasena, whose body was found on 8 May in a close relative’s home in Kollupitiya. Chandrasena’s alleged suicide sent shock waves through political circles and interested parties questioned the circumstances leading to him being granted bail on 6 May on cash bail of Rs. 500,000 with three sureties of Rs. 10 million each. The Colombo Magistrate court also imposed a travel ban. The issue at hand is as to how Mohamed Riswan and Mohamed Irshan stood as sureties for Chandrasekera. Of all the investigations undertaken by the CIABOC, the USD 2 Mn bribe case is the most politically charged probe.

Of the Rajapaksas, former State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa is so far the last to be indicted. CIABOC on 19 June filed indictments before the Colombo High Court against him and two others Sepalika Saman Kumari and Keerthi Bandara Kotagama. According to the charges, the accused are alleged to have committed the offence of corruption and aided and abetted the commission of the offence by using official influence to pressure certain government officials, attached to the Office for Reparations, to obtain compensation amounting to Rs. 8.85 million for a property built on a state land by Shasheendra and destroyed by marauding Aragalaya mobs.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The ruling National People’s Power (NPP) government last week emphasised, in no uncertain terms, that it wouldn’t tolerate the growing Opposition challenge.

Amidst the growing controversy over the continuing detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay. in terms of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), under humiliating conditions, in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, police arrested Sugeeshwara Bandara, leader of the New People’s Front (NPF). The Central Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) apprehended him on 18 June and the Fort Magistrate’s Court remended him till 1 July..

The CCIB also apprehended Binoy Hettiarachchi who was accompanying Bandara. Hettiarachchi served as a media coordinator at the former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road Office. Police intercepted their vehicle at Kollupitiya where the arrests were made like in an action-packed movie. Hettiarachchi was freed four hours later.

But, it would be better to identify Bandara as the former private secretary to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as well as the Director General of Special Projects at the Presidential Secretariat in the wake of Ranil Wickremesinghe taking over the presidency.

Accused of receiving two salaries simultaneously, under the President’s Expenditure Head, Bandara who managed the media for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in the run-up to the 2019 presidential election, is under investigation for abuse of government vehicles and employing government workers for political work.

Having launched his political career as the Colombo District organiser of the alliance New People’s Front, a breakaway faction of the UPFA, in February, 2024, Bandara contested the November, 2024, parliamentary polls on the New Democratic Front (NDF) ticket. But, of late, Bandara, as the leader of NPF, became one of the most active opposition activists, aligned with the political grouping, dubbed People’s United Opposition, operating from Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road Office.

Bandara drew the wrath of the government when he launched a noisy protest outside Finance Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma’s residence at Akuregoda, Pelawatta, on 26 April, where he and his protesting supporters were given a shower of excreta. The group, led by Bandara, demanded the Finance Secretary’s resignation over the theft of USD 2.5 mn from the Treasury. No less a person than President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reacted angrily to Bandara’s actions.

Acknowledging the right for legitimate protests, the President warned against protests directed at residences of officials. On 18 April, Bandara led a protest outside Agriculture Minister K.D. Lal Kantha’s recently built luxury residence at Weliwita, Kaduwela, where he questioned how the JVPer managed to build such a home as he was on record as having repeatedly said that he lived a difficult life.

The police apprehended Bandara as he was returning from a meeting between senior representatives of the People’s United Opposition and the IMF Colombo at the Tiki Bar, Shangri-La. In spite of negligible parliamentary presence, with those elected on the NDF ticket at the last parliamentary election not really speaking in one voice, the Flower Road project has become a headache for the government.

In fact, the Flower Road operation has been causing continuous harassment to the NPP, while the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) struggled to play its anticipated role as the main Opposition. Instead of conducting a cohesive campaign against the cocky NPP government, members of the SJB seem to be pulling in different directions at the expense of the common opposition front.

Regardless of the Wickremesinghe-led grouping vowing to press ahead with its campaign, the arrest of Bandara is obviously meant to have a detrimental impact on the activities of the Opposition.

It would be pertinent to mention that Bandara had been among those who stayed with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s House, in Colombo, as a massive protest erupted on 9 July, 2022. Bandara was among the last to flee the President’s House as the military withdrew, amidst mounting pressure on their positions.

The police arrested Bandara as former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa moved the Court of Appeal in terms of Article 140 of the Constitution to prevent him being arrested under the PTA. The wartime Defence Secretary sought the court intervention in the wake of police probing the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage and obtaining a travel ban against him.

The court heard Romesh de Silva PC’s submissions on behalf of the ex-President on 18 June. The court deferred the hearing to 24 June. The crux of the matter is that the ex-President fears that the CID is about to arrest him on the basis of a statement made by fugitive Azad Moulana, in Paris, linking Sallay directly with the Easter Sunday carnage.

NPP intensifies pressure

The NPP seems confident of its current course of action meant to pin down the Opposition. In spite of unbridled corruption being the major issue on the post-war election platform, no political party succeeded in going flat-out against the political opposition.

However, the NPP allowed the judicial process to continue. The first major sentencing was announced on 2 April, 2025, just six months after the parliamentary polls, handsomely won by the NPP. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) moved the Colombo High Court successfully against the former Chief Minister of the North Central Province S.M. Ranjith Samarakoon.

Colombo High Court No. 01 Judge Adithya Patabendige sentenced him in terms of Section 70 of the Bribery Act. The HC declared the former CM perpetrated malpractices by ordering fuel to his personal secretary’s vehicle. The personal secretary happened to be Shanthi Chandrasena, wife of his brother S.M. Chandrasena, a former Cabinet Minister and one of the most powerful Ministers to represent the North Central province.

The ex- Chief Minister and the second accused, his personal secretary, were convicted guilty of two charges. Both were sentenced to 16 years rigorous imprisonment and were also ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 200,000/- with an additional two-year prison term in case of default.

Deputy Director General Asitha Anthoney appeared on behalf of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

There had never been any really coordinated CIABOC campaign against corruption. No political party, or a particular family, felt threatened by CIABOC. Both those in and outside Parliament acted with impunity. They feared no one. There was no need to be because the powerful and the influential operated above the law.

Just a couple of weeks after sentencing of S.M. Ranjith Samarakoon and Shanthini Chandrasena, the CIABOC arrested the latter’s husband, one-time Deputy Economic Development Minister and Special Projects Minister, S.M. Chandrasena. The CIABOC took him into custody on 4 July, 2025.

The CIABOC accused the former Minister of causing loss to the government by distributing seed corn, imported at a cost of Rs 25 mn, in 2024, among the farmer community in the Anuradhapura district, at a subsidised price. The distribution had taken place ahead of the 2015 presidential election contested by Mahinda Rajapaksa and estranged former SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena. The CIABOC alleged that Chandrasena exerted undue influence on the Director (Planning) and other officers of the District Secretariat and distributed seeds through his political allies to gain an advantage in the 2015 presidential election and incurred a loss to the government.

Chandrasena was granted bail on 1 August, 2025. He was indicted on 12 June before the Colombo High Court.

Before further discussing the ongoing anti-corruption campaign, let me introduce the top leadership of CIABOC. The Commission consists of Justice W.M.N.P. Iddawela (Chairman), K.B. Rajapakse and Chethiya Goonesekera P.C, with High Court judge R.S.A. Dissanayake as its Director General.

The sentencing of the S. M. Ranjith Samarakoon didn’t really bother his side. The arrest of his brother S.M. Chandrasena, too, didn’t really upset those facing charges. But, sentencing of former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former Sathosa Chairman and former Trade Minister Nalin Fernando on 29 May, 2025, sent shock waves through the Opposition.

The Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar sentenced Aluthgamage and Fernando for committing the offence of corruption by purchasing 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 checkers boards through Sathosa, allegedly to distribute to schools and sports clubs selected by the Sports Ministry, and distributing them to party offices of the government, during the 2015 presidential election campaign thereby, causing a loss of over 53 million rupees to the government, stunned the Opposition.

Aluthgamage was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, Fernando received a sentence of 25 years of rigorous imprisonment. Additionally, a fine of Rs. 100,000 (hundred thousand) was imposed for each count.

The CIABOC’s Assistant Director General Mrs. Anuththara Jayasinghe and Assistant Director General Mrs. Thushari Dayaratne conducted the prosecution.

During the Yahapalana government Aluthgamage spearheaded a high profile anti-corruption campaign, dubbed ‘Yahapalana Top 10 kamba horu’. The then Joint Opposition (JO) group, led in Parliament by Dinesh Gunawardena, published a 750-page book, targeting the Yahapalana ministers. Mahindananda, who spearheaded that campaign, is now serving a long sentence.

The JO group consists of UPFA lawmakers who declined to throw their weight behind the then President Sirisena aligned with the UNP.

Let me mention the names of those against whom the accusations were made by the JO.

Yahapalana corruption

The JO dealt with 10 major cases. (1) The Treasury bond scams perpetrated in 2015 and 2016. Accusations were directed at Ranil Wickremesinghe, Ravi Karunanayake and Governor Central Bank Arjuna Mahendran. The losses were estimated at Rs 26 bn. (2) causing losses amounting to Rs 10 bn through the fraudulent import of vehicles. Ravi Karunanayake was named the chief culprit (3) Misappropriation of Mahapola funds to the tune of Rs. 1 bn. Allegations were directed at Malik Samarawickrema (4) Stealing from an insurance scheme implemented for the benefit of those going for employment in West Asia. The JO accused Thalatha Atukarale of misappropriating funds amounting Rs 1.5 bn (5) Receiving Rs 1.5 bn through the leasing of Hambantota port to China on a 99-year lease. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Malik Samarawickrema and R. Paskaralingam were named the offenders (6) Kabir Hashim was accused of causing a loss of Rs 54 bn by cancelling aircraft ordered from Airbus Industries for the national carrier (7) fraudulent activities pertaining to the release of paddy stocks held by the government. The JO estimated the losses caused to the government at Rs 10 bn. (8) Scam in vehicle parts. Ravil Karunanayake was accused of causing losses amounting to Rs. 6.5 bn, (9 A) Dr. Rajitha Senaratne was accused of leasing of the Modera fisheries harbor and procurement of eight vessels to catch fish, fraudulently, and thereby causing losses up to Rs 1 bn, (9B) The JO also found fault with Dr. Senaratne for perpetrating Rs 1.5 bn fraud in the procurement of medicine and lastly (10) Ranil Wickremesinghe, Malik Samarawickrema, R. Paskaralingam and Charitha Ratwatte were blamed for a massive fraud in the procurement of coal for the Norochcholai coal-fired power plant. That particular fraud was estimated at Rs 5 bn.

Although the JO transformed itself to Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) later, to successfully contested the 2019 presidential election, none of the above-mentioned cases were investigated. As far as we know, none of those cases had been dealt with during the SLPP rule, from November, 2019, to July, 2022. Faced with an externally backed regime change operation, the SLPP invited Wickremesinghe, who had been named by them in three major corruption cases, to accept the premiership in May, 2022, and presidency in July same year.

So far, there is no indication whether the mentioned JO allegations had received the attention of the CIABOC or the Attorney General of the government. As far as we know of all the politicians and officials, Wickremesinghe is the only one facing imminent threat due to the ongoing case pertaining to him visiting the UK in September, 2023, to join his wife Prof. Maithree at the University of Wolverhampton at her graduation ceremony.

Wickremesinghe has been accused of squandering nearly 17 mn rupees at a time the country was in deep economic turmoil. The Fort Magistrate’s court is scheduled to take up the case on 8 July.

SLPP parliamentary group leader Namal Rajapaksa is also facing a major legal challenge. The former Minister has been indicted on charges of criminal misappropriation of Rs. 70 mn in connection with the controversial Krrish project. The indictments have been forwarded to the Colombo High Court by the Attorney General, alleging that Namal Rajapaksa misappropriated funds by receiving Rs. 70 million from the Indian real estate company for the development of rugby in Sri Lanka.

Yoshitha Rajapaksa, too, has been dealt with by the CIABOC. The Rajapaksas have been accused of lowering qualifications required to join the executive branch of the Navy and then sending him to the Royal Naval Academy in the United Kingdom at taxpayers’ expense. Produced before the Colombo Additional Magistrate, Yoshitha was released on three personal bail bonds of Rs. 5 million each.

Producing Yoshitha before court on 17 June, Deputy Director General of the Bribery Commission, Ruvini Wickramasinghe declared: “”Your Honour, the complaint regarding this incident was received on June 25, 2016. Accordingly, the Commission initiated investigations. The complaint states that the suspect had participated in naval training programmes held in England and Ukraine by misusing government funds, while depriving qualified applicants of such opportunities. At that time, this individual, who is a civilian in the dock today, was also a civilian in 2006 when he was deemed eligible for the Royal Navy Young Officer training at the Royal Naval Academy in the United Kingdom. The opportunities to receive this training are extremely limited. Your Honour, selection to this prestigious course is usually based on being the most outstanding cadet officer during a two-year training period or based on performance during training. However, this suspect, although a civilian in 2006, was proposed and included in the list and was sent for the course in haste.”

The Deputy Director General also stated that Yoshitha Rajapaksa had undergone medical examinations required for overseas training even before being officially recruited into the Navy.

The court was also told that though Sri Lanka previously received scholarships from the UK the Rajapaksa government funded Yoshitha to the tune of Rs 6.2 mn.

Opp. attacks CIABOC

The Opposition has repeatedly attacked the CIABOC with its Director General Ranga Dissanayake being the primary target. Accusing Dissanayake of being a JVPer, the Opposition has repeatedly questioned the conduct of the High Court judge demanding that the CIABOC inquired into the top official’s conduct, especially with regard to the alleged suicide of former Sri Lankan CEO Kapila Chandrasena who had been under investigation pertaining to the receiving of USD 2 mn bribe to facilitate procurement aircraft from Airbus Industrie during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second term.

Former Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris, a regular speaker at Flower Road media briefings, alleged that the CIABOC was a political tool in the NPP’s hands.

A section of the Opposition to question the circumstances one-time JVP heavyweight Nandana Gunatilleke died in January this year at the Ragama Teaching Hospital after accusing Dissanayake of pursuing an agenda beneficial to the JVP, a charge denied by the High Court judge. When the writer raised the allegations with Dissanayake, he emphatically denied any wrongdoing on his part https://island.lk/ciaboc-dg-denies-jvp-link/.

The CIABOC has simply ignored accusations directed at its DG who proved through his actions that he really meant high profile public pronouncements against corruption.

Former Deputy Minister and ex-MP Sarana Gunawardena was sentenced to a total of 16 years rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court on June 8, 2026.

During the Yahapalana administration many cases, filed by the CIABOC as well as the Attorney General, were either dismissed or dropped due to lapses on their part. The accused in such cases were ex-MP Sajin Vass Gunawardena, ex-EP Chief Minister Sivanesathurei Chandrakanthan alias Pilleyan, ex-Ministers Johnston Fernando, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Basil Rajapaksha, Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Janaka Bandara Tennakoon and former AG and CJ Mohan Peiris.

Regardless of Opposition protests, the public appreciate tangible action against corruption. However, the NPP has not been free from serious allegations against it since the last general elections. The release of suspicious 323 containers, plus two containers filled with ice, in January, 2025, followed by the massive coal scam perpetrated in September 2025, loss of over USD 2.5 mn from the Treasury and controversial Aswesuma payments, as well as wealth, accumulated by NPP Ministers as revealed by declarations made to CIABOC, shocked the electorate.

The NPP has failed to counter allegations. The circumstances under which Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody resigned, along with Energy Secretary Udayanga Hemapala, on 17 April, just a week after the NPP defeated the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the Energy Minister. dealt a devastating blow to the NPP’s much touted integrity. The NPP couldn’t explain as to why a person under investigation by the CIABOC for an alleged fraud perpetrated during the Yahapalana government was accommodated in President Dissanayake’s first Cabinet. Indicted before the Colombo High Court, Jayakody’s case commenced last week.

Asset declarations of some NPP Ministers have shocked the country. The SJB has called for CIABOC to investigate them without delay and prove that CIABOC was not only going after the Opposition. Ministers Lal Kantha and Wasantha Samarasinghe are two of the top JVPers who have attracted attention as the Opposition hits back at the government.

SJB MP Mujibur Rahuman said that the JVP/NPP owed an explanation as to how their members amassed so much wealth since 2024 as they repeatedly claimed their inability to meet even their basic needs. But, their asset declarations exposed their blatant lies.

Midweek Review

Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean

Published

18 hours ago

2026/06/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

Listening to the Winds, Reading the Waves:

Prof. Gamini Keerawella’s latest publication, Winds and Waves: Geopolitical Currents in the Indian Ocean since 1945 will be launched on 5 August at the Auditorium of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS). The keynote address will be delivered by Prof. T. V. Paul, James, McGill Professor of Political Science at McGill University, Canada and the former President of the International Studies Association (ISA).

Prof. Keerawella, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Peradeniya, has dedicated hisbook to the memory of Dr. Newton Gunasinghe, the eminent sociologist and Marxist theoretician who encouraged him to venture beyond disciplinary frontiers. In many respects, this work represents a successful realization of that intellectual endeavour. In her testimonial to back cover of the book, Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy observes that “Gamini Keerawella offers a nuanced and layered account of the Indian Ocean region’s strategic evolution from the era of decolonization to the contemporary phase of intensifying great-power rivalry. Its distinctive analytical perspective makes it an important contribution to the study of international relations, maritime geopolitics, and regional strategic dynamics.” This assessment accurately captures the significance of the work, and I fully endorse her judgement.

This volume constitutes the final publication of a trilogy that explores the evolving dynamics of international relations from a distinctly Sri Lankan perspective. The first study examined the trajectory of Sri Lanka’s defence and foreign policy, while the second revisited the origins, evolution, and principal constituent elements of international relations as an academic discipline from a Global South perspective. The present work broadens the analytical canvas by tracing the shifting geopolitical contours of the Indian Ocean since 1945 and examining the evolving interplay between great-power competition and regional agency.

Indian Ocean not merely maritime transit space

At the heart of Prof. Keerawella’s analysis is the argument that the Indian Ocean is not merely a maritime space of transit but a living archive whose language is inscribed in tides, trade, and collective memory. To uncover the deeper structures that have shaped the region, he draws on Michel Foucault’s concept of the archaeology of knowledge, probing beneath the visible layers of historical experience to reveal successive strata of thought, exchange, and power. This approach enables him to trace the multiple origins of the Indian Ocean’s geopolitical significance through the sedimented traces of how the ocean has been known, governed, and imagined across time. Complementing this perspective is Fernand Braudel’s concept of the longue durée, which provides the framework for understanding the long-term evolution of Indian Ocean geopolitics. As Keerawella notes, for Braudel, history unfolds not as a single linear sequence but as a layered field of continuity and change, revealing the deeper architecture of the past—the slow yet powerful currents that shape political and economic developments beneath the surface of events (Keerawella 2026: xxiii).Prof. Keerawella further notes that later historians such as K. N. Chaudhuri and M. N. Pearson drew on Braudel’s insights and adapted them to understand the Indian Ocean as a polycentric world.

Prof. Keerawella argues that the terms employed in the title of this work—Winds, Waves, and Currents—evoke the ocean’s dual language of surface movement and underlying structure. In his reading, winds and waves signify motion: the visible and often turbulent forces that carry ships, peoples, commodities, and ideas across shifting maritime frontiers. Currents, by contrast, refer to the deeper and less visible forces that shape historical trajectories and connect coasts and continents through enduring patterns of interaction. As he observes, while winds and waves represent the restless dynamics of the ocean’s surface, currents embody the slower yet more consequential energies that operate beneath it, binding disparate regions into a larger maritime system (2026: xx).

Metaphors and Conceptual Foundation

Building on this conceptual foundation, the author employs winds, waves, and currents not merely as metaphors but also as analytical categories. Winds represent changing strategic directions and geopolitical realignments; waves denote recurring cycles of commerce, conflict, and interaction; and currents symbolize the deep structural forces that connect societies across space and time. Viewed from a distinctly Sri Lankan perspective, the volume demonstrates how a strategically located small state at the centre of the Indian Ocean perceives and navigates this maritime space through its own strategic lens. The book opens by situating Sri Lanka within the intersecting forces of history, geography, and power that have shaped the Indian Ocean world. It advances the notion of a dual strategic consciousness that has informed Sri Lanka’s external engagements: a persistent sense of vulnerability, rooted in colonial experience and geographical exposure, coexisting with a cosmopolitan outlook forged through centuries of maritime exchange. Prof. Keerawella contends that this dual consciousness constitutes the underlying framework through which Sri Lanka has historically interpreted and responded to developments in its external environment.

Winds and Waves is a comprehensive study comprising eleven chapters and an extensive introduction that establishes the analytical foundations of the work by treating the ocean simultaneously as text and method. The opening chapter situates Sri Lanka within the wider Indian Ocean system, tracing the island’s navigation through shifting configurations of power while emphasising the agency of small states. The Indian Ocean is presented not merely as a strategic arena but also as a moral and political space, linking Sri Lanka’s historical experience to the broader aspirations and consciousness of the Global South.

Revisiting British withdrawal

The book revisits Britain’s withdrawal from the Indian Ocean, arguing that it was not simply a consequence of post-war decline but the culmination of deeper structural transformations in the international system. Decolonisation, Afro-Asian nationalism, and the emergence of bipolarity fundamentally altered the regional order and created the conditions for Britain’s retreat. In turn, this withdrawal opened the way for superpower competition, particularly between the United States and the Soviet Union, transforming the Indian Ocean into major theatre of Cold War geopolitics.

A substantial portion of the volume is devoted to examining the policies and strategic trajectories of the major powers. The author traces American engagement from Cold War containment through post-Cold War maritime predominance to contemporary Indo-Pacific formulations, demonstrating that U.S. strategy has evolved through the interaction of structural imperatives and changing strategic discourses. Particular attention is paid to the 2026 U.S.–Iran War, which is interpreted as a transformative event that exposed the limits of military hegemony and accelerated patterns of strategic hedging and multi-alignment among regional actors. The book also explores the Soviet Union’s entry into the Indian Ocean in 1968 and the subsequent re-emergence of Russia under Vladimir Putin through selective naval deployments, arms transfers, and strategic partnerships, illustrating what the author characterises as the recurrent rhythms of great-power engagement in the region.

The rise of China receives extensive treatment as one of the most significant structural developments of the twenty-first century. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, port development projects, and naval modernisation, China has translated growing economic power into expanding strategic influence. The author contrasts Beijing’s assertive posture in the South China Sea with its relatively restrained approach in the Indian Ocean, where economic diplomacy and cooperative security initiatives have assumed greater prominence. Equally significant is the discussion of India’s transformation from a regional power into an emerging global strategic actor. The evolution of Indian maritime strategy—from Nehruvian custodianship to contemporary blue-water ambitions—demonstrates how a rising power navigates structural constraints while expanding its strategic reach. Initiatives such as SAGAR, naval modernization, and deepening partnerships with the United States, Japan, and Australia have positioned India as a central actor in the evolving Indo-Pacific order.

Roles of Japan and EU examined

The volume also examines the roles of Japan and the European Union in shaping the contemporary maritime order. Japan’s transition from post-war restraint to proactive strategic engagement, embodied in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision, illustrates how middle powers adapt to changing geopolitical realities through coalition-building and maritime capacity enhancement. The European Union’s engagement is portrayed through less visible but nevertheless significant mechanisms, including trade, development cooperation, maritime governance, and norm diffusion, contributing to what the author terms a form of “quiet-making multipolarity” that encourages restraint, stability, and pragmatic cooperation.

Moving beyond conventional geopolitics, the book broadens the analytical framework to address a range of non-traditional security challenges confronting South Asia in general and Sri Lanka in particular. Climate change, piracy, illegal fishing, maritime terrorism, public health vulnerabilities, and digital insecurity are examined as transnational challenges that transcend the capabilities of individual states. The author argues that these issues reveal the limits of unilateral action and underscore the growing importance of cooperation, collective action, institutional innovation, and middle-power leadership in maritime governance.

Prof. Keerawella further situates the Indian Ocean within the wider context of the emerging Asian Century. Asia’s resurgence—driven principally by China and India and reinforced by the dynamism of Southeast Asia—is presented as a major reconfiguration of global power. In this transformation, the Indian Ocean functions as a vital maritime artery connecting energy resources, manufacturing centres, and consumer markets. At the same time, the author cautions against deterministic interpretations, emphasising that the realisation of the Asian Century remains contingent upon how the region responds to persistent inequalities, environmental challenges, governance deficits, and intensifying strategic competition.

Assessing how SL has navigated shifts

The book concludes by returning to Sri Lanka and assessing how the country has navigated contemporary shifts in the regional and global balance of power under the National People’s Power (NPP) government that emerged in the aftermath of the Aragalaya of 2022. The author demonstrates how economic crisis, demands for accountability, and aspirations for a new political culture have reshaped the domestic context within which foreign policy is conducted. Under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lanka is portrayed as pursuing a carefully calibrated strategy that combines engagement with international financial institutions, enhanced cooperation with India in defence and energy sectors, continued economic engagement with China, and functional security relations with the United States. The government’s response to the 2026 U.S.–Iran War—rejecting military access requests from all parties while extending humanitarian assistance—serves as an illustration of the author’s broader argument that strategic flexibility, principled neutrality, and diplomatic agility remain essential for small states navigating an increasingly complex Indian Ocean order.

Taken together, the book advances several interconnected propositions. First, the Indian Ocean is entering an increasingly multipolar era in which power is exercised through complex networks of cooperation, competition, and interdependence rather than rigid alliance structures. Second, small states are neither passive spectators nor mere proxies of great powers; they possess strategic agency and navigate competing pressures through hedging, diversification, and calibrated diplomacy. Third, Sri Lanka’s strategic behaviour—characterised by navigating asymmetry through flexibility and ambiguity—reflects a historically rooted dual consciousness that combines vulnerability with cosmopolitan engagement. Fourth, non-traditional security challenges and environmental governance are no longer peripheral concerns but central components of the evolving regional order.

Need for adaptive navigation

Prof. Keerawella argues that contemporary statecraft in the Indian Ocean requires adaptive navigation rather than rigid alignment. In a fluid and contested maritime environment, survival and influence depend less on resisting structural change than on understanding and responding to it with prudence, flexibility, and strategic clarity. The book therefore offers important insights into how small states can transform structural vulnerability into strategic agency and convert exposure into opportunities for engagement within a changing regional order.

Combining historical depth with contemporary analysis, it provides a nuanced understanding of the interaction between great-power competition, regional transformation, and the strategic choices of smaller states. The book will be of considerable value to students and scholars of international relations, political science, strategic studies, and maritime affairs, while also offering useful perspectives to policymakers, diplomats, and practitioners. Equally important, it opens several promising avenues for future research on the Indian Ocean and the emerging Indo-Pacific order.

Hermeneutic approachs

Methodologically, the study draws upon hermeneutic approaches to examine the geopolitical and maritime environments that shape relationships among states, societies, and historical processes. The result is a work that is both analytically rigorous and intellectually engaging. This review has sought less to evaluate the book in a conventional sense than to introduce its central themes and encourage a wider readership to engage with its arguments. Having highlighted the many merits of the volume, it is worth noting one technical shortcoming: the absence of an index. Given the book’s wide thematic scope and rich empirical content, the inclusion of an index would have significantly enhanced its value as a reference tool for researchers and students alike.

In sum, Prof. Keerawella listens attentively to the winds, reads the waves with analytical precision, and traces the deeper currents that shape the Indian Ocean world. The outcome is Winds and Waves: Geopolitical Currents in the Indian Ocean since 1945, a timely and thought-provoking contribution published by the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies.

Reviewed by
Dr. Ramesh Ramasamy
Department of Political Science, University
of Peradeniya