Midweek Review

Daunting challenges ahead

Published

5 years ago

2021/12/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

GR two years in office:

By Shamindra Ferdinando

‘Signature of The Executive’

(first volume Nov-Dec 2021) and ‘Two Years of Prosperity Amidst Challenges: State Governance Committed to the Country and the People’ dealt with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s two years in office. Edited by veteran journalist, Sugeeswara Senadhira, who had held previous government appointments, the two publications discussed the new government’s strategy under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s leadership against the backdrop of the Treasury bond scams perpetrated in Feb 2015 and March 2016, betrayal of the war-winning armed forces at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council in Oct 2015, soaring cost of living and the ruination of the agriculture-based economy.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa handsomely won the Nov 2019 presidential election. The wartime Defence Secretary polled a staggering 6.9 mn votes, whereas his nearest rival, Sajith Premadasa, who contested on the New Democratic Front (NDF) ticket, secured 5.6 mn votes. Interestingly, the UNP fielded the then General Sarath Fonseka (2010 presidential) and Maithripala Sirisena (2015 presidential) on the NDF ticket though that party never had any representation at local government, Provincial Councils or parliamentary level.

President’s Director General (Media) Sudewa Hettiarachchi, formerly of Hiru and Swarnavahini, presented copies of the anniversary publications to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Anuradhapura Janadhipathi Mandiraya recently. Among those present was Presidential Spokesperson Kingsly Ratnayaka, who had served Sirasa for nearly three decades. ‘Signature of The Executive’ also explained the long-felt need for the Presidential Media Division (PMD), inaugurated on July 29, 2021. Sudewa Hettiarachchi, who had been the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Swarnavahini, succeeded Mohan Samaranayake in early May this year.

The two publications essentially discussed the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) government’s accomplishments. It would be pertinent to mention that Gotabaya Rajapaksa never obtained the membership of the SLPP though the latter fielded him at the presidential poll and to date the status quo remains.

Let me examine President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s two years in office – a period of unprecedented political turmoil, uncertainty and further deterioration of Parliament. In fact, the UNP, with the support of the then President Maithripala Sirisena, paved the way for Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s candidature at the 2019 presidential by blocking Mahinda Rajapaksa’s path to another term. The yahapalana government brought in the 19th Amendment in 2015 to deprive Mahinda Rajapaksa the opportunity to contest the presidency again. The 19th Amendment also prevented dual and foreign citizens from contesting presidential and parliamentary polls under any circumstances. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose entry into active politics had been facilitated by civil society organisations, ‘Viyathmaga’ and ‘Eliya’, gave up his US citizenship to enter the fray.

Swiss ‘drama’

Having won the presidency with an overwhelming majority at the last election, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa faced a major attack within a week. Interested parties staged an abduction of Swiss Embassy employee Garnier Banister Francis (former Siriyalatha Perera) in the wake of police Inspector Nishantha Silva of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) securing political asylum in Switzerland. The well planned maneuver was aimed at giving a turbo boost to accusations emanating from the time Gotabaya Rajapaksa served as the Secretary, Ministry of Defence and brought the war to a successful conclusion, which the Western countries, led by the US and the UK, could not stomach as that went against their oft repeated narrative that the Tigers could not be defeated in the battlefield by the Sri Lankan security forces.

Against whatever violations the LTTE committed, even under an advantageous ceasefire, drafted by the Norwegians and blindly signed away by UNP Leader and PM Ranil Wickremesighe in 2001, the West kept on insisting that the only solution to the conflict lay in a negotiated settlement. What the West was aiming for was a peace of the graveyard here, when they would be the ultimate victors.

The Swiss Embassy, the United National Party (UNP) that had been routed at the 2019 presidential election and some sections of local and foreign media played significant roles in the operation meant to discredit President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. They almost succeeded. An alert President Gotabaya Rajapaksa thwarted the Swiss plot by refusing the conspirators’ move to evacuate the Embassy employee and her family in an air ambulance that had been flown in advance and kept on standby at BIA. Had the wartime Defence Secretary succumbed to pressure, the conspirators would have achieved their despicable objective in delivering a heavy blow to the newly elected President within a week after his inauguration. For the Swiss, well known for handling blood money, this staged drama would have been child’s play.

The Swiss Embassy abduction drama is now before the Colombo High Court. This particular case should have been dealt with expeditiously. Francis claimed that on November 25, 2019, five persons, who arrived in a white vehicle, abducted her in the Cinnamon Garden area, in Colombo, threatened her with a firearm, detained her for several hours and questioned her about the CID Inspector Nishantha Silva, who fled the country. She has been indicted under the Penal Code for allegedly making a false claim that she was abducted and sexually harassed.

The Foreign Ministry owed an explanation how it addressed the Swiss Embassy drama as well as a CID officer receiving political asylum in Switzerland. The Foreign Ministry appeared to have conveniently forgotten the case though at the onset the then Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena handled the case enthusiastically. The Swiss Embassy drama dominated the local media for a couple of weeks while the influential conspirators got even the New York Times to report an entirely one sided Swiss Embassy affair, even before the then Swiss Ambassador Hans Peter Mock brought the alleged incident to Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa’s notice. Prof. Peiris, who succeeded Dinesh Gunawardena in August this year, should review the CID officer’s case.

By turning down the Swiss request to evacuate its employee, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reversed the trap. Had the evacuation taken place, as planned, the accusations pertaining to the alleged sexual harassment couldn’t have been challenged. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa survived the Swiss conspiracy. This particular case and the way we are being singled out for targeting at UNHRC shows that countries like the USA, the UK and Switzerland can literally get away with murder because of their clout.

Chandrasena affair

In early Feb. 2020, the media reported the alleged involvement of one-time SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena and his wife Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake in money laundering. The Attorney General directed the CID to obtain a warrant to arrest them. The Chandrasenas have been quite influential during the previous Rajapaksa administration. They had been so influential, that Kapila Chandrasena, in spite of serious corruption charges, received the appointment as Chairman of the national carrier in the immediate aftermath of a constitutional coup staged by the then President Maithripala Sirisena. The 52-day government reversed the decision amidst media furore over the controversial appointment. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered the CID to conduct investigation into corruption charges pertaining to the Chandrasekeras role in the re-fleeting plans. Police headquarters owes an explanation to the country as regards the status of the high profile inquiry.

The failure on the part of the police to bring the investigation to a successful conclusion should be examined taking into consideration the Attorney General and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) withdrawing about 50 high profile cases on technical grounds. Two years after the presidential directive for an investigation into the Chandrasena affair, the government is in a fresh dilemma over the Pandora Papers disclosure pertaining to former lawmaker Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband Thirikumar Nadesean named by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The failure on the part of the CIABOC to record Nirupama Rajapaksa’s statement several weeks after a presidential directive to the outfit, headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Eva Wanasundara, underscores the callous and snail’s pace at which such sensitive investigations are handled.

Similarly, the country is in the dark as to what the authorities are doing about Pandora revelations pertaining to one time government ministry super secretary R. Paskaralingam, who had been working very closely and powerfully with former President Ranasinghe Premadasa and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Nor do we know what the authorities had done about previous revelations made by, for example Panama papers, whose revelations were no less shocking, especially into those who had held Swiss bank accounts.

The Covid-19 pandemic erupted here in March 2020, ahead of the scheduled parliamentary polls in April 2020, although the first confirmed case was reported in early January 2020. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa gave resolute leadership to Sri Lanka’s battle against the rapid spreading infection. The President’s controversial decision to mobilise the armed forces and place the Covid Task Force under Army Chief General Shavendra Silva’s command paid dividends.

Sri Lanka’s efforts to curb Covid-19 suffered a debilitating setback due to rapid deterioration of the epidemic in India that resulted in the sudden stoppage of the supply of the Covi-shield vaccine and the delay on the part of Sri Lanka in using 600,000 doses of Sinopham donated by China. India never resumed Covi-shield supplies thereby compelling Sri Lanka to largely depend on the Chinese vaccine, which actually saved us from a far greater calamity as was seen in India.

It would be pertinent to mention that before the Covid-19 eruption, Sri Lanka suffered a staggering setback when the US categorised Gen. Silva, who is also the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), a war criminal in Feb 2020, on the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes accusations. Sri Lanka’s efforts to clear General Silva’s name are questionable. Unfortunately, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) government hasn’t paid sufficient attention to the blacklisting of the former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the celebrated Task Force 1/58 Division thereby ignored the overall Geneva threat. Sri Lanka’s failure to secure a place at the International Law Commission (ILC) should be examined against the backdrop of the country’s human rights record being constantly under pressure, especially by those with much innocent blood in their own hands, like the US and the UK.

Sarath vs Sarath

Quite surprisingly, the government continued to contribute to the Western campaign against the country by allowing killings of persons under police as well as judicial custody. Deaths in government custody cannot be justified under any circumstances. Recently, SJB lawmaker Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka and Public Security Minister Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera traded accusations over deaths in police custody. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, too, ridiculed the police and the minister in charge over continuing killing of notorious suspects in police custody.

The simmering controversy over Minister Weerasekera’s coordinating officer and a Secretary to Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda making an attempt to recover buried LTTE gold couldn’t have happened at a worse time. The two ministerial aides have sought the assistance of the Officer-in-Charge of Puthukudirippu police to recover the gold. Such incidents prove the deterioration of the overall system and the continuing failure of the political party system to prevent unscrupulous elements taking advantage of the government. One should not be too surprised by the level of corruption in a country that experienced the then Governor of the Central Bank, Singaporean Arjuna Mahendran perpetrating Treasury bond scams at the behest of the then UNP political leadership. President Maithripala Sirisena cannot absolve responsibility for the cover-up of the first Treasury bond scam as he dissolved Parliament to prevent the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) presenting its report on that scam to Parliament. Emboldened by that action of the than President to save them, contributed to an environment under which the same administration perpetrated a far bigger second Treasury bond scam in March 2016. The incumbent government, in spite of much touted assurances in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary polls in 2019 and 2020, respectively, hasn’t been able to convince Singapore to extradite Mahendran. Maithripala Sirisena, who represents the SLPP now, recently accused the government of sitting on Mahendran’s extradition matter.

Turmoil within …

The SLPP’s near two-thirds majority in Parliament as well as its power to secure the backing of a selected group of Opposition, has failed to ensure the much required political stability. The government is in severe turmoil with a rapidly widening rift with Maithripala Sirisena’s SLFP threatening to undermine the administration. With 14 members (12 elected on the SLPP ticket, one appointed through the SLPP National List and one elected on the SLFP ticket), Sirisena’s party is the second biggest constituent among the ruling party parliamentary group. The SLFP has thrown its weight behind the National Freedom Front (NFF) and other smaller parties battling the government against the country entering into a controversial deal with the US-based New Fortress Energy. Three cabinet ministers, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila have publicly opposed the power agreement. They have vowed to oppose the project whatever the consequences though the government remains adamant that it would go ahead with the controversial deal with the US firm. The PMD’s coverage of the issue at hand reveals President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s firm backing for the US project.

Minister Weerawansa once earned the wrath of the SLPP by urging the ruling party to accommodate President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a policy-making role in the party. Weerawansa, quite rightly asserted that the President should hold a suitable position within the top SLPP leadership as it would be pivotal for their overall strategy. Weerawansa didn’t receive any help.

As repeatedly declared, the enactment of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution in Oct 2020 and the passage of the Colombo Port Commission Bill in May this year didn’t have the desired impact. The country, in spite of being repeatedly told the 20th Amendment would ensure the much needed political stability, remains in deepening political turmoil. The SLPP’s primary promise to introduce a new Constitution, too, can be jeopardized in case the SLFP and the smaller constituents further distanced from the SLPP. They represent about 25 lawmakers elected and appointed on the SLPP ticket and its National List, respectively. In addition to them, Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, elected from the Colombo District list of the SLPP, has distanced himself from the party following disputes with the government and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa himself.

The incumbent government hadn’t been able to reverse the Geneva process. The previous lot betrayed the armed forces by co-sponsoring an accountability resolution in early Oct 2015. In spite of much publicised withdrawal from the Geneva process soon after the last presidential election, Sri Lanka remained under Geneva scrutiny. Another high profile and costly investigation targeting the country spearheaded by Human Rights Commissioner Michele Bachelet is underway now. The government seems sort of blind to ground realities as it refrained from presenting all available information, particularly the disclosure made by Lord Naseby before the Geneva body. The government remains mum as the UK continues to suppress credible information that may help Sri Lanka to challenge the very basis of the 2015 Geneva resolution.

Unfortunately, the government hasn’t been bothered with the UK strategy. Instead of countering lies, the government has entered into a dialogue with some sections of the civil society, who are part of the Western plot, in an effort to ease Western pressure. This strategy remains questionable. Over two years after the last presidential election, the Geneva issue continues to baffle the government particularly due to its failure to recognise the real challenge.

Some of those who exploited the yahapalana betrayal of the armed forces to their advantage at the last national elections, seemed to be either uninterested or wholly silent on the Geneva issue.

Toughest problem

Perhaps the extraordinary crisis caused by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s well-intentioned bid to do away with the use of agro-chemicals is yet to be addressed. The often repeated assurance that the government would ensure sufficient supply of carbonic fertiliser couldn’t be met. The bid to import Carbonic fertiliser from China ended in a disaster with China blacklisting the People’s Bank over withholding payment as a result of the Attorney General moving the Colombo Commercial High Court against the Chinese exporter Qingdao Seawin Biotech, its local agent Chelina Capital Corporation Pvt. Ltd and the People’s Bank. Against the backdrop of the Chinese product being declared contaminated, the government sought India’s assistance to procure the required fertiliser. India and Sri Lanka quickly reached agreement on liquid nano-urea. Unfortunately as in the case of the import of the Chinese product, the Opposition questioned both in and outside Parliament the alleged involvement of the Secretary to the President, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera and Secretary to the Prime Minister Gamini Sedara Senaratne in the Indian and Chinese imports, respectively. Both PBJ and Senaratne have denied any wrongdoing on their part. PBJ has complained to the CID whereas Senaratne denied any role though a Director of the Chelina Capital Corporation happened to be a relative.

The government needs to address the farmers’ issue without further delay.

Gas explosions

Amidst nearly 50 cases of accidental explosions of domestic gas cylinders and the government doing away with price controls altogether, much to the dismay of the hapless people, 2022 is certainly going to be a challenging year.

With the government reiterating its commitment to organic farming thereby giving an opportunity to the private sector to import agro chemicals, the issues at hand remain cloudly.

Often repeated accusations that the change of formula of propane and butane resulted in the explosions cannot be discarded and the government cannot absolve itself of the responsibility for the pathetic situation created by waste, corruption and irregularities in every sector. The government-owned Litro Gas blocking government audit for two years is a case in point. The utilisation of the services of a costly President’s Counsel to block the government audit of the SLIC-owned enterprise highlights the crisis faced by the country as the Parliament failed to fulfill its main functions, namely financial discipline and enactment of new laws. Sri Lanka’s failure to change its path overnight and take tangible measures to restore financial discipline, as it struggled to address the severe balance of payments crisis, can be quite disastrous.

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Midweek Review

Opp. caught up in CIABOC offensive

Published

5 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

5 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