… recalls abortive move to overrun Parliament during ‘Aragalaya’

 ITAK denies bid to forge alliance with NPP

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Former parliamentarian Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera yesterday (10) said that Sri Lanka’s triumph over separatist terrorism in 2009 should be preserved if the security of the country and the safety of all its citizens were to be ensured.

“Whatever the shortcomings during the last SLPP administration (2020 Nov. to 2022 July), a larger section of the electorate cannot, under any circumstances, create an environment conducive for those who still pursued a separatist agenda,” the ex-Public Security Minister said.

“If the NPP forms the next government under its own steam or as an alliance consisting of a selected group of lawmakers representing the Northern and Eastern Provinces, the country will face a catastrophic situation, ” the one-time Navy Chief of Staff said.

Those who had made Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s huge mandate possible in the 2019 presidential election must not support any party or a coalition that would endanger national security, Weerasekera added.

Weerasekera contests Colombo district, on the SLPP ticket, at the forthcoming general election. “We are committed to the protection of national security,” the SLN veteran said. At the last parliamentary election, the SLPP won 145 seats, including 17 National List slots.

Responding to another query, Weerasekera said an alliance between the NPP and Tamil lawmakers would be exploited by external powers to advance their own agendas, the former MP said.

Acknowledging that the SLPP had lost badly in the presidential contest just weeks before, Weerasekera appealed to the electorate to be mindful of consequences of a Parliament sans, what the former minister called, a nationalistic representation.

Weerasekera said the armed forces, that had made numerous sacrifices, paid to defeat terrorism shouldn’t be at the mercy of a government that may jeopardize national security interests.

Referring to a recent statement made by ITAK Jaffna district contestant M. A. Sumanthiran, at the Jaffna Press Club, Weerasekera pointed out that the ITAK that had been LTTE’s cat’s paw during the war appeared to be ready to join the NPP.

Although the ITAK denied former Minister Udaya Gammanpila’s declaration that the NPP and one-time LTTE ally hadn’t reached a consensus, Sumanthiran is on record having suggested that his party would accept an invitation, if any, to join an NPP-led government. “Obviously, Sumanthiran is busy preparing the ground for the NPP-ITAK alliance. If that happens, there’ll be quite serious repercussions, detrimental to the security of the State,” Weerasekera said.

Asked whether the SLPP believed it could muster sufficient countrywide support among the electorate to secure some seats, Weerasekara said that though the NPP had won the presidential election, its candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake had not been able to secure 50%+1 vote. While AKD obtained 5,634,915 (42.31 %), three major Opposition parties (the SJB, the UNP-led grouping and the SLPP) had, altogether, polled 7,005,583 votes, Weerasekera said, questioning the very basis of the NPP’s mandate.

Weerasekera mentioned that the NPP repeatedly declared that the Parliament should be filled only with its members as it feared the outcome of the general election. The bottom line was that the NPP had realized that its relentless campaign couldn’t pave the way for an overwhelming parliamentary majority for any political party.

“The NPP cannot act as both the government and the Opposition, simultaneously,” the war veteran said, the NPP would have to rethink its strategy after the general election. The challenges at home as well as abroad couldn’t be addressed by the NPP, Weerasekera said, urging the electorate to back the Opposition.

Commenting on ‘Aragalaya,’ Weerasekera emphasized the responsibility on the part of the next government to inquire into the circumstances that had led to the ouster of a democratically elected President. Recalling how former Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in March this year, had disclosed direct foreign intervention in overthrowing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former public security minister said ‘Aragalaya’ should be investigated.

Alleging ‘Aragalaya’ had benefited NPP, which had only polled just 3.16 % of the valid vote at the 2019 presidential election, could never have won the recently concluded national poll if not for a high profile externally backed political project.

Weerasekera said that he raised the US intervention both in and outside Parliament. Unfortunately, the powers that be conveniently ignored the issue at hand, the ex-parliamentarian said. In fact, a section of the previous Parliament represented the interests of those who engineered President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster, the ex-MP said.

 Weerasekera said that the country was at a crossroads. “The NPP seeking to fill Parliament with its members made an abortive bid to overrun Parliament in July 2022. They have conveniently forgotten what they attempted to do. Perhaps, the NPP should explain what they planned to achieve by taking control of Parliament,” Weerasekera said.