Midweek Review

Supreme Court stands tall

Published

3 months 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

North: A change in status ahead of Maaveerar Naal

Published

2 days ago

2024/11/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

Premier Dr. Harini Amarasuriya receives her letter of appointment from President Dissanayake. The NPP government’s success will largely depend on the duo: AKD, who entered Parliament in 2000 and new entrant HA (pic courtesy PMD).

* One-time LTTE mouthpiece TNA is no more

* N & E Tamil speaking representation enhanced

* Fresh look at Sarath Fonseka’s performance at 2010 Prez poll in North required

The new government’s main challenge is ensuring the full implementation of the IMF-led post-Aragalaya economic recovery in line with the Economic Transformation Bill approved by the previous government without a vote. Whatever the side-shows, the focus not only of the government but the Parliament should be on preparing the country to resume debt repayment in 2028 or be ready to face the consequences.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

In a way it was a great thing for the country that the National People’s Power (NPP) scored an emphatic victory at the Nov. 14 general election. Now the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led NPPers can have no excuses for not being able to fulfill their promises as would have been the case if the preceding September Presidential election outcome was repeated with the combined Opposition having the lion’s share of the vote, which would have left the country with a virtual hung Parliament of no benefit to anyone other than creating a parliamentary stalemate, leading to fresh political chaos.

We will, however, grant the fact they have a very tall order to fulfill after the previous governments having virtually signed away our sovereignty with the deals they had inked during their tenures.

But we do have a nagging suspicion about someone working in not so mysterious ways against us behind the scene, after what the former US Secretary of State, John Kerry, publicly stated not too long after the defeat of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 2015 presidential election when he crowed to the whole world how they had spent several hundred million dollars for regime change operations at the time in several countries, including Sri Lanka. Then we also know since then how a US engineered coup ousted the popularly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan by way of parliamentary and military shenanigans, and then the more publicised way they ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh and then virtually ruined that country as was the case during the Aragalaya here in 2022 to oust the legally elected President, with a wide mandate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The NPP has accomplished the impossible, even in the North, in the form of securing the Jaffna electoral district at the recently concluded parliamentary election. The NPP obtained three seats, nothing but a historic watershed.

The ruling party also won the Vanni electoral district, the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting during the Eelam War IV (Aug 2006-May 2009). Securing Jaffna and Vanni consisting of Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu administrative districts, is as difficult as eradicating the conventional fighting capability of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The NPP won two seats in the Vanni.

The final phase of the ground offensive was conducted in a corner of the Vanni electorate where LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran met his maker.

The NPP secured two seats in Trincomalee and one in the Batticaloa districts, whereas Digamadulla gave President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s party four more seats. Altogether 12 out of 29 parliamentary seats available in the five above-mentioned electoral districts ended up with the NPP.

The NPP delivered the stunning blow to those who still pursued separatist agenda, regardless of the LTTE’s demise over 15 years ago. The combined armed forces brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009.

The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK)-led Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that dominated the Northern and Eastern provinces since 2001 hadn’t been in the fray at the 2024 general election. The TNA that had been in the grip of the LTTE, during 2004-2009, disintegrated 15 years after the end of war, with the ITAK unceremoniously ending the partnership. Ex-TNA members, EPRLF, TELO and PLOTE contested the general election under the ticket of Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA).

The ITAK obtained seven seats (Batticaloa three, Jaffna one, Vanni one, Digamadulla one, Trincomalee one) whereas DTNA won just one (Vanni one). It would be pertinent to mention that ITAK and DTNA fielded a common list for the Trincomalee district to ensure a split in the Tamil vote wouldn’t cost the community much valued representation therein. ITAK Trincomalee leader Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan, who replaced R. Sampanthan in Parliament at the last Parliament, won that seat.

In addition to the seven elected, the ITAK that contested under the ‘House’ symbol won one National List slot. Ahila Ilankai Tamil Congress (AITC) was the only other party to secure a seat (Jaffna/ Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam) while Independent Group 17 (Jaffna/ Ramanathan Archuna) won one. Altogether Tamil political parties obtained 11 seats, one less than the NPP.

M.A. Sumanthiran (ITAK/Jaffna), Dharmalingham Siddharthan (DTNA/Jaffna) and Sashikala Nadarajah (DTNA/Jaffna), widow of slain ITAK MP Nadarajah Raviraj were some of the big losers. In the east, one-time Chief Minister of the Eastern Province Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pilleyan, formerly of the LTTE, failed to retain his Batticaloa district seat. Former LTTE field commander and ex-lawmaker Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan aka Karuna Amman made an unsuccessful bid to re-enter Parliament also from the Batticaloa district.

In the previous Parliament, there had been 16 MPs representing five Tamil political parties (ITAK, AITC Eelam People’s Democratic Party [EPDP], Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal [TMVP] and Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani [TMTK]. Last week’s poll eliminated EPDP, TMVP and TMTK while new entrant NPP created political history by winning 11 seats.

In spite of the humiliating setback suffered by those who had been previously in Parliament, the NPP tally has increased the total strength of the Tamil-speaking group representing N & E in Parliament. Perhaps, the successful formation of NPP’s Tamil-speaking wing may influence other political parties to re-examine their overall political strategy. They may not have any other alternative as failure to do so can further weaken their position at the forthcoming Provincial Council and Local Government polls. PC and LG polls are expected to be held next year.

Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, who re-entered Parliament with a convincing win in Batticaloa, consolidated his position, within the party and the district, due to ITAK’s admirable performance there. If not for three Batticaloa seats, ITAK aka Federal Party would have been in an utterly embarrassing position. Batticaloa electoral district is the only one that the NPP couldn’t win. Therefore, the outspoken Rasamanickam can be really happy to have thwarted the NPP in the eastern district.

Now to bury the hatchet between the two or, more correctly, the three literally warring communities here, NPP will have to think out of the box to find a solution that may be by way of sharing power at the centre rather than the periphery, as was successfully done under the Donoughmore Constitution.

Accountability issues

At the presidential election held in Sept. the NPP couldn’t win at least one electorate in the North but did so well several weeks later, it could win Jaffna and Vanni electorates. If not for that sterling performance, the NPP couldn’t have secured an unprecedented 2/3 majority. President AKD should be ever grateful to the northern and eastern electorates for facilitating a 2/3 majority.

Since the introduction of the proportional representation at the 1989 Parliamentary election, no party succeeded in securing a 2/3 though many alleged the Rajapaksas abused such huge mandates. They were, of course, referring to the UPFA securing 144 seats and 145 seats at the 2010 and 2020 general elections, respectively. For a simple majority, the winning party needs 113 seats while 2/3 means 150 seats.

Against the backdrop of NPP’s victory in the N & E, the new Parliament should review Sri Lanka’s response to post-war accountability issues. Since the eradication of the LTTE, the TNA propagated politically motivated unsubstantiated war crimes allegations, both here and abroad. Finally, the treacherous Yahapalana government (2015-2019) betrayed the war-winning armed forces at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Oct 2015. The accountability resolution that had been co-sponsored by the US-led grouping and Sri Lanka was meant to pave the way for a new Constitution aimed at doing away with the country’s unitary status.

Interestingly, the war-winning Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka, who had been promoted to the rank of Field Marshal, in March 2015, served in that Yahapalana Cabinet, chaired by President Maithripala Sirisena. The role played by the then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and the late Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in that despicable act is in the public domain. The failure on the part of Fonseka, who served President Sirisena’s Cabinet to vigorously oppose the government move is still a mystery.

The writer repeatedly discussed the failure on the part of Parliament and urged concerned political parties to raise the Yahapalana-TNA Geneva operation after the same lot fielded Fonseka as the common presidential candidate in 2010. Although Fonseka lost the contest by a massive 1.8 mn votes to war-winning President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he handsomely won the Jaffna, Vanni, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Digamadulla electoral districts at the same election.

The NPP’s excellent showing in the N & E at the recently concluded general election should be examined taking Fonseka winning the former war zones 14 years ago.

Having alleged Fonseka’s Army of war crimes throughout the northern campaign, the TNA had no qualms in backing the Sinha Regiment veteran. Unfortunately, political parties represented in Parliament never bothered to raise TNA’s duplicity. Instead, all of them shamelessly and brazenly played politics with the issue, seeking petty political advantage at the expense of the armed forces. There hadn’t been a single instance of a war-winning country betraying its armed forces hitherto anywhere in the world. It was only the Maithripala Sirisena/Ranil Wickremesinghe govt. that achieved that dastardly act.

The JVP, though being not part of the Yahapalana Cabinet, never opposed the government’s move against the armed forces. However, the NPP’s victory in the North, perhaps would give an opportunity for President AKD, who is also the Defence Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, to address the issue at hand afresh. President AKD retained the Defence portfolio when the new Cabinet of Ministers was sworn in last Monday.

The developing situation in the North may help post-war national reconciliation efforts. Successive governments deliberately allowed further deterioration of relations between the two communities by not taking apt remedial measures. Those who propagated lies were allowed to do so much to the disappointment of the armed forces. Parliament turned a blind eye even when the US and Australia et al denied visas to retired and serving officers and US imposed travel ban on the then Army Commander Gen. Shavendra Silva, the incumbent Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Maj. General Chagie Gallage, now retired, is another victim of external reprisals.

Maaveerar Naal (Great Heroes’ day)

The Tamil Diaspora must have been quite surprised by the outcome of the general election. Some interested parties played down the importance of NPP victory in the North on the basis of low turnout of voters. It would be interesting to observe how the Diaspora and political parties here mark this year’s Maaveerar Naal. Commencing 1991, the LTTE used to celebrate Nov. 21-27 week as Great Heroes Week. During the period the group wielded power, the weeklong celebrations and activities received even international media attention.

This year, Maaveerar week is scheduled to commence on Nov 21 (tomorrow), the day the 10th Parliament meets. What would those elected from the NPP, ITAK and other parties do this year? Would interested parties seek to cause some unnecessary commotion in a bid to embarrass the government. Let us hope the government would handle the situation cautiously as opportunistic elements on both sides seek to exploit the developments. ITAK’s Sivagnanam Shritharan paid tribute to fallen Maaveerar at Kanagapuram, Kilinochchi.

The NPP’s unexpected victory in the north may compel not only Tamil Diaspora but Western countries, particularly Canada, to review their position.

Canada declared May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day as Premier Justin Trudeau’s government sought to appease Canadian voters of Sri Lankan origin. Canada cannot under any circumstances ignore the Tamil vote received by the NPP as people discarded unsubstantiated war crimes allegations directed at the government, for the second time. Had the northern electorate believed the Army wantonly killed civilians on the Vanni east front in 2009, as alleged by the UN, they wouldn’t have voted for Fonseka. Perhaps, the people wanted the government to bring the war to an end at any cost. Having waged two terror campaigns in 1971 and 1987-1990, the JVP should be able to comprehend the need and the responsibility on the part of the government of the day to take whatever measures necessary to deal with the challenge.

The NPP was formed in 2019 just months ahead of the presidential election as the JVP realized it couldn’t push ahead on its own but needed wider public support. The NPP achieved that with ease within six years.

In August 2006, the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa went ahead with an-all-out campaign against the LTTE after failing to convince them to negotiate for a final settlement. President Rajapaksa had no option but to go on the offensive after the failed LTTE assassination attempts on the then Army Commander Lt. Gen. Fonseka (April 2006) and then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Oct. 2006). The TNA remained committed to the LTTE’s murderous cause until the very end.

A matter for serious concern

An unbelievably large number of voters skipped the general election. All political parties, including the NPP, should be concerned over the unprecedented deterioration of voter interest, especially after a thrilling presidential election brought AKD to power just six weeks ago. A substantial increase for the NPP from 5,634,915 votes (42.31 %) at the presidential to 6,863,186 (61.56%) at the general election just weeks later shouldn’t be allowed to divert attention to the massive drop in public interest. Well over half a million rejected votes, too, must worry all.

The NPP won 159 seats, including 18 National List slots, nine more than required for a 2/3 majority. At the presidential election 3,520,438 voters refrained from exercising their franchise. But that figure increased to 5,325,108 at the general election while the number of rejected votes, too, recorded a significant increase. According to the Election Commission, at the presidential poll, the number of rejected votes was 300,300 while the general election recorded 667,240 rejected votes.

What really caused such an increase in the number of rejected votes was when the number of polled votes dropped from 13,619,916 votes (79.46%) to 11,815,246 (68.93%)? In other words of the 17,140,354 people eligible to vote, a staggering percentage decided not to. Voter apathy is not healthy. Not healthy at all.

A rethinking on the part of the SJB and New Democratic Front (NDF/consisted of former SLPP lawmakers and UNP) is necessary as they couldn’t at least retain the number of votes received at the presidential election. SJB that polled 4,363,035 votes (32.76 %) at the presidential poll could muster only 1,968,716 (17.66%) at the general election, while NDF could secure 500,835 (4.49%) having polled 2,299,767 (17.27%) just weeks ago. The SJB and NDF ended up with 40 seats (including five NL slots) and five seats (including 2two NL slots) while the SLPP that won 145 seats at the 2020 general election had to be satisfied with three seats, including one NL slot.

Both Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe should seek remedial measures before the EC announced PC and LG polls. Perhaps, divided groups have to unite under one banner either under SJB or UNP or face annihilation at the PC and LG polls. For Premadasa and Wickremesinghe time seemed to have run out.

The SLPP obtained 350,429 votes (3.14%) at the general election up from 342,781 (2.57 %) at the presidential election. For the SLPP a rapid recovery process will never be possible as its only NL member and leader of the minute group Namal Rajapaksa is likely to be the target of corruption investigations. The SLPP group consists of Namal Rajapaksa, newcomer Chanaka Sampath (Galle) and D.V. Chanaka (Hambantota).

Fifteen political parties represented the last Parliament. They were SLPP (145), SJB (54), ITAK (10), NPP (03), EPDP (02), AITC (02), TMVP (01), SLFP (01), MNA (01), TMTK (01) TMTK, ACMC (01), NC (01), SLMC (01), UNP (01) and OPPP (01). The new Parliament will be represented by 13 political parties and one independent group – namely NPP 159, SJB 40, ITAK 08, NDF 05, SLPP 03, SLMC 03, Sarvajana Balaya (NL), UNP (01), DTNA (01), ACTC (01), ACMC (01), Jaffna Ind. Group 157 (01) and SLLP (01).

Midweek Review

‘Ramayanizing’ Sri Lanka by Courtesy of SriLankan Airlines

Published

2 days ago

2024/11/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

Srilankan advertisement

(The author is on X as @sasmester)

SriLankan Airlines’ five-minute commercial promoting the so-called ‘Ramayana Trail’ in Sri Lanka is being accepted very naively as an enticing and heartwarming advertisement by Sri Lankan and Indian viewers across social media. Predictably, the video has also gone viral. It shows a young child being educated about aspects of the Ramayana legend by his grandmother, while zooming in on locations in Sri Lanka where local mythology has made associations with some narratives of the Ramayana. Beyond the rave reviews of the commercial in Sri Lanka and India, an astute observer would in fact see it as a very problematic rendition for one simple reason. That is, when viewed from the perspective that it is paid for by SriLankan Airlines, a government entity funded by local taxpayers, what is said and promoted, in effect, would be through the voice of the state and the government. Therefore, for instance, when the granny tells the child, “all the places in Ramayana are real. Today, we know Lanka as Sri Lanka”, in one careless and ill-thought-out fell swoop, SriLankan Airlines has given credence to belief as evidence, myth as history, fiction as fact, asserting Ramayana’s Lanka as present-day Sri Lanka when numerous Indian renditions of the story locate parts of Ravana’s Lanka well within contemporary India.

Admittedly, the commercial will certainly attract Indian tourists and pilgrims, particularly from the northern parts of the country. The question that comes to mind however is whether this is the only way to promote the trail? Many of my friends have already made the trip without the nudging of the new advert. The advert also begs the question, whether local sensitivities and cultural meanings linked to the Sanskrit epic were ever considered when it was conceptualised, or at any point even after in the process. More importantly, who gave the final seal of approval?

The hegemonic narrative in the commercial is what one might call a ‘North Indian Brahminic’ approach to the Ramayana, which erases other versions of the epic including the Ravana-centric myths in Sri Lanka itself. Unfortunately, it is this hegemonic narrative that has been making the rounds for some time in India with Rama as its protagonist and Ravana as the absolute villain, the all-evil-encompassing antagonist. In this rendition, it is no longer simply an ancient epic or a story of innocence and faith, but a contemporary political narrative with considerable cultural power, authority and reach, performed and used by the state itself. This narrative feeds directly and indirectly into the somewhat imperialist designs of certain contemporary Indian political forces so aptly encapsulated in the hegemonic political concept of Akhand Bharat. However, in real life, understandings of the Ramayana have never been this simple or linear.

The title of Prof A.K. Ramanujan’s seminal essay, ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation’ offers a clear indication into the many versions of the Ramayana and the complex narrative traditions of both India and lands beyond where aspects of the epic have become part of local myths, folktales or performance traditions. Interestingly, Prof Ramanujan’s essay was dropped from the Bachelor of Arts in History (Honours) degree programme at Delhi University in 2011 amidst considerable agitations lead by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a right-wing students’ organization, precisely because its contents complicate the way in which the political narrative that is the Ramayana today is presented.

It is truly unfortunate that the narrative given prominence in the Sri Lankan Airlines advert stems from this dominant, parochialized and utterly politicized version of the Ramayana which sweepingly demonizes Ravana. This broad-brush demonization reaches its peak in India during Dussehra, the festival during which effigies of Ravana are burnt to symbolize the vanquishing of evil (Ravana) by good (Rama). However, interestingly, in many of India’s tribal areas, the narrative is closer to that in Sri Lanka, where Ravana is seen as a hero, and importantly as a source of knowledge and ethics. In 2017, in the Katol area in the State of Maharashtra, tribal people forced the local administration to stop the burning of Ravana effigies during Dussehra. In Nashik, also in Maharashtra, tribal folklore suggests that the area was part of Ravana’s kingdom and was governed by his sister Surpanakha along with her husband. This understanding of Ravana’s kingdom is nowhere near Sri Lanka as promoted by SriLankan Airlines. In some tribal Gond villages in Maharashtra, Ravana is worshiped as a god, clearly evident during Dussehra. He is also worshiped in many other locations including, Mandsaur and Ravangram in Madhya Pradesh; Bisrakh in Uttar Pradesh; Kangra in Himachal Pradesh; Mandya and Kolar in Karnataka, and Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Similar practices are seen in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal as well.

In Tamil Nadu in India’s south, there are many people who align themselves with ‘Dravidian’ ideologies, promoting Ravana as a politico-cultural icon. One source of motivation for this stems from the manner in which Ravana is eulogised for his valour in Kambaramayanam – the Tamil version of the Ramayana – even though here, too, the main premise of the hegemonic account is maintained. The more obvious source for this reverence is Ravana Kaaviyam written by Pulavar Kuzhandhai and published in 1946. It is a 20th century attempt to deconstruct the Ramayana based on the argument that the mainstream Ramayana was an attempt to establish the supremacy of the ‘Aryan race’ who lived in northern India, over the ‘Dravidians’ in the south. Here, Ravana is seen as a ‘Dravidian’ king, and in essence very similar to the Sinhala renditions of Ravana. In both these popular Sinhala and Tamil versions, he is presented as a noble king, epitomising justice, courage and compassion, and also a wise person and scholar. While categories such as ‘Dravidian’ and ‘Aryan’ as ethno-cultural references as opposed to linguistic references are not part of my academic vocabulary, the attempted deconstruction is nevertheless interesting as it also offers a glimpse into the manner in which 20th and 21st century hegemonic North Indian politics are understood by some sections in the country’s south.

What is evident is that a counterculture movement is currently mobilising tribal and Dalit communities in several Indian states such as the above to vindicate Ravana and ‘rescue’ him from the negative light in which he has been portrayed in the current dominant version of the Ramayana, the one SriLankan Airlines has blindly based their commercial on. Due to this blindness, these interesting and telling complexities and intriguing political and cultural references have no resonance whatsoever in the SriLankan Airlines advert.

I come again to the question posed at the beginning of this essay: is this the only way to do such a promotion funded by the Sri Lankan government? Cannot the state-funded national carrier attract Indian tourists and pilgrims by presenting the places the local tourism industry and Indian tour and pilgrimage operators want these travellers to visit by offering the local interpretation? After all, Sri Lanka does not have a performance tradition of the Ramayana and hardly any concrete memories of the epic and its numerous episodes as a specific text. Instead, fragments of these exist scattered on the landscape throughout the island as places where specific incidents related to the Ramayana had supposedly happened. These manifest through several local folk tales and myths where Ravana is ever present as a local hero and Rama is virtually absent except when contextually required. Moreover, some of these places refer to many other stories too, which have been historically more prominent locally than the Ramayana-related narratives. However, right now, the Ramayana ‘stories’ are given considerable local and national prominence as a rational economic decision taken by people in these areas in the interest of tourism which translates into simple commercial gain. This is understandable.

The question is, what prevented SriLankan Airlines from beginning its advert with the famed flying machine of Ravana known in Sinhala as dandu monaraya (and in India as Pushpaka Viman), often referred to in influential local interpretations as the first of its kind, and predating the Wright Brothers’ invention? Is it a lamentable lack of imagination and creativity, or sheer ignorance? After all, the logo of Air Lanka, the predecessor to SriLankan Airlines, found its genesis in this story, which continues to date in a different form. This way, potential tourists could have been shown the same locations referred to in the current advert, but viewed from the sky, as if one were flying in the dandu monaraya like Ravana may have done in mythical times. This would also be very similar to the way ancient Sri Lankan poets of the sandesha tradition described local landscapes and built environments from the point of view of a bird in flight taking a message to a king, a Buddhist monk or some other such personality. Salalihini Sandeshaya and Hansa Sandeshaya written in the 15th century during the Kotte Period come to mind.

In this manner, the core places in the ‘Ramayana Trail’ could have been flagged for tourist and pilgrim interest while maintaining a distinct sense of local culture and identity that SriLankan Airlines should ideally be marketing. This is not to make Indian tourists and pilgrims cast aside their own beliefs, narratives and interpretations when visiting Sri Lanka. That is their right and not in any doubt. The crux of the matter is, why would SriLankan Airlines be so north Indian and Brahminic, and willingly succumb to the dominant and exclusivist version of the Ramayana promoted by the Indian state and many ordinary people to the exclusion of all other narratives in India itself? By doing so, SriLankan Airlines is taking itself, the government, the state and by extension all of us Sri Lankans, right into the bosom of the Indian state’s cultural and political colonialism typified by the concept of ‘Akhand Bharat’ as noted earlier. If picked up by opposition forces in the politically polarised Sri Lankan society, the advertisement can become a political statement, which has the potential to create needless rifts within Sri Lanka itself.

But then again, one cannot expect these complexities to be understood by the decision makers at SriLankan Airlines who obviously are far removed from the local cultural terrain as well as existing cultural hegemonism emanating from across the Palk Strait. The national carrier, in its haste to soar, as well as absence of foresight and lack of enlightenment of local culture has imprisoned Sri Lanka in a hegemonic North Indian politico-cultural narrative. This is also a sign of lacking national pride despite constant and oftentimes annoying rhetoric. One can only hope, the Sri Lankan government will revisit how this was done in the first place and ensure this kind of culturally crude reductionism of our own traditions and folklore does not take place in the future in state-sponsored activities carried out with public funds.

I cannot but be reminded of a quote by Voltaire when reflecting on the manner in which politics of this kind flow, emerge, and reemerge in Sri Lanka while nothing is ever learned: “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”