Midweek Review

Economic crisis, political turmoil present a fresh opportunity for US-backed TNA

Published

4 years ago

2022/03/30

March 2015: President Maithripala Sirisena shaking hands with GTF spokesperson Suren Surendiran in London. The late Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera looks on. The meeting took place during Sirisena’s first overseas visit after the presidential election in Jan. 2015. Last year, a joint TNA-GTF delegation made representations to the US administration regarding the latest developments, with the focus on the post-2019 presidential election situation(pic courtesy GTF)

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Sri Lanka is under pressure to back the US-EU stand on the war in Ukraine. The cash-strapped government, struggling to cope up with the deepening political crisis within the ruling coalition, stepped-up opposition protests, and the growing economic turmoil, is also under pressure to reach a consensus with one-time Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) loyal ally/mouthpiece, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as part of the overall response to the current difficulties.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa received the top TNA delegation, at the Presidential Secretariat, last Friday (25). The US swiftly welcomed the twice-postponed talks. The US response indicated that negotiations between the two parties had the Biden administration’s blessings and is in line with their overall strategy. Interestingly, those countries calling the incumbent dispensation to condemn Russia, over the continuing war in Ukraine, while they continued to persecute Sri Lanka, without shame, on apparent trumped up war crimes charges, emanating from the Vanni offensive, in 2009, when the country was fighting the LTTE, “the world’s most ruthless terrorist outfit”(FBI assessment). Except Japan, all other countries, including South Korea, voted for resolutions at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) against Sri Lanka on those Western-led charges. Japan abstained.

Instead of working together, to address the issues at hand, the government and the Opposition are pulling in different directions. The All-Party Conference (APC), initiated by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at the request of SLFP leader Maithripala Sirisena, MP, is unlikely to facilitate a consensus among the warring political parties.

The failure on the part of political parties, represented in Parliament, to reach a consensus on how to face the daunting economic challenge, is obvious. Although the APC is very much unlikely to achieve consensus on ways and means to overcome the economic crisis and is nothing but a political sham, the talks between President Rajapaksa and the TNA are of crucial importance, if they can hammer out a real deal, unlike the usual failed APC circuses of the past. The TNA that once recognized the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil speaking people (2001) and backed the then General Sarath Fonseka at presidential election (2010) after having accused him and his Army of committing war crimes, is obviously taking advantage of the current developments to pursue its agenda. The TNA had no qualms in backing Maithripala Sirisena, who served as the Acting Defence Minister the day the Army killed Velupillai Prabhakaran, at the 2015 presidential election. Therefore, negotiating with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had been the wartime Defence Secretary, shouldn’t overwhelm anyone.

The UK headquartered Global Tamil Forum (GTF), the widely influential Tamil Diaspora outfit, backs the TNA’s efforts to reach a consensus with the government. In fact, the TNA and the GTF have been working together for over a decade and gradually enhanced collaboration. The TNA-GTF dealt with President Sirisena’s administration (2015-2019) after having backed the presidential polls campaign. The late Minister Mangala Samaraweera played quite an important role in building that relationship. Perhaps the highpoint in that relationship was President Sirisena meeting the GTF representatives, Rev Father Emmanuel and Suren Surendiran, in London, in March 2015.

Following the first meeting between President Rajapaksa and the TNA, since the last presidential election, in Nov 2019, top TNA spokesperson President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran announced consensus on four issues, namely (i) setting up of a ‘North-East Development Fund’ to attract investments (ii) releasing of long term LTTE detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (iii) stopping the takeover of land in the Northern and Eastern regions by successive governments (iv) probing disappearances.

Exclusive talks

The Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK), led TNA solidly stood with the LTTE until the very end. At the behest of the LTTE, the TNA relentlessly tried to convince Colombo-based Western embassies to throw a lifeline to the embattled LTTE leadership. At that time, the GTF hadn’t been at least formed and the TNA job was to speak on behalf of the LTTE, both in and outside Parliament. The TNA did its job like an ardent follower.

The TNA reiterated its commitment to Prabhakaran when the group’s Batticaloa fighting cadre switched their allegiance to the renegade battlefield commander Karuna Amman, in early 2004. At the parliamentary polls, in early April 2004, the LTTE-backed TNA (by stuffing ballot boxes as noted by EU monitors) and helped it to secure 22 seats in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, thereby emerging as the dominant political power therein. That had been the highpoint in the TNA’s parliamentary representation, since its formation in 2001.

Today, the TNA has been reduced to 10 lawmakers, whereas Gajendrakumar Ponnanmabalam (leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress [ACTC]) and Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani [TMTK]), led by retired Supreme Court justice C.V. Wigneswaran, have emerged as formidable rivals though their combined parliamentary representation is much smaller than that of the TNA. Both Ponnambalam and Wigneswaran, who entered politics on the TNA ticket to become the Chief Minister of the Northern Province in 2013, represent the Jaffna electoral district.

In case, President Rajapaksa succeeded in finalizing an exclusive agreement with the TNA, the coalition that comprises three political parties, including two former Indian trained terrorist groups would have a clear advantage over other Tamil political parties. In addition to the TNA, ACTC, TMTK, EPDP and the SLFP are represented by Tamil lawmakers, born in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

The TNA appeared to have cleverly exploited the current situation to its advantage. The TNA would receive the backing of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, though the former deprived the latter of certain victory at the 2005 presidential election. On behalf of the LTTE, the TNA ordered the Tamil electorate to boycott the 2005 presidential election. That move allowed Mahinda Rajapaksa to win the closely contested race with a thin majority of about 190,000 votes. Annihilation of the LTTE’s conventional fighting capability, four years, later during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s first term, should be examined against the backdrop of the LTTE ensuring Rajapaksa’s triumph at the crucial election. With the demise of the LTTE, in May 2009, the TNA has gradually deteriorated. Having realized the TNA’s true status, the TULF deserted the outfit as it didn’t want to be Prabhakaran’s cat’s paw. Years later, the EPRLF abandoned the outfit. Today, the TNA comprised the dominant partner ITAK, PLOTE and a faction of the TELO. But, the grouping wielded immense power due to the continued US backing, as well as Indian support.

TNA’s real intention

What does TNA really want? In spite of repeating concerns over disappearances, those detained under the PTA, and alleged taking over of land in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, the TNA’s real interest is nothing but the formation of North-East Development Fund. Such a mechanism would enable Sri Lanka to attract unlimited foreign investment. During the 30-year war, on a number of occasions, the LTTE, some members of the international community, and the then governments, discussed the formation of special mechanisms to receive funds.

One such mechanism has been included in a tsunami aid-sharing deal between President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s government and the LTTE, finalised in the middle of 2005. However, the Supreme Court blocked some sections of the clauses in the post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS). Among the four clauses that had been termed illegal by the Supreme Court were the ones on locating the regional fund headquarters in Kilinochchi, the northern headquarters of the LTTE, and the operations of the regional fund. It would be pertinent to mention that the Supreme Court was moved by the JVP, the then main ally of Kumaratunga’s People’s Alliance. The 39-member JVP parliamentary group quit the government group in late Jun 2005, thereby reducing the administration to a minority.

Two years before the P-TOMS, the LTTE, through the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) offer, proposed to have the authority to borrow internally and externally, provide guarantees and indemnities, receive aid directly, and engage in or regulate internal and external trade. The LTTE issued the proposal on Oct. 31, 2003, after having quit direct negotiations with Wickremesinghe’s government. The LTTE insisted on having ISGA arrangement in place in the then temporarily merged Northern and Eastern Provinces, consisting of eight administrative districts, until a permanent can be implemented. Both the US and the EU welcomed the ISGA proposal. The ISGA proposal created an explosive situation, both in and outside Parliament. President Kumaratunga acted swiftly and decisively. On Nov 04, 2003, President Kumaratunga suspended Parliament, took over defence, interior and media ministries and ordered troops to be deployed in readiness for any eventuality before declaring a state of emergency. On Feb 07, 2004, she dissolved Parliament and called the general election on April 02, 2004. The JVP contested on the PA ticket. The JVP won 39 seats, including three National List slots. In June, the following year, the JVP walked out of the government parliamentary group over P-TOMS agreement.

The formation of North East Development Fund can quickly consolidate the government’s relationship with the TNA and the powerful Tamil Diaspora grouping. In a way, the eradication of the LTTE completely appeared to have created an environment conducive for closer cooperation between the government and the other Tamil parties.

The disagreement between the government and the TNA over the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) (Amendment) Bill on March 22, 2022, didn’t hinder the March 25 talks at the Presidential Secretariat. The Bill was passed in Parliament with a majority of 51 votes. The TNA is unlikely to allow any other issue undermine its ongoing effort to work out an agreement on the proposed North-East Development Fund.

Internal conflict intensifies

SLPP lawmaker Gevindu Kumaratunga, in the run-up to the presidential election, in Nov. 2019, repeatedly called for a new Constitution that reflected Sri Lanka’s triumph over separatist terrorism. Kumaratunga, who spearheaded the Yuthukama civil society group, didn’t mince his words when he addressed gatherings even before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Today, the embattled SLPP leadership has quite conveniently forgotten their main assurance at the presidential and parliamentary polls in 2019 and 2020, respectively, to unveil the draft constitution in Nov 2021.

Can the proposed setting up of the North-East Development Fund be compatible with the current Constitution or the one in the making? Can the proposal overcome possible legal challenges if interested parties moved the Supreme Court like in the controversial case of P-TOMS?

The dissident SLPP group is concerned about the possibility of the TNA taking advantage of the current crisis to pursue its strategy, inimical to Sri Lanka. Being part of the dissident group, Yuthukama cannot certainly keep quiet about the proposed North-East Development Fund. Can there be an exclusive mechanism for the benefit of two provinces? For MP Kumaratunga, the proposed North-East Development Fund is a daunting challenge. Having campaigned for a Constitution that reflected post-war ground realities, lawmaker Kumaratunga will now have to be contend with a high profile setup that may pose a threat to the integrated financial network.

Lawmaker Sumanthiran seems confident that there’ll be no legal challenge to their latest move. The Jaffna District lawmaker appears to have examined all possible hindrance to the proposed North-East Development Fund that may pave the way for a dialogue between the government and the LTTE.

However, the Presidential Media Division (PMD) made no reference to the proposed fund gathering mechanism in its statement issued in English. The TNA’s controversial stand, in respect of hybrid war crimes court, is evidence that regardless of the LTTE’s demise, the group remained committed to its political objectives.

In June 2016, the TNA declared it has reached a tripartite consensus in respect of foreign judges, defence attorneys, investigators, etc., in a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism to probe war crimes. The TNA quoted MP Sumanthiran as having told a ‘Congressional Caucus for Ethnic and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka’ in Washington that the agreement had been reached following negotiations involving the government of Sri Lanka, the TNA and the US.

The declaration was made in the presence of Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Washington, Prasad Kariyawasam. Attorney-at-law Sumanthiran stressed that a resolution was moved in Geneva, in Oct 2015, following an understanding that the participation of foreigners wouldn’t be contrary to Sri Lanka’s Constitution. Declaring that he had been personally involved in the negotiations, with the US also participating in that particular process, Sumanthiran said: “There were some doubts created, as to whether the Constitution of Sri Lanka would allow for foreign nationals to function as judges and we went into that question, clarified it, and said yes they can”.

Sumanthiran told the Congressional Caucus that the resolution, accepted at Geneva, had been negotiated and they settled for a hybrid model though they originally asked for an international inquiry. The GTF spokesperson Suren Surendiran told The Island at that time that agreement on the text of the Geneva resolution had been reached following negotiations among what he called the Core Group of members at the UNHRC, the government of Sri Lanka and representatives of Tamils. The agreement on a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism, including the special counsel’s office, of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers and authorized prosecutors and investigators was certainly not negotiable, Surendiran declared, in response to The Island query.

The US-backed TNA project seems to be on track. Current political turmoil amidst the worst economic crisis in the post-independence era will certainly help the former LTTE ally, adapt at pursuing its objectives.

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Midweek Review

Unexpected focus on ‘pieces of tin’ worn by military men

Published

14 hours ago

2026/07/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Maj. Lalith Jayasinghe with Kaushalya on his wedding day. Jayasinghe, receipient of Sri Lanka's highest military honour, has been credited with unprecedented raids behind the enemy lines. He died in late November, 2008, in the Vanni east.

Second Lieutenant S.U. Aladeniya, the first recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, died fighting the LTTE in the second week of July, 1990. The young commanding officer of the isolated Kokavil Army detachment refused an opportunity to leave his wounded colleagues. Instead, he chose to set an extraordinary example. The fate of the Kokavil detachment, as well as the unprecedented military debacle that forced the Army to vacate the Kandy–Jaffna A9 road, north of Vavuniya, in 1990, happened due to the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s folly. Premadasa trusted the LTTE to such an extent, he ordered several hundred police officers, in the East, to surrender to appease the LTTE. The rest is history.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris recently questioned in court as to why retired Air Force officer Shantha Jayathilake appeared in court wearing armed forces medals.

The highly decorated war hero Flight Lieutenant Jayathilake represented himself under Section 260 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the trial of Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay, the alleged mastermind of the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage.

During his submission, Dileepa Pieris looked at the medals worn by the retired officer and said: “He comes wearing pieces of tin.”

When Jayathilake objected to the ASG’s remark, Magistrate Pasan Amarasena warned the ex-officer not to interrupt proceedings. Then Peiris said that he couldn’t see Jayathilake’s medals properly. Jayathilake is the recipient of Weewa Wickrema Vibhushanaya (WWV), the second highest gallantry medal awarded to Sri Lankan military. The PWV is the highest gallantry decoration that can be received by a living military man. Jayathilake who joined the Air Force in 1989 at the height of the JVP-led insurgency, retired in 1999, and was also the recipient of the Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP).

Senior President’s Counsel Maithree Gunaratne, who represented Sallay in court, said: “The problem is not with your eyes, but with the red-tinted glasses you are wearing. You wore blue-tinted glasses for a while, and now you wear red-tinted glasses, so the gallantry medals, earned with blood, sweat, and tears for the country, look like pieces of tin to you”

Gunaratne requested that Pieris’s comments on the ex-officer be formally recorded in court records. This happened in the Fort Magistrate’s court on 2 July, 2026. The court proceedings caused controversy with various interested parties expressing differing views on Jayathilake wearing medals to a courtroom.

Some found fault with him for wearing medals while others strongly backed him. The issue at hand received social media attention. Obviously some sought political advantage at the expense of the government and the Attorney General’s Department. Others lambasted the former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Chief Sallay (2029-2024) for causing unnecessary developments. However, the gallantry medals worn by military, both officers and men, cannot be ridiculed by anyone, regardless of his/her position in the society. Gallantry medals remind the country of immense and untold sacrifices made by the military, during the war, and any attempt to dilute them should be strongly opposed.

Those who silently backed or publicly take action against war-winning Army Chief General (retd.) Sarath Fonseka, in 2010, after his defeat at the 2010 January presidential election, shouldn’t see the incident at the Fort Magistrate court as an opportunity.

Although Sri Lanka has been deeply divided over investigations into the conduct of armed forces during the war and after, no issue caused controversy like the arrest of Sallay, a post-war head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) over the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. Sallay served as the Director of State Intelligence Service (SIS) from 2019 to 2024 before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake replaced him. Perhaps President Gotabaya Rajapaksa shouldn’t have brought Sallay as Director, SIS, contrary to the practice of SIS always being headed by a senior police officer or he was quite right in bringing in a serving military officer with a proven intelligence track record, knowing the shameful behaviour of responsible top police officers in the run up to the Easter Sunday suicide attacks, despite there having been adequate advance intelligence warnings to prevent them.

The intervention made by the retired Air Force officer triggered an unexpected reaction from the Attorney General’s top representative and the subsequent continuing controversy influenced The Island to discuss the awarding of gallantry medals, namely Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV), the highest, followed by Weera Wickrema Vibhushanaya (WWV), Rana Wickrema Padakkama (RWP) and Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP). The fourth medal, Weeradhara Vibhushanaya, is awarded for bravery, regardless of the risks to one’s own life, but for voluntary interventions outside the battlefield.

Bravery of an exceptional kind

During the war, Sri Lanka awarded 32 PVWs posthumously. The Army, Navy and Air Force shared 29, 2 and 1, respectively. The PVW is awarded to all ranks of armed forces, both regular and volunteer, for individual acts of bravery in the face of enemy, disregarding the risks to one’s own life. Of the 32 recipients of the PVW, the extraordinary case of Maj. J.A.L. Jayasinghe (Lalith Jayasinghe), posthumously promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, captured unprecedented public attention.

On many occasions, PWVs were awarded posthumously for sacrifices made in defensive action, while the armed forces were responding to enemy action. However, Lalith had initiated action deep within the enemy-held territory and his efforts reflected the overall military strategy.

The 29 recipients consisted of 27 Army: Second Lieutenant S.U Aladeniya, Lance Corporal (LC) Y.G.G. Kularatne (Hasalaka Gamini), Second Lt. K.W.T. Nishshanka, Staff Sgt. H.P.B. Gunasekera, LC W.I.M. Seneviratne, Lt. Col. A.F Lafir, Capt. G.S. Jayanath, Maj. J.A.L. Jayasinghe, Maj. K.A. Gamage, Capt. U.G.A.S. Samaranayake, H.G.M.K.I. Megawarna, Sgt H.G.S. Bandara, Corporal P.N. Suranga, Corporal P.M.N. Pushpakumara, Corporal D.N\M.S. Chandrasiri Bandara, LC K. Chandana, Private R.M.D.M. Ratnayake, LC A.M.M.P. Abeysinghe, recruit A.M.B.H.G. Abeyratne Banda, private T.G.R. Dayananda, Lt. P.N. Punsiri, Second Lt W.D. Jayathilake, Sgt. K.G.N.L.R. Perera, Corporal K.P.D.T. Gunasekera, LC H.A. Nilantha Kumara, LC S.V.A.M. Pushpamal. Navy: Lt. J.L.D.S. Wijetunga, Petty Officer K.G. Shantha and Air Force: Squadron Leader T.D.S. Silvapulle.

Although Jayasinghe paid the supreme sacrifice, while serving the Special Forces, he had been a proud member of the Gemunu Watch (GW). GW veteran Maj. Gen. K.B. Egodawele in his Hewayekuge Mathaka Satahan (Memories of a soldier), first launched in 2012, declared that Jayasinghe had been among four GW personnel, namely Captain U.G.A.S. Samaranayake, Captain H.P.M.K. Meghawardena and Corporal D.M.A.M. Pushpakumara to receive the PWV, posthumously.

All of them received the highest gallantry award for actions on the Vanni east region during Eelam War IV (2006 August to 2009 May).

Jayasinghe’s wife Kaushalya accepted the PVW on 19 May, 2012, at the annual Victory Day parade. Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunaratne read the awardee’s official citation. Kaushalya had been five months pregnant at the time Jayasinghe mounted a raid deep inside the LTTE-held territory in the Vanni east region. Gunaratne, the wartime General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the 53 Division declared that Jayasinghe had been in command of an LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol)/Deep Penetration Unit tasked to eliminate LTTE leaders. That unit had moved about 40 kms into the enemy held territory in Oddusuddan and was positioned alongside the Mankulam-Oddusuddan road to kill LTTE leaders, on 26 November, 2008.

Suddenly, Jayasinghe had fallen sick but joined other members of the LLRP to fight the enemy after fierce fighting erupted between the two sides. In spite of having an opportunity to retreat, Jayasinghe, hero of many previous battles, suffered grievous injuries during the battle and succumbed to his injuries.

Jayasinghe had been an extraordinary soldier and was the recipient of the second highest gallantry medal, WWV, on three or four occasions. In one such occasion, Jayasinghe had received two WWVs at one ceremony and recalled retired Maj. Gen. Dhammi Hewage, who received the RSP at the same event. Hewage spoke admirably about what he called high risk and extraordinary LRRP operations undertaken by Jayasinghe over a period of time. Let me give you an opportunity to know more about Hewage whose no holds barred examination of the Army during the war received public attention ( https://island.lk/a-special-forces-officers-narrative/)

Those who risked their lives to earn battlefield recognition played a significant role in transforming the armed forces, particularly the Army. Gallantry medals had been earned by armed forces officers and men in various circumstances but the deadly LRRP strikes, deep within the LTTE held territory, made quite a difference in the overall direction of the war. Those who operated in enemy territory in a way functioned as suicide cadres/units as the probability of them being intercepted by the LTTE was very high. But, regardless of severe risks, they ventured out of government-held areas to infiltrate deep inside enemy held territory to carry out operations. The LRRP team, led by Jayasinghe, is a case in point.

Clandestine operations received public attention in the run-up to the 2001 December parliamentary election when UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe all of a sudden alleged that the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) was planning to assassinate him. Within weeks after the UNP victory at the parliamentary election, the UNP unleashed the police on the DMI. The police raided the DMI safe house at Millennium City, Athurugiriya. In spite of Army Chief, the late Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle, personally assuring the UNP that there was absolutely no basis for such claims, Wickremesinghe was not prepared to change his political strategy. He gave Minister John Amaratunga in charge of police the go ahead for planned action.

The January 2, 2002, raid led to the arrest of Captain Mohamed Nilam, Staff Sgt. P. Ananda Udulagama, Staff Sergeant I. Edirisinghe Jayamanne, Corporal H.M. Nissanka Herath, Lance Corporal H. Mohamed Hilmy and an LTTE operative identified as Niyaz/Subashkaran. Others involved in that particular operation had been living in the East and were called into join operations, depending on the requirement. On the instructions of Lt. Gen. Balagalle, those tasked with carrying out attacks on selected targets received the opportunity to train under Special Forces instructors from Maduru Oya. They underwent training at the Panaluwa Test Firing Range, where firing special weapons was a key element in the training schedule.

In a bid to ensure secrecy, those operatives mostly operated on their own, and had their own arsenal, which included a range of weapons, including claymore mines. In fact, those involved in such operations functioned on a need-to-know basis. Even senior DMI officials, as well as the Army top brass, except a few, hadn’t been aware of what was going on. Even the then powerful Deputy Defence Minister, the late Anuruddha Ratwatte, hadn’t been told of the Millennium City safe-house, though he knew of the ongoing hits behind enemy lines.

Shortly after the exposure of the DMI operation, Balagalle met Premier Wickremesinghe to explain the secret operations undertaken against the LTTE. The Army chief had been accompanied by officials, including Hendarawithana, while one-time Attorney General Tilak Marapana, National List MP holding the Defence portfolio, and Minister Milinda Moragoda, too, were present.

“Except for Minister Moragoda, the others obviously didn’t realise what we were doing. They acted as if we were conspiring to do away with the political leadership so as to undermine the Norwegian initiative,” a source familiar with the dynamics of the project said. “We quickly realised we were up against a government, which simply wanted to negotiate a deal with the LTTE at any cost. The LTTE and the Norwegians exploited the situation to the hilt.”

Success in the East

Hitting the enemy in the area under its control had been Balagalle’s idea. The DMI hadn’t been successful in its first and the second attempts to take two specific targets. The targeted area had been Batticaloa south and the first and the second operations were mounted on 18 July 2001 and 12 September 2001. But both actions went awry and the targeted men identified as Jim Kelly (commander of Jeyanthan regiment) and Jeevan escaped death.

But, they succeeded on 17 September 2001. Operatives carried out a successful attack on ‘Major’ Mano Master, who was at that time in charge of the communications network in the Ampara-Batticaloa area.

But immediately after the UNP’s victory, the government terminated all such operations. The treacherous government betrayed those who risked their lives for the country. Ex-LTTEers and others who worked for the Army were exposed and the LTTE hunted them down. Scores of men were killed. Some were tortured and killed.

Apart from Mano Master, the secret raids claimed the lives of Batticaloa District Intelligence Head Lt. Col Nizam and Capt. Thevathasan.

Among those killed in the north were LTTE Air Wing Head Col. Shankar (Vaithilingam Sornalingam) and Sea Tiger Deputy Commander Lt. Col Kangai Amaran.

S.P. Thamilselvan, his Deputy Major S. Thangan, Vavuniya Special Commander Col. Jeyam and Deputy Military Chief Col. Balraj were believed to have been targeted in the North but escaped. In the East, among those who escaped targeted killings, were Col. Karuna, Karikalan, Jim Kelly and Intelligence Chief Lt. Col. Ramanan.

In spite of the LTTEers, particularly its leaders on a heightened state of alert, the Army ambushed Karikalan’s vehicle on 18 October, 2001. The destruction of the vehicle fuelled speculation of Karikalan’s demise, with a section of the media reporting him killed in a special operation. Shortly before the attack on Karikalan’s vehicle, the Army intercepted a radio conversation between Karikalan and his wife, a medical doctor by profession, serving in the Northern Province. “She simply begged him to leave Batticaloa and take refuge in the North to avoid the Army’s deep penetration operations,” a source familiar with LRRP operations told the writer many years ago.

The Army struck again on 26 November, 2001. ‘Major’ Swarnaseelan and ‘Captain’ Devadas were eliminated in the Pulipanjikkal area. It was the last operation before the December 5 General Election.

The UNP terminated the operation. But, the Army revived the strategy after the eruption of hostilities in 2005.

It would be pertinent to mention that hit and run attacks, deep within the LTTE held territory, troubled them to such an extent, they took up the issue with Norway. Fearing a relentless campaign, the LTTE got Norway to include LRRP operations in their negotiations, leading to a one-sided Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed in February 2002 by the Wickremesinghe regime. That CFA revealed the existence of a secret Army project to target the LTTE in their own area. The CFA called for termination of LRRP operations.

Three PVWs

Lieutenant J.L.D.S. Wijetunga was the first Navy recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV), Sri Lanka’s highest gallantry award given posthumously. Wijetunga, Commanding Officer of the Israeli built Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FAC), maneuvered his vessel to intercept an explosives-laden Sea Tiger suicide boat approaching a troop transport ship off Point Pedro on 30 March, 1996. Wijetunga, in spite of knowing his action was suicidal, went ahead with the risky maneuver that saved the lives of a large contingent of off duty servicemen on their way to Trincomalee from Kankesanthurai (KKS).

The Navy earned its second PWV on 1 November, 2008, off Point Pedro, during the Eelam war IV. A Petty Officer of elite Special Boat Squadron K.G. Shantha rammed an explosives-laden Sea Tiger suicide craft with his Arrow boat (Z-142 ). Shantha and his three SBS colleagues were blasted to smithereens, though their action saved an Inshore Patrol Craft (IPC) carrying a dozen SBS personnel.

Wing Commander T.D.S. Silvapulle received the nation’s highest gallantry award PWV for attacking Sea Tiger boats firing at Army defences south-east of Elephant Pass on 19 December, 1999. Silvapulle, flying a Mi 24 helicopter gunship in adverse weather conditions, regardless of the threat posed by surface-to-air missiles, engaged the enemy craft. Silvapulle compelled the enemy to flee but was hit during the confrontation. His individual act of gallantry was recognized in 2012, four years after the eradication of the LTTE. The then President Mahinda Rajapaksa conferred the PWV at a ceremony held on 19 May, 2012. Maj. Lalith Jayasinghe received his PWV at the same ceremony.

The betrayal of the armed forces in October, 2015, at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, by the treacherous Sirisena-Wickremesinghe regime, underscored the mentality of those who wielded political power. The calling of gallantry medals ‘pieces of tin’ reminded the country of the pathetic and disgraceful state of affairs.

Midweek Review

Poor, little upper-middle income country

Published

14 hours ago

2026/07/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

“Sri Lanka has been ranked among the least happy countries in the latest World Happiness Report 2026…standing alongside Ethiopia”- The Sunday Island March 2026

Sri Lanka was officially declared an Upper-Middle Income country by the World Bank in July 2026, regaining the classification it had in 2019.

On the 30th of June, the IMF delegation meeting the President at the Presidential Secretariat praised the government: “…IMF praised the government’s economic programme and noted that Sri Lanka has made greater progress than many other countries implementing IMF-supported programmes. The delegation commended the government for maintaining macroeconomic stability despite a series of external shocks and for remaining firmly committed to its reform agenda…” (Presidential Media Division, 30 June 2026)

Meanwhile, a UN-backed World Happiness Report 2026 compiled by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, ranked Sri Lanka 134th out of 147 nations. A daily newspaper which ran the story on the 19th of March 2026, added that the report showed that “Sri Lanka has slipped one place from its 133rd ranking in 2025, now standing alongside Ethiopia. The country also trails behind its South Asian neighbours, with India ranked 116th, Pakistan and Bangladesh positioned significantly higher.”

Good News, Bad News

The Upper-Middle Income classification was declared by the World Bank during the Yahapalana government in July 2019. 6 months later, the Yahapalana government was swept out at elections.

Only 2 years later, in April 2022, the country was declared bankrupt, and by July that year the newly elected President was toppled by a people’s uprising for the first time in the country’s history.

To fill the vacuum, an unlikely combination of an unelected MP from the Opposition who was made President by the Parliament and an unpopular government that had barely survived the uprising, governed the country together. It was massively defeated by the people only 2 years later in 2024, despite ‘stabilising’ the economy.

An Upper-Middle Income status may give the impression of a prosperous people, but prosperous people are not an unhappy people. The World Bank report 2026 (World Bank, Sri Lanka Development Update) notes the anomaly: “the recovery is unfinished and has not translated into widespread improvements in welfare.”

The report adds:

* Real output remains below 2018 levels.

* Although poverty is projected to decline in 2025, it remains double the 2019 levels.

* Vulnerability remains high with an additional 10 percent of the population living just above the poverty line.

* Malnutrition continues to be elevated.

* The labour market recovery is slow with real wages and labor force participation well below 2019 levels.

The World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Brief (October 2025) sheds further light:

* Poverty is projected at 22.3-22.4 percent in 2025 and around 20 percent until 2027 without stronger inclusive growth.

* Real earnings remain below pre-crisis levels.

So, are Top of the Class in the IMF index and almost Bottom of the Class in the Happiness Index related?

As a friend who is a highly-placed economist explained to me, if people are poorer, undernourished, indebted, and insecure after stabilisation, then reserves, inflation, and primary balances alone cannot be relied on to judge the next IMF programme. Sri Lanka needs a national programme whose success metric is household recovery, jobs, nutrition, and productive capacity.

From the praise heaped on the President and this government’s strong leadership by the IMF for their performance thus far, sticking closely to the IMF conditionalities, we can only infer that things for the unhappy citizens will hardly get better as they negotiate the 18th IMF programme.

The AKD administration doesn’t haggle on behalf of the people. They see the rewards of that approach in fiscal consolidation and macroeconomic stability. This however, is not the only kind of stability they have to bear in mind, given recent history.

By the People, But Not for the People?

The new or renewed (from July 2019) ‘Upper-Middle Income’ classification has served to remind people where the government has failed, been weak, as much as where it has been strong and succeeded. The economy in the abstract is better off, but the majority of the people who gave the government a two thirds majority, are much worse off in material reality.

To return to my top economist friend, she explained that Sri Lanka should not reject fiscal discipline, but it must own the design of fiscal adjustment. The country needs a fairer tax mix, better tax administration, public investment discipline, and protection of health, education, nutrition, and climate-resilient infrastructure. Otherwise, fiscal discipline becomes socially brittle and growth-reducing.

The direction she recommended is hardly where the government is heading. The World Bank warns that the on-going reliance on regressive indirect taxes could worsen the poverty outlook, while the primary expenditure ceiling of 13 percent of GDP can constrain public investment and service delivery.

A leading financial daily (6 July) reported that at the CA Sri Lanka’s 5th Annual Economic and Tax Symposium, both the Government’s tax policies and the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) “came under sustained criticism from leading private sector tax professionals”. Gajma & Co. Senior Partner N.R. Gajendran argued that “…higher revenues had come largely from imposing a heavier burden on existing taxpayers rather than widening the tax base.”

He said that “When taxes become excessive and unbearable, and it is not coming from the widening of the base, it is coming from the same taxpayer, it erodes expenditure capabilities, it erodes saving capabilities, and it erodes investment capabilities,” warning that “sustained over-taxation ultimately weakens consumption, investment, and long-term economic growth.”

Sri Lanka has already lost a large number of skilled professionals who migrated in droves in the last two years. Factum reports (April 2026) that the annual departures for foreign employment have hovered above the 310,000 mark. This includes Healthcare Professionals (Doctors, nurses), Academics and Researchers (including 80-90% of State University graduates), Technologists and Engineers.

Will the Lawyers be next? The Island editorial of 6 July 2026 strongly supports the stand that the BASL has taken, (endorsed by the Colombo Law Society, Colombo High Court Lawyers Association, LAWASIA and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association) opposing the government’s effort to move a constitutional amendment to extend the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, denouncing political interference in the judiciary and urging the government to avoid a Zimbabwean crisis.

None of this makes for a happy citizen, stability notwithstanding.

By the People, for the Creditors

So, what of all those promises made with such passion to do better than all previous governments since Independence in 1948?

The World Food Programme has this to report:

* Households unable to meet essential food needs increased from 14 percent in 2024 to 20 percent in 2026.

* If price trends continue, another 1.3 million people could be unable to afford essential food needs, including nearly 300,000 urban poor.

* Child nutrition remains worrying: stunting 10.1 percent, wasting 8.6 percent, and underweight 16.1 percent. (WFP, Food Security Under Pressure)

Economists warn that a programme that ‘stabilises’ the economy while households sell assets, cut food, reduce education and health spending, and slide into coping strategies, i.e., de-stabilises the household economy and lives, will not be socially, politically or developmentally sustainable.

Those who care for the people recommend that Sri Lanka’s own programme must place adaptive social protection, nutrition, and livelihoods at the very centre.

The promised re-negotiation of the 17th IMF package to make the necessary economic recovery less taxing (pun intended) for the people, less painful, and more sustainable overall, never happened. The government acted as if it was elected by the People for the Creditors.

We have been warned that Sri Lanka’s shift toward commercial borrowing and ISBs changed the debt-risk profile, with ISBs carrying high interest rates and short maturities. The government’s promised negotiations didn’t resemble anything like what was expected by the people, and went the way of the ISB holders who celebrated the victory in Canary Wharf toasting our President in absentia.

IMF Country Report No 26/111 indicates that even after restructuring, debt sustainability risks remain high. Public debt is projected at around 100.1 percent of GDP in 2026, with central government gross financing needs at 19.8 percent of GDP.

Economists remind us that Sri Lanka’s recent graduation to the Upper Middle-Income classification means that we will have to pay more in debt repayments as per the macro-linked bond of the debt restructuring settlement with the creditors.

IMF 18, going on 19?

Who’d have thought it? In the last 77 years, the most pro-people, pro-poor administration has certainly not been the AKD government. There were much better ones, even during the 30 year war, when policies were more enlightened and served the people; were undertaken with confidence and determination, and some still continue to provide the foreign exchange to pay for subsequent errors of judgment. And with the courage of their convictions and confidence in their capacity to deliver, those leaders didn’t feel the need to postpone any elections.

Stabilisation was an immediate necessity. But my economist friend spoke for us all when she told me “Sri Lanka cannot stabilise its way to prosperity. It should not risk turning emergency discipline into a permanent development model”.

With the current state of play, is that what we are looking at? There is little evidence that this administration has the capacity to design an independent programme, not subject to the whims and fancies of IFIs, but as my friend put it, “our own programme: fiscally responsible, socially protective, production-oriented, climate-resilient, and politically owned. The IMF can support that programme, but it cannot be the programme.”

An unhappy people is surely as much of an indicator of the real health of the economy, as the Gross National Income per capita calculated in US dollars by the World Bank. A Sunday newspaper quoted a young economist, Rehana Thowfeek, co-founder/director at Arutha Research, who says: “There is no point in celebrating becoming an upper-middle-income country while 1 in 4 of our people is in poverty, two out of every 5 Sri Lankans cannot afford a healthy diet and 1 out of 3 of our children under 5 years is malnourished.”

This is not a situation that should be allowed to prevail by an allegedly pro-people government, or indeed any government that has been granted the privilege to govern, through the people’s vote. The planning, the policy choices are all in the hands of the government. Will they choose a better path?

People are not unhappy because they are too mean to acknowledge what a wonderful job this government is doing, and give praise to this administration like the IMF at the Presidential Secretariat. It is because they are in pain, they are suffering, they are hungry, they cannot pay the bills, and they are looking at a future where none of these things are going away, but is set to get much worse, as the government slouches towards its next IMF programme and the next debt repayment.