Midweek Review

Gin-Nilwala rip-off and culpability of Parliament

Published

3 years ago

2021/10/13

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Presidential Media Division (PMD) on the afternoon of Oct. 06, 2021 released a letter (PS/LAD/1/9/2021(iii)) Attorney-at-Law Harigupta Rohanadeera, Director General (Legal) President’s Office has sent to Attorney-at-Law W.K.D. Wijeratne, Director General, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

The letter requested the CIABOC to submit a report to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa within a month as regards the revelations made by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) pertaining to Sri Lankans engaged in controversial offshore transactions. Rohanadeera’s letter didn’t name anyone though by then the media all over the world, on the basis of ICIJ investigations, named former parliamentarian Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband Thirukumar Nadesan as operators of offshore accounts.

Instructions issued to the CIABOC should be examined against the backdrop of Nadesan’s plea to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that he preferred a retired judge of the Court of Appeal to inquire into the ‘Pandora Papers’ revelations.

The following is the text of Nadesan’s letter dated Oct 06: “My name and that of my wife have been referred to as having various accounts/assets offshore. These references are in what is referred to as the Pandora Papers.

“It is commonly believed that all persons whose names have been so divulged are in some way guilty of wrongdoing. Several world leaders, including His Excellency Imran Khan have publicly announced that they will investigate anyone whose names appear in Pandora Papers.

“I assure your Excellency that my wife and I are totally innocent and are guilty of no wrong doings. In the circumstances, I humbly request Your Excellency to appoint an independent investigator, preferably a retired appeal court judge, without delay, to investigate this matter so that my name and that of my wife would be cleared.

“I am making this request to Your Excellency because my wife and I have suffered heartache and pain of mind. We have been presumed guilty, the presumption of innocence is reversed. It is in these circumstances that I make this humble request to your Excellency.

“Please forgive me for intruding on your time.”

The one page letter has been sent from Nadesan’s Horton Place residence ‘Montrose’, No 95.

Is the CIABOC capable of investigating Pandora Papers revelations? The CIABOC comprising retired Supreme Court justice Eva Wanasundera, retired Appeals Court justice Deepali Wijesundara and former head of State Intelligence Service (SIS) retired DIG Chandra Nimal Wakista, faces a daunting task in producing a report within a month.

The ICIJ declared: *”In the U.S., lawmakers said they will respond to the Pandora Papers with new legislation targeting financial professionals and other businesses that move dirty money for corrupt clients;

*The European Commission’s head of taxation said the commission will push to crack down on tax avoidance and expand information exchange between countries; and

*Enforcement agencies or leaders in India, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, Germany, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Australia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Paraguay, Panama and more have vowed to act on the Pandora Papers revelations, as new stories continue to be published and the global response to the investigation continues to grow and evolve.”

CIABOC’s status

The 20th Amendment to the Constitution, enacted in Oct 2020, deprived the CIABOC the power to initiate action. The much-touted move hailed by the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) as a measure to restore political stability, obviously weakened the outfit. However, the CIABOC’s performance, even before the enactment of the 20 A, has been questionable though it engaged in some high profile exercises during the yahapalana administration. Its passage with a 2/3 majority in Parliament was followed by the CIABOC giving up on investigations initiated during the yahapalana administration.

The Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), the first to demand a thorough domestic investigation into the Pandora Papers has, subsequently lodged a complaint with the CIABOC seeking an investigation. Executive Director TISL Attorney-at-Law Nadishani Perera says the CIABOC has very clear powers and laws to deal with complaints though technically it cannot act on its own as a result of the 20th Amendment.

Having lodged the complaint on Oct 7, the day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s intervention, TISL asserted that the transactions revealed could amount to offences under Section 23A of the Bribery Act hence the need to probe into the Declarations of Assets and Liabilities of Mrs. Nirupama Rajapaksa relating to her tenure as a Member of Parliament. TISL also points out that CIABOC is empowered to take relevant action on acquisitions through unknown sources of wealth or income, under Section 4(1) of the CIABOC Act under the provisions of the Bribery Act or the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law. The anti-corruption outfit suggested that investigations could be pursued under Section 70 of the Bribery Act, to investigate whether public funds had been embezzled and laundered through these foreign safe havens.

The contentious issue is whether serving or former parliamentarians or their relatives can be properly investigated without political interference. The CIABOC has conducted successful investigations even on the basis of anonymous complaints. Let me give an example to prove how a successful prosecution has been achieved in the case of a person failing to make an asset declaration.

The Colombo High Court of No.6, Judge Patabendige on June 12, 2020, convicted a Supply Assistant of Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) attached to the Ratnapura Branch, Wijekoon Mudiyanselage Sumanasekera, in a case prosecuted by the CIABOC based on an assets investigation conducted on an anonymous complaint received by the Commission.

The accused, residing at the Millennium City Housing Scheme, No 14, Aturugiriya, has been accused of accumulating Rs.6 mn assets through bribes exceeding his actual income. HC judge Patabendige imposed a five year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,000/-. In default of fine, further three months simple imprisonment was imposed.

The judge further ordered the official under section 26(b) of the Bribery Act to pay Rs.11,960,093/98 which was twice the amount earned by bribes. In default of payment, the accused was subjected to a term of a further two year rigorous imprisonment.

Judge Patabendige also issued an open warrant on the accused and ordered to inform the Department of Immigration and Emigration in that regard.

Deputy Director General of CIABOC Mrs. Ranjani Senewiratne prosecuted. Investigation was conducted by the OIC of the Assets Investigations Division.

However, the CIABOC will have to work closely with the Central Bank, the Inland Revenue and even the Foreign Ministry in addition to the ICIJ in conducting investigations into the Nadesan affair. Parliament, too, will have to monitor what can be easily declared as the biggest case undertaken by the CIABOC. The issue at hand is whether the assets under the name of Nirupama Rajapaksa and Thirukumar Nadesan had been declared to the relevant authorities.

Regardless of attempts to depict the questionable transactions as dealings that had taken place during the 1990-2000 period, the Pandora Papers disclosure placed the SLPP in an extremely embarrassing position. There is no point in denying the fact that she represented the SLFP in the PA and UPFA parliamentary groups for a period of 16 years. Most of all she is a blood relative of the Rajapaksas in power. That is the undeniable truth. The revelations couldn’t have happened at a worse time for the government as it struggles to cope up with the deepening economic crisis, primarily brought on by the global pandemic.

Conduct of parliamentarians

Colombo Chief Magistrate Buddhika Sri Ragala on July 30, 2021 acquitted one-time Deputy Minister Sarana Gunawardena of all bribery cases filed against him.

Assistant Director General of the CIABOC Asitha Anthony told the court that the case had been filed against the former Deputy Minister without the approval of the three commissioners. Attorney-at-Law Niroshan Siriwardena, appearing on behalf of Gunawardena requested that the charges against his client be dropped.

CIABOC had filed eight cases against Gunawardena, accusing him of causing losses to the State by leasing vehicles to the Development Lotteries Board (DLB) during his tenure as its Chairman in 2007.

While serving as the Chairman of DLB, Gunawardena was alleged to have influenced the officers of the DLB to rent three vehicles from his wife by paying Rs 960,000 per each vehicle where the true value per vehicle was only Rs. 635,000.

Gunawardena was convicted for all three charges that were presented against him. The rejected politician was sentenced to a prison sentence of one year on each charge cumulating a prison sentence of three years. Gunawardena was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 100,000 for each vehicle totaling to a fine of Rs 300,000. In case Gunawardena failed to pay the fine, he was to be subjected to an additional prison sentence of six months for each offence. The prosecution was handled by Assistant Director General Mr. Asitha Athony.

The dismissal of Gunawardena’s proceedings is certainly not an isolated case. When JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake raised the shocking disclosure made by ICIJ in Parliament, Leader of the House and Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena pointed out that the case was now before court.

Lawmaker Dissanayake was addressing Parliament on Oct 8, the day the CIABOC recorded Nadesan’s statement. Minister Gunawardena was referring to the controversial case pertaining to Malwana house.

SLPP National List MP Jayantha Weerasinghe, PC, challenged Dissanayake’s comments. Declaring that he appeared for Thirukumar Nadesan in court, Weerasinghe emphasised that no one in Parliament represented the businessman’s interests. Weerasinghe said that Nadesan was an accused in that case.

Dissanayake also raised the controversial Gin-Nilwala project and the transfer of funds to Nadesan’s account by a Chinese company that received a staggering Rs 4,012 mn in two separate transactions from the then Sri Lankan government around the time of the 2015 presidential election. The SLPP repeatedly interrupted MP Dissanayake. A smiling JVPer said that though the SLPP claimed no one in Parliament represented the interests of Thirukumar Nadesan, many spoke on his behalf.

Matara District Communist Party member Weerasumana Weerasinghe was in the chair.

The reference to money received by Nadesan from the Chinese company given the Gin-Nilwala project amounted to USD 5.9 mn. Dissanayake told The Island that the account that had received USD 5.9 mn was a Hong Kong account.

TISL, in its website tweeted that particular section of MP Dissanayake’s parliamentary speech. The social media coverage of Pandora Papers underscored the seriousness of the crisis faced by Sri Lanka.

A dismal track record

Civil society activist Gamini Viyangoda in April this year sought an explanation from the CIABOC and the Attorney General’s Department as regards termination of several high profile cases. Viyangoda questioned the rationale in dropping all charges against former lawmaker and Foreign Ministry Monitoring MP Sajin Vass Gunawardena pertaining to the Mihin Lanka case. That particular case dealt with misappropriation of public funds amounting to Rs 883 mn, Viyangoda declared while referring to recent dismissal of cases involving one-time Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pilleyan (now an MP backing the SLPP), Johnston Fernando, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Basil Rajapaksa, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon and former Chief Justice Mohan Peiris. The former CJ received appointment as Sri Lanka’s top representative in New York.

Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, who served as the AG during the Yahapalana administration is the incumbent Chief Justice.

What really happened to the money laundering case (HC case No 4648/2009) involving the then parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake, who subsequently received the appointment as the Minister of Finance during the previous administration. The money had been received from Raj Rajaratnam, given an 11-year prison sentence for insider trading in the US.

The case that had been initially taken up at the HC No 01 was subsequently (May 2015) transferred to High Court No 4 before HC Judge Iranganee Perera who was about to be retired. On the basis of what was called a defective indictment Judge Perera discharged Karunanayake while making specific legal right of the Attorney General to serve an indictment afresh to the accused Ravi Karunanayake. Obviously, that was conveniently ignored. Yuvanjana Wijayatilake served as the AG at that time.

Attorney-at-Law and public interest litigation Activist Nagananda Kodituwakku in an affidavit submitted to the CIABOC in March 2017 sought an investigation in respect of the failure on the part of the AG’s Department to act on the advice given by HC judge Perera. Kodituwakku asserted that the alleged offence committed could have been dealt with under Section 70 of the Bribery Act.

A monument for ICIJ

A no-holds-barred investigation is required to examine high profile corruption allegations. So far, the CIABOC hasn’t been able to bring at least one of the cases involving politicians to a successful conclusion. It would be pertinent to mention incumbent Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s response to waste, corruption and irregularities.

Speaker Abeywardena said contentious matters pertaining to financial responsibility on the part of Parliament should be dealt with only by the enactment of a new Constitution.

The SLPP MP said so in response to Prof. Charitha Herath, Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) alleging serious hindrance of parliamentary supervision by a section of state enterprises. Prof. Herath explained the daunting challenges faced by COPE at the time he tabled the first COPE report at the outfit’s ninth session.

Proceedings of parliamentary watchdog committees, COPE, COPA (Committee on Public Accounts) and COPF (Committee on Public Finance) depict a frightening picture.

Unfortunately, Parliament has conveniently failed to take tangible measures though the three watchdog committees reported rampant criminal waste of public funds, corruption, irregularities involving the revenue collection mechanism and negligence at every level of successive administrations.

Have those responsible for ensuring financial discipline forgotten the primary responsibilities of Parliament. The two major responsibilities are financial discipline and enactment of laws. Let people judge whether our political parties have lived up to their much repeated pledges to restore financial discipline. Examination of proceedings of the watchdog committees revealed how the public and private sectors exploited the national economy. Fighting corruption appears to be a just a political slogan propagated by both those in power and the Opposition.

The Joint Opposition (JO registered themselves as SLPP) in the run up to 2019 presidential election conducted a major campaign against what it called ‘Top 10 Kamba Horu.’ Incumbent Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage spearheaded the project. The JO printed a 750-page book that dealt with 10 major corrupt deals that took place between January 8, 2015 and Dec 31, 2015. The JO alleged that the CIABOC never initiated investigations into complaints lodged by the JO. The SLPP owed an explanation regarding the current status of the complaints lodged by them because the party returned to power, nearly two years ago.

According to the JO publication, in the public domain, complaints were lodged against Ranil Wickremesinghe, MP, pertaining to the Treasury bond scams, on Oct 29, 2016 (Rs 26 bn fraud/complainant Vasudeva Nanayakkara, MP), ex-MP Ravi Karunanayake pertaining to importation of vehicles, on Nov 09, 2016 (Rs 10 bn fraud/complainant Dr. Romesh Pathirana, MP), ex-MP Malik Samarawickrema pertaining to Mahapola Fund, on Nov 22, 2016 (Rs 1 bn fraud/complainant Sisira Jayakody, MP), Thalatha Atukorala, MP, pertaining to fraud in an insurance scheme for those working in the Middle East, on Dec 07, 2016 (Rs 1.5 bn fraud/complainant ex-MP Niroshan Premaratne), Ranil Wickremesinghe pertaining to 99-year-lease on Hanbantota port, on January 4, 2017 (Rs 15 bn/complainant Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, MP, Speaker), Kabir Hashim, MP, pertaining to cancellation of aircraft ordered by SriLankan Airlines, on January 18, 2017 (Rs 54 bn fraud/complainant Kanaka Herath, MP), P. Harrison pertaining to releasing of paddy to a selected group of companies, on Feb 01, 2017 (Rs 10 bn fraud/complainant Jayantha Samaraweera), ex-MP Ravi Karunanayake pertaining to vehicle racket, on Feb 15, 2017 (Rs 15 bn fraud/complainant Udaya Gammanpila, MP), Dr. Rajitha Senaratne MP pertaining to leasing of Modera fisheries harbour and issuance of licenses to eight vessels for fishing in Sri Lankan waters, on Feb 28, 2017 (Rs 1 bn fraud/complainant the late MP Ranjith de Zoysa) , Dr. Rajitha Senaratne pertaining to irregularities in the purchase of medicines, on Feb 28, 2017 (Rs 1.5 bn fraud/complainant the late Ranjith de Zoysa) and Ranil Wickremesinghe, MP pertaining to procurement of coal for the Norochcholai coal-fired power plant, on March 16, 2017 (Rs 5 bn fraud/complainant Vidura Wickremanayake, MP).

The JO declared the above mentioned frauds cost the country a staggering Rs 131.5 bn.

Parliament, as an institution, at least now should respond to corruption. In the wake of Pandora Papers disclosures, social media posted a speech made by SLPP Polonnaruwa District MP Maihripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the President. Sirisena dealt with the Gin-Nilwala project. What Sirisena, who contested the last general election in Aug 2015 on the SLPP ticket, said was astonishing. The government transferred Rs 1,000 mn to a Chinese company in 2012 for the implementation of the Gin-Nilwala project and another Rs 3,012 mn on January 7, 2015 to thereby bringing the total amount paid to Rs 4,012 mn. Sirisena questioned how such a transfer could have taken place on the day before the presidential election? Who authorised such a transfer and why absolutely no work was done regardless of the payments. Lawmaker Sirisena owed an explanation during his five-year tenure as President what he did to investigate the Gin-Nilwala project. Perhaps, the Gin-Nilwala link disclosed by Pandora Papers, if properly investigated, can cause such devastation to the current political setup, the public can consider putting up a monument to ICIJ.

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Midweek Review

With somewhat muddled foreign policy where are we heading?

Published

3 days ago

2024/10/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

U.S. and Sri Lankan Marines conduct Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) drills during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise in 2023. CARAT Sri Lanka is the largest bilateral military exercise meant to enhance US-Sri Lanka relationship. (Pic courtesy US embassy, Colombo)

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Sri Lanka Navy will take command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 154 from the Egyptian Navy soon. Since its establishment in May 2023, US (Capt. Oliver Herion), Jordan (Capt. Ayman Al Naimat) and Egypt (Commodore Haytham Elsayed Khalil), respectively, commanded the unit, one of the five Task Forces that operated under the purview of the US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).

The whole operation is spearheaded by Bahrain headquartered US Fifth Fleet. SLN, under the previous regime led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, joined the CMF in 2023 as its 39th member. Meanwhile, strange bedfellow Argentina is the latest addition to it. To make matters worse for that country, Buenos Aires, under eccentric right wing President Javier Gerardo Milei, wants to make the US dollar its official currency..

SLN disclosed the CMF’s move in a press release dated Oct, 02 under the new JVP/NFF regime that dealt with CTF commander Commodore Haytham Elsayed Khalil of the Egyptian Navy meeting Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera.

CTF 150 focuses on maritime security in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean, CTF 151 leads regional counter-piracy efforts, CTF 152 handles maritime security in the Arabian Gulf, CTF 153 is responsible for operations in the Red Sea, and CTF 154 is tasked with training, thereby improving operational capabilities to enhance maritime security in the Middle East.

The CMF’s overall strategy should be examined taking into consideration the widening of the Middle East conflict, with Israel simultaneously taking on Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) in Gaza, Hezbollah (Party of God) based in Lebanon and Iran widely accused of financing Hezbollah. In the wake of further destabilization of the region as a result of Israeli ground forces entering Lebanon and Iran firing missiles at the Jewish State in retaliation for terrorist acts committed against it, inside Iran, and elsewhere, the US and the UK bombed Yemen where Iran backed Houthis are trying to disrupt ship movements in the Red Sea. Since Israel launched a war against Hamas, in Gaza, and using that as an excuse, is committing acts of genocide against the Palestinians to create a homogeneous Jewis state, Houthis have meanwhile targeted nearly 90 merchant vessels in the Red Sea to force a halt to Israeli terror tactics to drive out or kill the Palestinians. Hezbollah and other resistance groups from Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, too, are stepping up attacks to turn the tide against the extremist Jewish state.

Sri Lanka is now ironically among the coalition backing Israel battling Iran and Tehran-backed groups on multiple fronts and thousands of our workers are now employed in the Jewish state because of the extreme poverty here. Did Israel, in spite of knowing the impending Oct. 07, 2023 Hamas raid, targeting Southern Israel, conveniently turn a blind eye to pave the way for a sustained offensive? In other words, did Iran backed groups walk into an Israeli trap. The Israeli onslaught appeared to have been a meticulously planned response. The triggering of explosions in pagers used by Hezbollah, or those in some way connected to it in Lebanon and Syria, in the third week of September, before the killing of Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut, and the Israeli ground invasion, suggested the Jewish State planned a knockout blow against the Iran-led coalition. What Netanyahu did not bargain for is that the present day resistance is made up of committed fighters unlike the Arab armies that met Jewish state’s terror tactics in earlier wars as in 1948 and 1967. Though the Western media tries to paint Iran as the villain over the whole issue, Iran, nor its proxies, have caused needless bloodletting among Israeli civilians. Two major missile attacks that Teheran has so far carried out against the Jewish state had taken extraordinary measures not to target civilian infrastructure thereby hardly harming any noncombatants there. This is unlike Israel that has caused unimaginable harm to Arab civilians.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden’s suggestion that Israel shouldn’t hit Iranian oil or nuclear sites in response to a massive missile strike but consider other alternatives underscored the gravity of the rapidly developing situation.

Whether the world likes it or not, the war in the Middle East, as well as Ukraine, where the US and its major allies (all part of CMF) are trying to wear down Russia, is being politicized. There cannot be a better example than Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump’s declaration that he believed Israel should strike Iranian nuclear facilities in response to the recent Iranian missile barrage.

Those who had compared the decimation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 by the Sri Lanka military and the war between Hamas and Israel in the aftermath of the Oct. 07 raids, included New Delhi based Narayan Swamy, who served UNI and AFP during his decades long career. While acknowledging that no two situations were absolutely comparable, Swamy, who currently serves as the Executive Director of IANS (Indo-Asian News Service) declared: “Oct 7 could be a turning point for Hamas similar to what happened to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka in 2006. Let me explain. Similar to Hamas, the LTTE grew significantly over time eventually gaining control of a significant portion of Sri Lanka’s land and coast. The LTTE was even more formidable than Hamas. It had a strong army, growing air force and a deadly naval presence. Unlike Hamas the LTTE successfully assassinated high ranking political figures in Sri Lanka and India. Notably LTTE achieved this without direct support from any country??? Well Hamas received military and financial backing from Iran and some other states [emphasis is mine]. The LTTE became too sure of their victories overtime. They thought they could never be beaten and that starting a war would always make them stronger. But in 2006 when they began Eelam War 1V their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran couldn’t have foreseen that within three years he and his prominent group that the world was led to believe as being virtually invincible, especially by the Western media and so-called military experts, would be defeated. Prabhakaran believed gathering tens of thousands of Tamil civilians during the last stages of the war would protect them and Sri Lanka wouldn’t unleash missiles and rockets. Colombo proved him wrong. They were hit. By asking the people not to flee Gaza, despite Israeli warnings, Hamas is taking a similar line. Punishing all Palestinians for Hamas’ actions is unjust just like punishing all Tamils for LTTE’s actions was wrong. The LTTE claimed to fight for Tamils without consulting them and Hamas claimed to represent Palestinians without seeking the approval for the Oct.7 strike. Well two situations are not absolutely comparable. We can be clear that Hamas is facing a situation similar to what the LTTE faced shortly before its end. Will Hamas meet a similar fate as the LTTE? Only time will answer that question.”

In a way, the circumstances of the ongoing Middle East conflict and the emergence of Tamil terrorism here is so dissimilar, the situations cannot be compared at all.

GoSL stand on ME conflict

In the first week of January, this year, the then President, who is also the Commander-in-Chief, in addition to being the Defence Minister, Ranil Wickremeisnghe, declared his intention to deploy an SLN vessel in the Red Sea in support of the ongoing CMF operations. The specific US-led effort meant to overcome the Houthi challenge was called ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian.’ In spite of statements attributed to various spokespersons at that time, we are still in the dark as to the actual implementation of Wickremesinghe’s directive.

How could Sri Lanka undertake such a costly deployment in the absence of at least one properly equipped vessel to operate in missile and drone environments at a time the Wickremesinghe administration claimed it couldn’t hold Local Government polls for want of sufficient funds?

Why on earth Wickremeisnghe wanted a role for SLN in ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’, launched in Dec. 2023, when some of Washington’s allies were skeptical about the initiative?

With the further deterioration of the Middle East situation, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government should take stock of the situation. Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) leader AKD, in his capacity as the Commander-in Chief of armed forces and Defence Minister, should receive a comprehensive briefing regarding the current situation.

In the absence of a properly constituted foreign policy, Sri Lanka found itself in a deepening quandary. The armed forces, as well as the JVP that had been at the receiving end, in 1971 and 1987-1990, of the counter-insurgency campaigns, need to work together in an environment caused by AKD’s unexpected triumph over the two-party system.

Let me examine the JVP/JJB stand on the SLN’s Read Sea deployment as desired by Wickremesinghe. It would be pertinent to mention that the SLN joined the CMF during Wickremesinghe’s tenure as the President.

On behalf of the JVP/JJB, Sunil Handunetti strongly condemned Wickremesinghe’s declaration on the Red Sea deployment. The former JVP parliamentarian questioned the rationality of Wickremesinghe move while warning of dire consequences. The one-time head of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), a vital parliamentary watchdog committee, accused Wickremesinghe of joining a US-led effort supportive of Israel. Warning Sri Lanka could earn the wrath of certain countries by participating in such US-led endeavours, Handunetti asked whether President Wickremesinghe could decide on active participation in an international operation.

Against that background, President AKD and his Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath should make Sri Lanka’s position clear in respect of the Middle East conflict. Regardless of the country heading towards parliamentary elections in a couple of weeks, the President will have to keep an eye on developments as various interested parties pursue strategies which may not align with our own.

The developing situation in Lebanon, as well as Syria, compelled the Foreign Ministry to issue travel warnings in respect of both countries while keeping its options open on Israel. The second Iranian missile barrage carried out against Israel in October obviously didn’t influence Sri Lanka to issue a travel warning. Iran mounted its first bombardment in April also this year. Sri Lanka maintains diplomatic missions both in Tel Aviv and Beirut.

Developing dilemma

One can easily understand bankrupt Sri Lanka’s dilemma when India finds itself in an unenviable situation. In spite of denials at different levels, India made ammunition, explosives and other equipment that are used by Israel and Ukraine, with the latter using them against Russia, one-time major supplier of armaments to India. The late Indian Foreign Secretary J.N. Dixit, who at times behaved like a Viceroy when he was their High Commissioner in Colombo in the ’80s, in his memoirs ‘Foreign Policy Makers of India’ defended Indira Gandhi’s controversial decision not to condemn the 1979 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan due to their heavy dependence on the Soviet Union for defense needs.

New Delhi obviously cannot ignore Washington’s requirement to ensure a steady supply of ammunition to Israel and Ukraine alike.

Reuters declared on Sept. 19, 2024, following the publication of a New Delhi datelined exclusive headlined “Ammunition from India enters Ukraine, raising Russian ire,” India’s Foreign Ministry described the report as ‘speculative and misleading.’

The news agency quoted Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal as having said: “It implies violations by India where none exist and, hence, is inaccurate and mischievous.”

“India has been carrying out its defence exports taking into account its international obligations on non-proliferation and based on robust legal and regulatory framework, which includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria, including end user obligations and certifications,” Jaiswal said.

The bottom line is that even strategic alliances are changing or done away with. India-Russia relationship, built largely on defence ties, can be cited as an example. Indian’s backing for Ukraine and Israel meant that the former’s role in the world stage has undergone a drastic change. That is the undeniable truth.

India skipped the U.N. General Assembly vote on February 23, 2023 on a resolution that underscored the need to reach as soon as possible a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine in line with the principles of the U.N. Charter. India won’t condemn Russia over the war in Ukraine either. But, that wouldn’t prevent New Delhi from supplying Israel and Ukraine while Indians serving with the Russian Army battling Ukraine remains an issue. New Delhi, too, is obviously playing both sides like most of the Arab regimes when dealing with Israel and the issue of hapless Palestinians as we have explained earlier.

In the run-up to the presidential election here, the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government was accused of turning a blind eye to ex- and serving military personnel joining Russia. Although both Russia and Sri Lanka promised to address the concerns of men on the Ukrainian-Russia front, as well as their families, the current situation is not known.

The former Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, intervened in this matter and ex-Defence Secretary General (retd.) Kamal Gunaratne, especially, visited Moscow to explore ways and means of reaching consensus on the issue at hand. However, the AKD administration should examine the whole issue afresh as combat experienced Sri Lankans serving with foreign forces can be a social issue.

We know Sri Lanka paid a heavy price for failing to take remedial measures after Sri Lankans reached Syria during the Yahapalana administration (2015-2019). Had the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government acted on a warning issued by its own Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, as advised by the intelligence services, the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage may have been avoided.

At that time, some speculated that 45 persons of nine families joined ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Taking into consideration the arrest of four Sri Lankans by Gujarat police on terrorism charges during the general election in India, the new government should also pay attention to emerging threats. The arrests, last May, proved that security concerns remain. However, the All Ceylon Union of Muslim League Youth Fronts (ACUMLYF) repeatedly questioned the failure on the part of the previous administration to take up this issue with India.

In response to The Island queries, the grouping’s President Sham Nawaz said that though they had made representations in this regard to the then State Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya in the first week of June, the Foreign Ministry at least didn’t bother to respond. In fact, there hadn’t been any response whatsoever until the change of the government in September. Perhaps, Nawaz should make representations to new Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.

Another US ship

Sri Lanka will receive another mothballed US Coast Guard Cutter, gratis, courtesy the USA. Over the years, the US transferred three Coast Guard Cutters to Sri Lanka, also gratis. The transfer of the fourth US Coast Guard Cutter will take place during President Dissanayake’s tenure, perhaps mid next year and marks a significant development in bilateral relations. The US intention to transfer the vessel was announced in late February this year during Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma’s visit. Verma also visited the site of the West Container Terminal (WCT), a deep-water shipping container terminal in the Port of Colombo. The WCT, is being constructed by Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) Private Limited with $553 mn in financing from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. But the real danger is we are being increasingly dragged into a quagmire of American making vis-à-vis the bloc led by Russia and China. As the old saying goes there is no such a thing as a free meal. Let us hope comrades who are leading us now realise it as well before it is too late.

The CWIT is a consortium consisting of India’s largest port operator, Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd., Sri Lanka’s major listed conglomerate, John Keells Holdings PLC, and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. The consortium is set to develop the CWIT on a Build, Operate, and Transfer agreement, for a period of 35 years.

The US investment at the Colombo Port should be viewed against the backdrop of Chinese presence at the Colombo Port, in addition to China having Hambantota Port on a 99-year lease and other projects. India is keen to expand its influence here and, as a Quad member, seems to be working with others (the US, Australia and Japan) to bolster defence ties.

The expansion of China Bay, the Trinco-based No 03 maritime squadron, is a case in point. The squadron that had been moved to China Bay five years ago consists of Beech King Air B-200 and Dornier 228. A Beechcraft King Air 360ER equipped with cutting-edge technology is to be inducted to the squadron tomorrow (10) to further boost SLAF’s ability to patrol its waters and address maritime threats. The US is the donor of Beechcraft King Air 360ER.

Another maritime surveillance aircraft is expected to join the squadron before the end of this year. The donor is Australia that provided two patrol boats to SL years ago and paid for fuel for vessels engaged in anti-human smuggling operations. What we need to understand is the support received as part of the often repeated free and open Indi-Pacific strategy pursued by Quad. Valuable support received/offered for enhancement of Sri Lanka’s hydrographic capabilities from Australia and Japan should be considered accordingly.

Midweek Review

Ahambakaraka : A postscript

Published

3 days ago

2024/10/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

by Ashanthi Ekanayake

Liyanage Amarakeerthi’s Ahambakaraka, received much attention when it was first published and then went on to win many accolades. The most recent among them was the Vidharshana Literary Prize for best translation in 2024. It is a novel with immense possibilities and offers multiple readings and interpretations. When it first came out, it received the attention of Captain Elmo Jayawardena, who is also a writer of some substance. He wrote a comprehensive review of the novel in The Daily News of 19 October 2016.

In his review Captain Jayawardene describes the protagonist of the novel, Bandula Balagalla, using a somewhat unfortunate turn of phrase, and twists the “born with a silver spoon in the mouth” into a different expression which will not be quoted here. It must be said that a reader’s take on what is read depends entirely on their world views, the theories of reading they encounter, and also mainly the experience they gain as readers.

As the translator of the novel under discussion of which the English title reads as The Maker of Accidents, I must say that what motivated me to translate the novel was these very same possibilities for multiple readings. The novel offered among other things a reading which aligned closely with Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of habitus, capital and power. This brief attempt is simply an opening to the immense possibilities of the novel. I will unfortunately not be able to deal with the topic adequately and do it justice but I will try my best and leave a deeper exploration for another occasion.

In many of his works Bourdieu describes these notions as that which inscribe in us a certain social status. Amarakeerthi’s novel while dealing with the socio-political upheavals which span a wide period of time also brings out these aspects of society as presented by Bourdieu.

Bandula Balagalla is an affluent man and his conduct and his aspirations, or lack thereof, create in the mind of the reader the image of someone who has everything in life and can live without being burdened by new ambitions. He can simply live a contented, if self-centered life. The novelist creates some doubt in the reader’s mind by making the reader challenge the notion of BB as the protagonist because the narrative describes him as a smug, self-satisfied person in contrast to Vijaya Wickramasinghe who in addition to all other drawbacks has to also resort to being mute for simple survival and thus be denied language and the use of it to his advantage.

Language and the “symbolic power” languages have, as discussed by Bourdieu is a primary if mostly ignored theme in this novel. Balagalla strives to create a space for language in his township as does the novelist by giving prominence of place to the different languages the characters resort to. Radha is a teacher of language and performance. For her language is performance. Language is in the Marxist sense a commodity in the novel as described by the narrator. When engaging in the translation, too, I made a conscious effort to use language suited to the different characters. Some were anglophiles, and they might not code mix or code switch easily, and they would attempt to sound more “English.” Some were more at ease with the Sri Lankan English variety. Some would use “broken English.” As a teacher of language this was partly my fascination with the novel.

Translating some Sinhala turns of phrase turned out to be a gratifying exercise because of the novelist’s natural playfulness with Sinhala and language as a whole. Just as the protagonist made up the rules of his game similarly the novelist too played with language. Rather than being obstacles, the quaint expressions and the intricate plot made me realize how correct I was to see the immense potential it offered for a “Bourdieusian” reading.

To put it simply Bandula Balagalla through his upbringing and privileged position is always at ease in any situation. This is a clear manifestation of habitus as explained by Bourdieu. He has symbolic, cultural and linguistic capital. He in fact has everything Wije does not have. Radha, who is from a more middle class upbringing and background is also somewhat “vulgar” in her aspirations in comparison. A case in point is her venture “to make ladies” of the lady-doctors of Kurunegala. Balagalla has good taste in food, music, other matters of life-style and also literature. The first narrator attempts to compete with Balagalla’s taste in literature in this sense. The ironical choice of name for the bookstore i.e. Tower of Babel is a case in point of the sense of power Balagalla wields. He has cultural, and social capital. He is well connected and he is almost native like, not simply in his use of English but also by disposition. He has the right connections as the occasion calls for. In contrast Wije with his rags to riches back story has economic power but is lacking in all other aspects. This is what he pursues and hankers after. Although he is good at “hustling” he is lacking in other ways. Here the question of class and social prestige also come into question. The Balagalla Wallauwa provides Bandula Balagalla with social standing and the right type of connections and also an inbred (in the sense of innate), or even inculcated cultural awareness which helps him navigate society. Social, cultural and symbolic capital need to be accompanied by the “economic” to help a person gain distinction. The crowns and swords that Wije seeks are but symbols of prestige which he is continuously denied. He seeks social mobility and believes that he will gain it by being in possession of these symbols which are part of what the Balagalla estate entails.

This is in fact the most thrilling aspect of the novel. One does not have to be limited to Bourdieu’s theories. However, it cannot be denied that Ahambakaraka, which means the maker of accidents or alternately the planner of coincidences is a rich novel as it offers multiple readings.

There is an interesting plot, full of twists and turns which will be gratifying for any reader. However, if one seeks to read deeper and engage with theory it does not disappoint. The three women for whom the novel is initially written are also a fascinating aspect of the story. The characters are so intricately developed and thought out that a feminist reading of the female characters also proves to be a fruitful endeavor.

My ultimate aim was to highlight these very obvious aspects of the work which were not addressed in the earlier reviews.