Midweek Review

Suzuki Method in Sri Lanka: Introducing an Actor Training System

Published

5 years ago

2020/12/30

By Saumya Liyanage Introduction

In 2019, the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Visual and Performing Arts initiated a project titled ‘Suzuki Actor Training Workshop’ with a performance maker and actor trainer Dr Deborah Leiser-Moore from Melbourne, Australia. The objective of this workshop was to introduce a novel approach to actor training through the least explored performer training system in Sri Lanka known as ‘Suzuki Method’ conceived and developed by a well-known Japanese theatre director Tadashi Suzuki. The Suzuki method has been used and taught in many Universities and theatre institutions in the world and this approach to actor training was first popularized in America, Australia, and Europe in the early 80s. However, this approach of actor training was not known to Sri Lankan academia or theatre schools. The dominant performer training paradigm has been the Stanislavski or Method, derived from Stanislavski’s system or later the version of Method acting derived through American actor training tradition. This domination has been a widespread phenomenon in major actor training schools in the world. Yet, in the early 80s and latter part of the decade, the Suzuki method has become one of their major disciplines in actor training curricula, especially in Australia and America. This Suzuki actor training workshop was the first attempt to introduce Tadashi Suzuki’s methodology to a Sri Lankan group of actors.

Tadashi Suzuki

As a theatre student reading for Master’s degree at Flinders University South Australia in early 2002, I was first introduced to Suzuki’s approaches to actor training. My thesis supervisor Prof. Julie Holledge introduced Suzuki’s key texts as I was reading various actor-training methodologies and preparing for writing the thesis. At the time the Suzuki method was one of the popular approaches to actor training in many theatre schools and theatre ensembles in Australia. Suzuki had visited Australia several times and had worked with Australian actors to share his ac

tor training method and his philosophy of theatre. Further his writings and theoretical and methodological promises of actor training have been widely discussed in theatre forums and symposia in Australasia. I first read his key text The Way of Acting (1986) to learn this master’s approaches to theatre, body, and performance. In addition, several key journal papers written by eminent theatre scholars who had practical experience of his theatre making were also my starting point (Allain, 1998, Allain, 2003, Allain, 2019, Goto, 1989a, Kim, 2013). These writings which offered in depth descriptions and analyses of the efficacy of Suzuki method further opened up my horizon to think through Suzuki and his theatre works.

Tadashi Suzuki, an 81-year-old Japanese theatre director first started his theatre career in the 1950s during his undergraduate days at Waseda State University, Japan. As a student theatre activist, with his writing collaborator Betsuyaku Minoru and 12 amateur actors, he founded the Free Stage (Jiyu Butai) theatre group an

d produced theatre works that reflected the ‘turbulent era of his time’ (Goto, 1989, p. 103). As such, Suzuki’s ideas on theatre and the philosophy of actor’s role in theatre were somewhat reminiscent of European avant-gardes such as Antonin Artaud or Jerzy Grotowski. As Artaud and Grotowski rejected the text and its domination in the theatrical experience, Suzuki was also of the view that the centre of the theatrical experience should be the actor and the actor’s co-presence with the audience. His experimentations of theatre works since early 60s to date have emphasised the actor’s body and voice as the kernel of theatrical experience.

He had the conception of finding new ways of doing theatre when he first visited France to take part in an international theatre festival. After returning, Suzuki and his group had found a mountain farmhouse located hundreds of kilometers from Tokyo, and had converted it into a theatre house. Since then Suzuki has explored his actor training and theatre works in Toga Little Theatre in Japan. Toga is a remote village in Japan where Tadashi Suzuki started his theatre practice and still functions as the centre of his theatre and actor training explorations.

Why Suzuki?

I thought of introducing the Suzuki method to Sri Lankan theatre actors for several reasons. I have observed that Sri Lankan theatre and especially its performance practice are diminishing with elaborate technology and stage craft. Further, the actor’s body and its capacity are also marginalized for the sake of proscenium dialogical dramatic acts that we experience in contemporary theatre. Older versions of psychological realism still dominate in theatre and the actor’s capacity, voice, and physical expressions have gradually been forgotten. As I have frequently argued, the ‘primal ritual’ of theatre and actor’s art need to be re-established in order to reinstate a sustainable theatre experience between theatergoers and actors. For theatre audiences in Sri Lanka, whether it is English, Tamil or Sinhala speaking theatres, theatre experience has become a mere proscenium arched framework where people watch daily popular political jargons and obscene jokes brought to entertain them. It is pity to see that the actor’s art has never been in such a poor state where actors on stage perform like marionettes in television soap operas.

The distinction between television screen and theatre is narrowed to a place where a nuclear family saga or political jokes are the core of experience.

In this sense, the Suzuki actor training method is a unique approach to actor training among other performer training pedagogies. It is unique because it focuses on the actor’s development of lower body, stillness, stamina and the presence of the body on stage. On the other hand, it is an innovative actor training method that emphasises the animal-energy in theatre. As Suzuki argues, pre-modern theatre in Japan and elsewhere employed animal-energy to create theatre and stagecraft, and theatre technologies were merely created through human engagement. Suzuki uses this term animal-energy to discuss how raw human engagement is used in traditional theatres such as Noh and Kabuki in Japan and also kuttiyattam and Kathakali dance drama in India or Balinese theatre in Bali, Lombok or in East Java. Talking about his actor training system Suzuki further explains:

As the theatre, either in Europe or in Japan, has kept up with the times and has come to use non-animal-energy in every facet of its activities, one of the resulting evils is that the faculties of the human body and physical sensibility have been overspecialized to the point of separation. Just as civilization has specialized the job of the eyes and created the microscope, modernization has “dismembered” our physical faculties from our essential selves (Suzuki, T., 2002, p. 3)

As this quotation depicts, Suzuki discusses his discontentment of the current practice of the human body on stage and further discusses how the human race has extended technological innovations to replace perceptual organs. For instance, he explains how the human eye is replaced with the microscopic apparatuses to see what the human eye cannot capture through its naked eye. However, Suzuki’s lament with the modern technology and its domination of human cognition is not a new conceptual position. Since the inception of the industrial revolution, many scholars and philosophers have addressed this issue and notably, the intervention of technology and its impact upon human life was a heated debate.

The invasion of intermedial applications in modern and contemporary theatre is something that we cannot ignore. This intermediality has replicated the natural human body and its performativity on stage by elevating digital and visual power over the human body and theatre at large.

However, the importance of Suzuki’s criticism is that he intends his actors to find true selves and the corporeal presence on stage. In line with this argument, Suzuki has invented a method which emphasizes the lower part of the human body—legs—and its connection to the floor. (This idea of focusing on the lower body and its connection to the earth was not new to Sri Lankan dance practice. However, with the advent of visual medium and digital technology the performer’s focus has been shifted from the floor to the upper body).

The basic activities that Suzuki has formulated to train actors is a series of various stomping methods and walking patterns that allow actors to work as individuals and in groups. In this stomping method, actors are intended to hit the floor vigorously and continue stomping for at least half an hour while keeping their upper bodies still. Therefore, the actor’s endurance and stamina are tested with these rigorous exercise routines. Stomping further allows the actor to see how his/her upper body reacts to the lower body when legs are hitting the ground. The challenge of maintaining the balance, the centre of gravity and energy flow through the pelvic area to the ground, and its equal force towards the upper body is constantly been measured and tested in this actor training method.

Deborah Leiser-Moore

With the concept of eradicating daily routine and mundane habitual behaviors, I had several conversations with Australian actor/director Deborah Leiser-Moore, and finally decided to conduct a week-long Suzuki actor training for a group of selected Sri Lankan actors in mid-2019.

I first met Deborah during my stay at La Trobe University Melbourne while reading for my PhD. I was assigned to teach a few undergraduate classes Asian performance traditions and at the time Deborah was a hired lecturer at the Department of Theatre, La Trobe University Bundoora, Victoria. She wanted to take part in my workshops and later I found that she was going to conduct a series of workshops on Suzuki actor training for undergraduate theatre programme. Associate Prof. Rob Conkie introduced me to Deborah and she invited me to take part in her workshop on the Suzuki method. For the first time in my career as an actor, I was exposed to the Suzuki method which was physically challenging and psychologically draining when I underwent training.

Deborah has studied the Suzuki method and gained first-hand experience of working with the master actor trainer and theatre director Tadashi Suzuki and his actors in Waseda Little Theatre (Waseda Shogekijo) in Japan. In addition, she has studied the work of Ettiene Decroux, and his corporeal mime, and has worked with Richard Schechner’s Rasaboxes. Deborah is a performance maker and actor who has created many solo performances and has performed them in several theatre festivals around the world. She has worked as a sessional lecturer at many Australian Universities such as La Trobe, Wollongong, Sydney, Monash, and University of Western Sydney where she has taught and developed course contents, supervised theses, and theatre productions.

Suzuki Method in Sri Lanka

The Suzuki actor training workshop, conceived and developed by Dr Saumya Liyanage and Dr Deborah Leiser-Moore, was mainly focused on the actor’s ‘Present’ in the given moment, developing stamina and deconstructing daily habit body and cultivating a sense of presence and focus on the body and text. The participants were selected through an application process and the workshop was limited to twenty-five actors of both genders. The week-long workshop was designed to work with actors throughout. Deborah conducted her actor training workshop quite similar to what she has learnt during her Apprenticeship in Toga, Japan.

Young and enthusiastic actors and a few dancers were selected to take part in this unique performer training workshop and every moment of working with Deborah was a joyful experience for Sri Lankan actors. These selected actors were either graduates or had professionally worked in the Sinhala or English theatre. Among these actors, there were a few dance graduates who were keen to explore performance genres. However, the Suzuki method is a rigorous and a physically demanding actor training system. Many of the actors were physically and psychologically drained during workshop hours. Sri Lankan actor training taking place in a few university theatre departments and ad-hoc theatre workshops conducted by individuals mainly focuses on theatre exercises derived from European or American teaching and are also very much confined to theatre games. The Suzuki method however, which is fully focused on the actor’s body and the culture of training and its impact upon the actor’s body, is completely different from what Sri Lankan actors have experienced. I believe that the actors who worked with Deborah have questioned themselves, the capacities of their bodies, the connection between the body and their cognitive operations, and interrelation between actors, which would have been a novel eye opener for them.

Conclusion

Deborah wanted to conclude the Suzuki actor training week with a performance demonstration. The actors enthusiastically worked with Deborah to compile what they had learnt throughout the week-long session and later integrated a text written by Prof. Peta Tait with whom they discussed practice-based research and its contemporary development in postgraduate studies in Australia and other countries. Prof. Tait and Dr Deborah also conducted several postgraduate seminars focusing on how performance practice could be a research insight for students who wish to pursue research degrees in theatre and performing arts. I would like to conclude this piece of writing with Prof. Tait’s poem that we used in the final performance demonstration.

I watch the sea below.

I fly further and further – between sky and sea.

The flight takes over my soul.

I can’t feel my body

The island appears beneath as if by magic.

An island silenced by war.

I could never dream up this brilliance.

How could I imagine this richness that leaps at the senses?

War moves people across impossible distances

With a spin of fate, it makes us someone else

Fighting off a force waiting to steal away our lives.

But my war is a strange one.

Where’s the enemy?

Then all goes still and silent

Peta Tait @ Longing

Acknowledgements

The Author of this paper wishes to thank Dr Deborah Leiser-Moore, Emeritus Prof. Peta Tait, La Trobe University Australia, and Associate Prof. Rob Conkie, Dept. of Theatre, La Trobe University, Australia for supporting this actor training project. Further, the author’s gratitude goes to the following people: Natasha Hilary, Samal Hemachandra, and the staff of the FGS, UVPA Colombo who managed the project. Himansi Dehigama and Sachini Senevirathne helped copy editing this paper.

Reference list

Allain, P. (1998). Suzuki Training. TDR/The Drama Review, 42(1), pp.66–89.

Allain, P. (2003). The art of stillness : the theatre practice of Tadashi Suzuki. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Allain, P. (2019). Physical actor training 2.0: new digital horizons. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 10(2), pp.169–186.

Goto, Y. (1989a). The Theatrical Fusion of Suzuki Tadashi. Asian Theatre Journal, 6(2), p.103.

Kim, J.K. (2013). Suzuki Tadashi’s Intercultural Progress in South Korea. Asian Theatre Journal, 30(1), pp.207–222.

Tadashi Suzuki and Steele, K.H. (2015). Culture is the body : the theatre writings of Tadashi Suzuki. New York: Theatre Communications Group.

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Features

Handunnetti and Colonial Shackles of English in Sri Lanka

Published

7 days ago

2025/12/10

Thilina Walpola

Handunetti at the World Economic Forum

“My tongue in English chains.
I return, after a generation, to you.
I am at the end
of my Dravidic tether
hunger for you unassuaged
I falter, stumble.”
– Indian poet R. Parthasarathy

When Minister Sunil Handunnetti addressed the World Economic Forum’s ‘Is Asia’s Century at Risk?’ discussion as part of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2025 in June 2025, I listened carefully both to him and the questions that were posed to him by the moderator. The subsequent trolling and extremely negative reactions to his use of English were so distasteful that I opted not to comment on it at the time. The noise that followed also meant that a meaningful conversation based on that event on the utility of learning a powerful global language and how our politics on the global stage might be carried out more successfully in that language was lost on our people and pundits, barring a few commentaries.

Now Handunnetti has reopened the conversation, this time in Sri Lanka’s parliament in November 2025, on the utility of mastering English particularly for young entrepreneurs. In his intervention, he also makes a plea not to mock his struggle at learning English given that he comes from a background which lacked the privilege to master the language in his youth. His clear intervention makes much sense.

The same ilk that ridiculed him when he spoke at WEF is laughing at him yet again on his pronunciation, incomplete sentences, claiming that he is bringing shame to the country and so on and so forth. As usual, such loud, politically motivated and retrograde critics miss the larger picture. Many of these people are also among those who cannot hold a conversation in any of the globally accepted versions of English. Moreover, their conceit about the so-called ‘correct’ use of English seems to suggest the existence of an ideal English type when it comes to pronunciation and basic articulation. I thought of writing this commentary now in a situation when the minister himself is asking for help ‘in finding a solution’ in his parliamentary speech even though his government is not known to be amenable to critical reflection from anyone who is not a party member.

The remarks at the WEF and in Sri Lanka’s parliament are very different at a fundamental level, although both are worthy of consideration – within the realm of rationality, not in the depths of vulgar emotion and political mudslinging.

The problem with Handunnetti’s remarks at WEF was not his accent or pronunciation. After all, whatever he said could be clearly understood if listened to carefully. In that sense, his use of English fulfilled one of the most fundamental roles of language – that of communication. Its lack of finesse, as a result of the speaker being someone who does not use the language professionally or personally on a regular basis, is only natural and cannot be held against him. This said, there are many issues that his remarks flagged that were mostly drowned out by the noise of his critics.

Given that Handunnetti’s communication was clear, it also showed much that was not meant to be exposed. He simply did not respond to the questions that were posed to him. More bluntly, a Sinhala speaker can describe the intervention as yanne koheda, malle pol , which literally means, when asked ‘Where are you going?’, the answer is ‘There are coconuts in the bag’.

He spoke from a prepared text which his staff must have put together for him. However, it was far off the mark from the questions that were being directly posed to him. The issue here is that his staff appears to have not had any coordination with the forum organisers to ascertain and decide on the nature of questions that would be posed to the Minister for which answers could have been provided based on both global conditions, local situations and government policy. After all, this is a senior minister of an independent country and he has the right to know and control, when possible, what he is dealing with in an international forum.

This manner of working is fairly routine in such international fora. On the one hand, it is extremely unfortunate that his staff did not do the required homework and obviously the minister himself did not follow up, demonstrating negligence, a want for common sense, preparedness and experience among all concerned. On the other hand, the government needs to have a policy on who it sends to such events. For instance, should a minister attend a certain event, or should the government be represented by an official or consultant who can speak not only fluently, but also with authority on the subject matter. That is, such speakers need to be very familiar with the global issues concerned and not mere political rhetoric aimed at local audiences.

Other than Handunnetti, I have seen, heard and also heard of how poorly our politicians, political appointees and even officials perform at international meetings (some of which are closed door) bringing ridicule and disastrous consequences to the country. None of them are, however, held responsible.

Such reflective considerations are simple yet essential and pragmatic policy matters on how the government should work in these conditions. If this had been undertaken, the WEF event might have been better handled with better global press for the government. Nevertheless, this was not only a matter of English. For one thing, Handunnetti and his staff could have requested for the availability of simultaneous translation from Sinhala to English for which pre-knowledge of questions would have been useful. This is all too common too. At the UN General Assembly in September, President Dissanayake spoke in Sinhala and made a decent presentation.

The pertinent question is this; had Handunetti had the option of talking in Sinhala, would the interaction have been any better? That is extremely doubtful, barring the fluency of language use. This is because Handunnetti, like most other politicians past and present, are good at rhetoric but not convincing where substance is concerned, particularly when it comes to global issues. It is for this reason that such leaders need competent staff and consultants, and not mere party loyalists and yes men, which is an unfortunate situation that has engulfed the whole government.

What about the speech in parliament? Again, as in the WEF event, his presentation was crystal clear and, in this instance, contextually sensible. But he did not have to make that speech in English at all when decent simultaneous translation services were available. In so far as content was concerned, he made a sound argument considering local conditions which he knows well. The minister’s argument is about the need to ensure that young entrepreneurs be taught English so that they can deal with the world and bring investments into the country, among other things. This should actually be the norm, not only for young entrepreneurs, but for all who are interested in widening their employment and investment opportunities beyond this country and in accessing knowledge for which Sinhala and Tamil alone do not suffice.

As far as I am concerned, Handunetti’s argument is important because in parliament, it can be construed as a policy prerogative. Significantly, he asked the Minister of Education to make this possible in the educational reforms that the government is contemplating.

He went further, appealing to his detractors not to mock his struggle in learning English, and instead to become part of the solution. However, in my opinion, there is no need for the Minister to carry this chip on his shoulder. Why should the minister concern himself with being mocked for poor use of English? But there is a gap that his plea should have also addressed. What prevented him from mastering English in his youth goes far deeper than the lack of a privileged upbringing.

The fact of the matter is, the facilities that were available in schools and universities to learn English were not taken seriously and were often looked down upon as kaduwa by the political spectrum he represents and nationalist elements for whom the utilitarian value of English was not self-evident. I say this with responsibility because this was a considerable part of the reality in my time as an undergraduate and also throughout the time I taught in Sri Lanka.

Much earlier in my youth, swayed by the rhetoric of Sinhala language nationalism, my own mastery of English was also delayed even though my background is vastly different from the minister. I too was mocked, when two important schools in Kandy – Trinity College and St. Anthony’s College – refused to accept me to Grade 1 as my English was wanting. This was nearly 20 years after independence. I, however, opted to move on from the blatant discrimination, and mastered the language, although I probably had better opportunities and saw the world through a vastly different lens than the minister. If the minister’s commitment was also based on these social and political realities and the role people like him had played in negating our English language training particularly in universities, his plea would have sounded far more genuine.

If both these remarks and the contexts in which they were made say something about the way we can use English in our country, it is this: On one hand, the government needs to make sure it has a pragmatic policy in place when it sends representatives to international events which takes into account both a person’s language skills and his breadth of knowledge of the subject matter. On the other hand, it needs to find a way to ensure that English is taught to everyone successfully from kindergarten to university as a tool for inclusion, knowledge and communication and not a weapon of exclusion as is often the case.

This can only bear fruit if the failures, lapses and strengths of the country’s English language teaching efforts are taken into cognizance. Lamentably, division and discrimination are still the main emotional considerations on which English is being popularly used as the trolls of the minister’s English usage have shown. It is indeed regrettable that their small-mindedness prevents them from realizing that the Brits have long lost their long undisputed ownership over the English language along with the Empire itself. It is no longer in the hands of the colonial masters. So why allow it to be wielded by a privileged few mired in misplaced notions of elitism?

Features

Finally, Mahinda Yapa sets the record straight

Published

7 days ago

2025/12/10

Thilina Walpola

Clandestine visit to Speaker’s residence:

Finally, former Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has set the record straight with regard to a controversial but never properly investigated bid to swear in him as interim President. Abeywardena has disclosed the circumstances leading to the proposal made by external powers on the morning of 13 July, 2022, amidst a large scale staged protest outside the Speaker’s official residence, situated close to Parliament.

Lastly, the former parliamentarian has revealed that it was then Indian High Commissioner, in Colombo, Gopal Baglay (May 2022 to December 2023) who asked him to accept the presidency immediately. Professor Sunanda Maddumabandara, who served as Senior Advisor (media) to President Ranil Wickremesinghe (July 2022 to September 2024), disclosed Baglay’s direct intervention in his latest work, titled ‘Aragalaye Balaya’ (Power of Aragalaya).

Prof. Maddumabandara quoted Abeywardena as having received a startling assurance that if he agreed to accept the country’s leadership, the situation would be brought under control, within 45 minutes. Baglay had assured Abeywardena that there is absolutely no harm in him succeeding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in view of the developing situation.

The author told the writer that only a person who had direct control over the violent protest campaign could have given such an assurance at a time when the whole country was in a flux.

One-time Vice Chancellor of the Kelaniya University, Prof. Maddumabandara, launched ‘Aragalaye Balaya’ at the Sri Lanka Foundation on 20 November. In spite of an invitation extended to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the ousted leader hadn’t attended the event, though UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was there. Maybe Gotabaya felt the futility of trying to expose the truth against evil forces ranged against them, who still continue to control the despicable agenda.

Obviously, the author has received the blessings of Abeywardena and Wickremesinghe to disclose a key aspect in the overall project that exploited the growing resentment of the people to engineer change of Sri Lankan leadership.

The declaration of Baglay’s intervention has contradicted claims by National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa (Nine: The hidden story) and award-winning writer Sena Thoradeniya (Galle Face Protest: System change for anarchy) alleged that US Ambassador Julie Chung made that scandalous proposal to Speaker Abeywardena. Weerawansa and Thoradeniya launched their books on 25 April and 05 July, 2023, at the Sri Lanka Foundation and the National Library and Documentation Services Board, Independence Square, respectively. Both slipped in accusing Ambassador Chung of making an abortive bid to replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa with Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

Ambassador Chung categorically denied Weerawansa’s allegation soon after the launch of ‘Nine: The hidden story’ but stopped short of indicating that the proposal was made by someone else. Chung had no option but to keep quiet as she couldn’t, in response to Weerawansa’s claim, have disclosed Baglay’s intervention, under any circumstances, as India was then a full collaborator with Western designs here for its share of spoils. Weerawansa, Thoradeniya and Maddumabandara agree that Aragalaya had been a joint US-Indian project and it couldn’t have succeeded without their intervention. Let me reproduce the US Ambassador’s response to Weerawansa, who, at the time of the launch, served as an SLPP lawmaker, having contested the 2020 August parliamentary election on the SLPP ticket.

“I am disappointed that an MP has made baseless allegations and spread outright lies in a book that should be labelled ‘fiction’. For 75 years, the US [and Sri Lanka] have shared commitments to democracy, sovereignty, and prosperity – a partnership and future we continue to build together,” Chung tweeted Wednesday 26 April, evening, 24 hours after Weerawansa’s book launch.

Interestingly, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been silent on the issue in his memoirs ‘The Conspiracy to oust me from Presidency,’ launched on 07 March, 2024.

What must be noted is that our fake Marxists, now entrenched in power, were all part and parcel of Aragalaya.

A clandestine meeting

Abeywardena should receive the appreciation of all for refusing to accept the offer made by Baglay, on behalf of India and the US. He had the courage to tell Baglay that he couldn’t accept the presidency as such a move violated the Constitution. In our post-independence history, no other politician received such an offer from foreign powers. When Baglay stepped up pressure, Abeywardena explained that he wouldn’t change his decision.

Maddumabandara, based on the observations made by Abeywardena, referred to the Indian High Commissioner entering the Speaker’s Official residence, unannounced, at a time protesters blocked the road leading to the compound. The author raised the possibility of Baglay having been in direct touch with those spearheading the high profile political project.

Clearly Abeywardena hadn’t held back anything. The former Speaker appeared to have responded to those who found fault with him for not responding to allegations, directed at him, by revealing everything to Maddumabandara, whom he described in his address, at the book launch, as a friend for over five decades.

At the time, soon after Baglay’s departure from the Speaker’s official residence, alleged co-conspirators Ven. Omalpe Sobitha, accompanied by Senior Professor of the Sinhala Faculty at the Colombo University, Ven. Agalakada Sirisumana, health sector trade union leader Ravi Kumudesh, and several Catholic priests, arrived at the Speaker’s residence where they repeated the Indian High Commissioner’s offer. Abeywardena repeated his previous response despite Sobitha Thera acting in a threatening manner towards him to accept their dirty offer. Shouldn’t they all be investigated in line with a comprehensive probe?

Ex-President Wickremesinghe with a copy of Aragalaye Balaya he received from its author, Prof. Professor Sunanda Maddumabandara, at the Sri Lanka Foundation recently (pic by Nishan S Priyantha)

On the basis of what Abeywardena had disclosed to him, Maddumabanadara also questioned the circumstances of the deployment of the elite Special Task Force (STF) contingent at the compound. The author asked whether that deployment, without the knowledge of the Speaker, took place with the intervention of Baglay.

Aragalaye Balaya

is a must read for those who are genuinely interested in knowing the unvarnished truth. Whatever the deficiencies and inadequacies on the part of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, external powers had engineered a change of government. The writer discussed the issues that had been raised by Prof. Maddumabandara and, in response to one specific query, the author asserted that in spite of India offering support to Gotabaya Rajapaksa earlier to get Ranil Wickremesinghe elected as the President by Parliament to succeed him , the latter didn’t agree with the move. Then both the US and India agreed to bring in the Speaker as the Head of State, at least for an interim period.

If Speaker Abeywardena accepted the offer made by India, on behalf of those backing the dastardly US backed project, the country could have experienced far reaching changes and the last presidential election may not have been held in September, 2004.

After the conclusion of his extraordinary assignment in Colombo, Baglay received appointment as New Delhi’s HC in Canberra. Before Colombo, Baglay served in Indian missions in Ukraine, Russia, the United Kingdom, Nepal and Pakistan (as Deputy High Commissioner).

Baglay served in New Delhi, in the office of the Prime Minister of India, and in the Ministry of External Affairs as its spokesperson, and in various other positions related to India’s ties with her neighbours, Europe and multilateral organisations.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to examine who deceived Weerawansa and Thoradeniya who identified US Ambassador Chung as the secret visitor to the Speaker’s residence. Her high-profile role in support of the project throughout the period 31 March to end of July, 2022, obviously made her an attractive target but the fact remains it was Baglay who brought pressure on the then Speaker. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s clarification has given a new twist to “Aragalaya’ and India’s diabolical role.

Absence of investigations

Sri Lanka never really wanted to probe the foreign backed political plot to seize power by extra-parliamentary means. Although some incidents had been investigated, the powers that be ensured that the overall project remained uninvestigated. In fact, Baglay’s name was never mentioned regarding the developments, directly or indirectly, linked to the devious political project. If not for Prof. Maddumabandara taking trouble to deal with the contentious issue of regime change, Baglay’s role may never have come to light. Ambassador Chung would have remained the target of all those who found fault with US interventions. Let me be clear, the revelation of Baglay’s clandestine meeting with the Speaker didn’t dilute the role played by the US in Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s removal.

If Prof. Maddumabandara propagated lies, both the author and Abeywardana should be appropriately dealt with. Aragalaye Balaya failed to receive the desired or anticipated public attention. Those who issue media statements at the drop of a hat conveniently refrained from commenting on the Indian role. Even Abeywardena remained silent though he could have at least set the record straight after Ambassador Chung was accused of secretly meeting the Speaker. Abeywardena could have leaked the information through media close to him. Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe, too, could have done the same but all decided against revealing the truth.

A proper investigation should cover the period beginning with the declaration made by Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government, in April 2022, regarding the unilateral decision to suspend debt repayment. But attention should be paid to the failure on the part of the government to decide against seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to overcome the crisis. Those who pushed Gotabaya Rajapaksa to adopt, what they called, a domestic solution to the crisis created the environment for the ultimate collapse that paved the way for external interventions. Quite large and generous Indian assistance provided to Sri Lanka at that time should be examined against the backdrop of a larger frightening picture. In other words, India was literally running with the sheep while hunting with the hounds. Whatever the criticism directed at India over its role in regime change operation, prompt, massive and unprecedented post-Cyclone Ditwah assistance, provided by New Delhi, saved Sri Lanka. Rapid Indian response made a huge impact on Sri Lanka’s overall response after having failed to act on a specific 12 November weather alert.

It would be pertinent to mention that all governments, and the useless Parliament, never wanted the public to know the truth regarding regime change project. Prof. Maddumabandara discussed the role played by vital sections of the armed forces, lawyers and the media in the overall project that facilitated external operations to force Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of office. The author failed to question Wickremesinghe’s failure to launch a comprehensive investigation, with the backing of the SLPP, immediately after he received appointment as the President. There seems to be a tacit understanding between Wickremesinghe and the SLPP that elected him as the President not to initiate an investigation. Ideally, political parties represented in Parliament should have formed a Special Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate the developments during 2019 to the end of 2022. Those who had moved court against the destruction of their property, during the May 2022 violence directed at the SLPP, quietly withdrew that case on the promise of a fresh comprehensive investigation. This assurance given by the Wickremesinghe government was meant to bring an end to the judicial process.

When the writer raised the need to investigate external interventions, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) sidestepped the issue. Shame on the so-called independent commission, which shows it is anything but independent.

Sumanthiran’s proposal

Since the eradication of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009, the now defunct Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) priority had been convincing successive governments to withdraw the armed forces/ substantially reduce their strength in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK)-led TNA, as well as other Tamil political parties, Western powers, civil society, Tamil groups, based overseas, wanted the armed forces out of the N and E regions.

Abeywardena also revealed how the then ITAK lawmaker, M.A. Sumanthiran, during a tense meeting chaired by him, in Parliament, also on 13 July, 2022, proposed the withdrawal of the armed forces from the N and E for redeployment in Colombo. The author, without hesitation, alleged that the lawmaker was taking advantage of the situation to achieve their longstanding wish. The then Speaker also disclosed that Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella and other party leaders leaving the meeting as soon as the armed forces reported the protesters smashing the first line of defence established to protect the Parliament. However, leaders of minority parties had remained unruffled as the situation continued to deteriorate and external powers stepped up efforts to get rid of both Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe to pave the way for an administration loyal and subservient to them. Foreign powers seemed to have been convinced that Speaker Abeywardena was the best person to run the country, the way they wanted, or till the Aragalaya mob captured the House.

The Author referred to the role played by the media, including social media platforms, to promote Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s successor. Maddumamabandara referred to the Hindustan Times coverage to emphasise the despicable role played by a section of the media to manipulate the rapid developments that were taking place. The author also dealt with the role played by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in the project with the focus on how that party intensified its actions immediately after Gotabaya Rajapaksa stepped down.

Disputed assessment

The Author identified Ministers Bimal Rathnayaka, Sunil Handunetti and K.D. Lal Kantha as the persons who spearheaded the JVP bid to seize control of Parliament. Maddumabanda unflinchingly compared the operation, mounted against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with the regime change operations carried out in Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Ukraine. Asserting that governments loyal to the US-led Western block had been installed in those countries, the author seemed to have wrongly assumed that external powers failed to succeed in Sri Lanka (pages 109 and 110). That assertion is utterly wrong. Perhaps, the author for some unexplained reasons accepted what took place here. Nothing can be further from the truth than the regime change operation failed (page 110) due to the actions of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana and Ranil Wickremesinghe. In case, the author goes for a second print, he should seriously consider making appropriate corrections as the current dispensation pursues an agenda in consultation with the US and India.

The signing of seven Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with India, including one on defence, and growing political-defence-economic ties with the US, have underscored that the JVP-led National People’s Power (NPP) may not have been the first choice of the US-India combine but it is certainly acceptable to them now.

The bottom line is that a democratically elected President, and government, had been ousted through unconstitutional means and Sri Lanka meekly accepted that situation without protest. In retrospect, the political party system here has been subverted and changed to such an extent, irreparable damage has been caused to public confidence. External powers have proved that Sri Lanka can be influenced at every level, without exception, and the 2022 ‘Aragalaya’ is a case in point. The country is in such a pathetic state, political parties represented in Parliament and those waiting for an opportunity to enter the House somehow at any cost remain vulnerable to external designs and influence.

Cyclone Ditwah has worsened the situation. The country has been further weakened with no hope of early recovery. Although the death toll is much smaller compared to that of the 2004 tsunami, economic devastation is massive and possibly irreversible and irreparable.

By Shamindra Ferdinando