Grassroots level activists offered rewards:
Basil on poaching spree for Kirulapone rally
 
When President Maithripala Sirisena walked into a meeting with
newspaper editors and media heads at the President’s House on Wednesday
morning, he looked calm and confident.
The timing of the meeting was crucial as it fell four ahead of May
Day – a day exploited by Sri Lankan political parties.
This year, the traditional muscle-flexing event has drawn more media
attention as the UPFA rebel group, which calls themselves the ‘Joint
Opposition’, will have their own May Day event. Obviously, they hope to
poach some MPs from the SLFP’s May Day rally in Galle, chaired by
President Maithripala Sirisena.
This has already caused a split in the blue camp. Some UPFA MPs, who
are members of the SLFP, have already said they will attend the rebel
group’s May Day rally in Kirulapone.
Some backbenchers of the SLFP, ardent supporters of former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa, openly claimed they would distance themselves from
the party’s May Day event in Galle.
This situation compelled the SLFP to take measures to give more
energy to the Galle rally. The SLFP instructed its seniors to hold press
conferences almost on a daily basis to boost the enthusiasm of
grassroots level supporters.
Poaching
The SLFP was aware of the fact that former Economic Development
Minister Basil Rajapaksa, the former President’s campaign manager at the
last Presidential election, was holding district level meetings to poach
the SLFP’s grassroots level activists for their May Day rally in
Kirulapone.
It was in the grapevine that the party’s Local Government
representatives, who confirmed their presence at the Kirulapone rally,
were offered rewards and various benefits.

President Maithripala Sirisena speaks to newspaper editors
and heads of media |
It was against this backdrop that President Sirisena held a meeting
with newspaper editors after a hiatus of about eight months. It was
clear to everyone that the SLFP’s May Day battle would be the hot topic
at the breakfast meeting.
The President was flanked by Media Minister Gayantha Karunathilake
and Deputy Minister Karunarathna Paranawithana. Newly appointed
Secretary to the Media and Parliamentary Reforms Ministry, Nimal Bopage,
was also present at the discussion.
From the beginning, it was crystal clear that the President had
decided to unmask the UPFA rebel group and their de facto leader Mahinda
Rajapaksa before the media heads.
No regime change
“Some talk about forming a new government and their sole aim is to
create a sense of instability in the political sphere. I must
categorically state that there will be no regime-change in this country
until the next Parliamentary election. No one will be able to engineer a
regime-change by ‘shifting heads’ in Parliament,” President Sirisena
said, directing his criticism at the rebel group.
“Any party striving to form a new government in a conspiratorial
manner should secure 113 seats. They cannot approach the UNP because the
party is already in the government. They should start their mission with
the UPFA, which has 95 seats.
“Assume they can draw the support of 50 out of 95 MPs representing
the UPFA. They will still need 63 seats. Have you ever heard about 63
MPs switching sides in Parliament?” the President asked the media heads
and journalists at the meeting.
“Therefore,” he said, “those dreams will never materialise. I must
reiterate that the government is strong and will serve its full term.
There is no instability in the country’s political sphere.”
“There is no internal power struggle in the SLFP. There is no
internal crisis. One section of the party is trying to purify the SLFP
while upholding its core values.
“Then there is a group of rogues and scoundrels attempting to
sabotage this process. I request the media to understand this reality,”
he said, adding that a certain section was unnecessarily inflating the
image of the rebel group.
The President said, according to intelligence reports, only 11,900
were present at the Hyde Park rally organised by the UPFA rebel group.
“The main objective of the rally was to show the crowds and
intimidate law enforcement authorities conducting anti-corruption
investigations. In his speech at the rally, the former President asked
the members of the judiciary to take a look at the crowd.
“By making this remark, he attempted to intimidate the country’s law
enforcement mechanism. But, I must assure them that nothing will happen
to the present government and no act of sabotage will be entertained,”
the President said.
Wrong track
“Democracy is overflowing in the country, literally! My predecessor
had been given military security and he also handpicked the officers he
needed. What does he do using this military protection. He goes around
the country, talking about toppling the government. Name any other
country that gives military protection to elements trying to topple the
government,” he said.
“The previous government knew that the economy was on the wrong
track. Former Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera personally told me
that he was planning to step down. He knew that en economic crisis was
in the offing,” the President said, commenting on claims about an
impending economic crisis. “The previous ruler had two main worries and
that was why he announced a premature election. He was worried about the
Geneva resolution and he knew the economy was in shambles. In March,
2014, I personally handed over a letter to the former President, urging
him to refrain from announcing an election.
“I presented him a framework containing eight points that needed to
be fulfilled before going for an election. I said a ‘winning mindset’
should be created among our supporters before an election. Such requests
fell on deaf ears,” he said.
Then his criticism was directed at former Economic Development
Minister Basil Rajapaksa. Basil’s ‘village to village’ campaign which
had already earned the ire of party seniors and members of the SLFP old
guard.
Alluding to the conduct of his former Cabinet colleague, President
Sirisena said certain top-brass members of the previous administration
are now going from village to village, distributing money to sabotage
the SLFP’s May Day rally.
‘Powerless’
“It is important to find where this money came from,” the President
said.
“We all know how they ran the country. Every morning, about five
members of the former First Family got together at the breakfast table
and made important decisions about the country. Then they were passed on
to the Cabinet and to Parliament. The previous ruler completely
disregarded the opinion of other senior leaders of the government and
the party’s important decision making bodies,” the President said,
adding both the Cabinet and the legislature were ‘powerless’ under the
Rajapaksa administration.
Criticising the conduct of the former Economic Development Minister,
the President said he attempted to run the government using ‘State
machinery.’
“He went to every district and the district secretaries were asked to
organise meetings. People’s representatives in the districts were kept
in the dark about those events.
“They were not even given a chance to deliver the vote of thanks. At
the event, the minister would deliver a letter to the District
Secretary, allocating funds for development projects in the area.
Disappointed with this whole process, some senior MPs in Matale,
Ratnapura and Badulla districts even boycotted such events,” he said.
“The majority of Cabinet ministers were utterly dissatisfied with
their conduct. But, they were helpless. It was against this backdrop
that I stepped down from my ministerial position to become the common
candidate of the opposition.”
It did not require a lot of wisdom to understand that the President
used the meeting with media heads and editors to send a message to the
UPFA rebel group. He has already made it clear that the SLFP would
embark on major reforms after May 1. Giving a sign of party reforms that
are in the office, the SLFP, last week, appointed 11 new electorate
organisers to some key electorates.
Interestingly, MPs Geetha Kumarasingha and Salinda Dissanayake, two
stalwarts in the Rajapaksa, were axed when appointing electorate
organisers.
It was, needless to say, a red light to other electorate organisers
of the party supporting the Rajapaksa faction.
However, those who replaced Dissanayake and Kumarasinghe too had
skeletons in the cupboards. For instance, Kamal Indika, who replaced
Dissanayake as the SLFP organiser for Hiriyala, was allegedly involved
in the attack on a group of artistes representing ‘Aluth Parapura’, in
December, 2014. ‘Aluth Parapura’ campaigned for President Sirisena and
the group who led the attack identified themselves as members of ‘Nil
Balakaya’ – the youth wing operated under Parliamentarian Namal
Rajapaksa.
Pro-Rajapaksa group faces split
Meanwhile, the pro-Rajapaksa group too is facing a fresh split after
former Minister Basil Rajapaksa became the ‘face’ behind the rebel
group’s campaign. Rajapaksa’s emergence has disheartened two main
stakeholders of the former President’s political campaign- namely Wimal
Weerawansa and Vasudewa Nanayakkara.
After the last Presidential election, Both Weerawansa and Nanayakkara
openly claimed that the former Minister was responsible for his
brother’s unexpected downfall.
Weerawansa, during internal meetings of the group, repeatedly said
the former Minister should take a ‘back seat’ Rajapaksa’s comeback
campaign. The parliamentarian opined that Basil Rajapaksa could not be
‘marketed’ to the grassroots level voters, as they were skeptical about
the former Minister’s track record on the bribery and corruption front.
On the other hand, Basil was not a fiery orator who could attract the
common masses with political rhetoric. In addition, his reputation was
seriously tarnished when he chose to leave the country two days after
his brother’s defeat at the Presidential election.
However, it is important to understand that the former President’s
politics, over the past 12 years, entirely revolved around his family.
Despite concerns raised by his confidantes, the former President allowed
his brother to occupy his campaign’s driving seat.
Basil functioned as the main organiser of the Rajapaksa group’s May
Day rally in Kirulapona and he spent money lavishly to ensure the
success of the event.
The former Minister, however, has now come under criticism from
various sections in the same camp. For instance, some web sites run by
Weerawansa fired cannons at Basil Rajapaksa over the past few days,
saying the latter was driving the pro-Rajapaksa political campaign to
the ground.
It has also been revealed that MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara, another
vociferous campaigner for the former President, is yet to confirm his
participation atthe Kirulaponea rally. Nanayakkara too was disillusioned
after Basil took over the Rajapaksa group’s May Day program.
Udayanga Weeratunga
Apart from the May Day issue, former President Rajapaksa ran into
another problem when he met his nephew. Udayanga Weeratunga, a former
Sri Lankan diplomat, in Thailand, last week.
Weeratunga, needless to say, is one of the most notorious diplomats
under the previous administration and he faced multiple allegations
after the previous regime fell out of power, in January, last year.
He was accused of selling arms to separatist rebels in Ukraine and
his name was also mentioned in connection with the controversial MIG
deal. Apart from that, some relatives of Noel Ranaweera, the Sri Lankan
Embassy worker who died in Russia in 2014, pointed their fingers at
Weeratunga over the incident. Therefore, the Sri Lankan law enforcement
authorities were on the lookout for Weeratunga.
However, the Sri Lankan authorities could not find out the
whereabouts of the former diplomat. As a result, former Deputy Minister
of Foreign Affairs Ajith P. Perera, addressing a press conference, said
Weeratunga was missing.
Although Weeratunga vehemently denied the allegations, he did not
return to the country to clear his name. Issuing a statement in June
last year, the former diplomat said he was still in Ukraine and there
was no inquiry against him by the Russian authorities.
Even though he said he was in Ukraine, the former Ambassador, a few
weeks later, visited the Sri Lankan Embassy in Tehran with a request to
certify a power-of-attorney copy to get some of his heavy baggage in the
Colombo port to be cleared.
The Sri Lankan Embassy, however, declined his request on the
condition that he returns his diplomatic passport. He had replied to
this request via email on May 9, 2015, stating that he would not return
the diplomatic passport.
It is against this backdrop that the former President, who was on a
personal visit to Thailand, last week, met Weeratunga in the Southeast
Asian country. Former Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Pieris was also with
the former President when the latter met his nephew in Udon Thani,
Thailand. Weeratunga also took part in some religious activities with
the former President and was not reluctant to appear for photographs.
Interestingly, Weeratunga shared the photographs he took with
Rajapaksa on his official Facebook profiles. It was a clear indication
he did not want to hide his association with the former President.
Rajapaksa’s meeting with Weeratunga stirred up a controversy in the
Sri Lankan political domain. Addressing the weekly Cabinet meeting on
Wednesday, Minister Rajitha Senaratne sad the government would take
measures to arrest the former diplomat soon. He said that Weeratunga
visited Thailand using his personal passport.
On Friday, Weeratunga posted another statement on his Facebook
profile stating he was back in Ukraine, after meeting his ‘leader’, the
former President, in Thailand.
Air Force issue
Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Kapila Jayampathy, a front-runner for the
position of Air Force Commander at point, has complained to the Human
Rights Commission against his removal from the position of Director Air
Operations.
Air Marshal Gagan Bulathisinhala, on June 15, last year, became the
new Commander of Air Force, edging out Jayampathy, following a keen
contest. Air Vice Marshal C.R. Gurusinghe was appointed as the Chief of
Staff of the SLAF while Jayampathy became the Director Air Operations.
Jayampathy has complained that he has been removed from the position
of Director Air Operations ‘illegally’ without a hearing or a proper
inquiry.
He also claimed that the removal was based on frivolous ‘unconnected
to the functions of Director- Air Operations.
Apart from this, in his letter to the Human Rights Commission, he has
levelled several other allegations against the Air Force. Including:
* Illegal reduction from seniority list of the Air Force
* Unjustified and unreasonable withdrawal of perks granted to Air Vice
Marshal rank.
* Humiliation caused by sudden removal from office and placing in the
basement of the headquarters with other junior officers and other ranks
* Appointing a junior person to the post of Chief of Staff whereas he
was the most senior and suitable person to hold such office.
Following this complaint, the Human Rights Commission has sought a
response from the Sri Lanka Air Force over the matter. In its response
to the HRC, the Air Force has explained the circumstances leading to
Jayampathy’s removal.
“An inquiry carried out by the Command Provost Marshal on alleged
violations of government regulations by AVM K.V.B. Jayampathy revealed
beyond doubt that he had provided misleading information and imported a
second vehicle on duty concessionary terms before completing the
prescribed five-year period between two such importations as provided
for in the trade, tariff and investment policy circular No 01/2010 dated
November 10, 2010 as amended by Circular No 01(01) /201 dated December
24, 2010.
AVM Jayampathy was found guilty for the fraudulent act vide findings
made by the Department of Trade and Investment Policy. This proven
breach is one of very critical nature,which displays questionable
integrity of AVM Jayampathy further compounded by the fact that it has
been willfully committed by an officer at the apex level of armed forces
who aspires for higher office with more responsibility vested to
upholding national security.
This wrongful act is clearly defined as ‘scandalous conduct’ that has
been dealt by a court martial under 107 of the Air Force Act and
cashiered from the Sri Lanka Air Force,” the Air Force’s response to the
Human Rights Commission said.
The letter, according to informed sources, also explained how the
senior officer’s personal life had allegedly conducted the disciplinary
code of the Sri Lanka Air Force.
“AVM Jayampathy, whilst being the Director Air Operations, which is
the primary appointment operationally responsible for the execution of
the core competency of the SLAF was found lacking in spirit of
commitment and professionalism on many occasions.
It was observed that AVM Jayampathy as the Director Air Operations
had failed to institute an Air defence plan nor a contingency evacuation
plan for the ceremonial sitting of the 15th Parliament Sri Lanka on
September 1, last year.
The ceremonial sitting was attended by the President, Prime Minister
and the entire complement of MPs, had the status quo remained and an
eventuality occurred, the SLAF would have failed in its bounden duty
with disastrous consequences.
Provision of Air defence cover and establishing of an emergency
evacuation plan for pre-planned national events attended by VIP/VVIPs is
a primary role of the SLAF and the responsibility of the officer of the
Director Air Operations.
The SLAF organisations professional reputation was critically
questioned by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka due to
negligence, and failure towards basic operational management of a flying
institution by the Accountable Manager of Helitours.
AVM Jayampathy by virtue of his appointment as the Director Air
Operations was also the Accountable Manager of Helitours, the commercial
aviation arm of the SLAF.
The Accountable Manager is specifically named by the Civil Aviation
Authority of Sri Lanka in its letter dated October 20, 2015, faulting
the SLAF for professional negligence,” the letter added.
The SLAF explained it was on those grounds that AVM Jayampathy was
removed from his position as the Director Air Operations – one of the
most senior positions in the Air Force.
However, the Human Rights Commission is yet to give its
recommendation on the matter.
When the Sunday Observer contacted the Air Force Commander’s officer
to get his comment on the matter, we got the response that Air Force
Commander Air Marshal Gagan Bulathsinghala was overseas. However,
multiple Air Force sources confirmed that this was the first time that a
top-tier officer of the SLAF ran into a issue of this nature. |