‘Stormy weather in Parliament’

Government MPs who made a big hue and cry over the much debated SriLankan Airlines issue stressed the need to bring the perpetrators to book whom they claimed to have committed a massive financial fraud causing a Rs.461 billion loss to the country’s national carrier. Some Government MPs put the blame entirely on the previous regime and said that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his then Government should be held responsible for driving SriLankan Airlines to the present precarious situation.

UNP Kurunegala District Parliamentarian Nalin Bandara who moved the Adjournment Motion on Tuesday (May 17) drew the attention of the House to the fact that the total loss was not trivial to be treated leniently, since it amounts to a whopping Rs. 461 billion, stemming from 2008. Citing an example, MP Bandara pointed out, the loss incurred by SriLankan is equal to the value of 33 Lotus Towers, 17 Airports such as Mattala, or three power plants like Norochcholai, which could have been built from that colossal amount. The MP also queried the economic feasibility to launch Mihin Air, when the Government was not in a position to properly operate even SriLankan Airline.

Verbal blows

During the two-day debate, a series of heated arguments and verbal blows broke out between the Government and the Joint Opposition members. A tense situation prevailed on the floor of the House on Wednesday (May 18) when Government legislators protested in the Chamber displaying placards, while UPFA Kandy District MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage was speaking during the debate. Later on, when Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure Development Minister Harin Fernando commenced his speech, the Joint Opposition MPs started to disrupt the proceedings, continuously interrupting the Minister. As the presiding Member Edward Gunasekera failed to bring the situation under control, Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala took the Chair and ordered all MPs to take their seats, with which they complied.

JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti joining in the debate queried as to why the Government was delaying legal action against those responsible for corruption and waste in SriLankan Airlines. The MP was critical of the Government’s plan to seek a private-public partnership while taking over the responsibility for liabilities by the Treasury. He said privatisation is not the sole answer to the prevailing crisis in the national carrier. He was of the view that the purpose of the adjournment motion is to justify the Government’s plan to sell SriLankan Airlines and create a public opinion in favour of it. However, Public Enterprise Development Deputy Minister Eran Wickramaratne categorically rejecting the MP’s claims told the House, a restructuring plan for SriLankan Airlines has been implemented to minimise its loss. The Deputy Minister told the Opposition MPs not to view this issue in a political perspective only, but to analyse it on a commercial footing.

MP warned

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on Thursday admonished Joint Opposition Leader Dinesh Gunawardena for referring to his fellow parliamentarians as ‘Jokers’. When Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake was speaking in the debate, MP Gunawardena repeatedly disturbed him to shout him down. Although the Speaker warned the MP several times, he continued to disturb the business of the House, calling the Minister a ‘joker’. At this point, Minister Karunanayake drew the attention of the Speaker to the manner MP Gunawardena was speaking in the House. In one instance, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also referred to MP Wimal Weerawansa’s manner of speaking in the House and stressed the need to protect the dignity and decorum of the House. This led the Speaker to tell the MP to be mindful of the words he uses in the House.

MP Dinesh Gunawardena on Thursday (May 19) charged that instead of holding Local Government elections, the government had contemplated to issue new gazette notifications to control the media during an election. He said the Government is planning to have the gazette notification passed in Parliament without giving adequate time for MPs to study and analyse it. He also said the Code of Ethics for Media during an election, as prepared by the Chairman of the Elections Commission is not the priority at present, but the government wanted to control the media even before holding the Local Government polls. Gunawardena was of the view if the government wanted to introduce such a code of conduct, adequate time should be given for Parliamentarians, journalists and other stakeholders to study it. Colombo District UPFA MP Wimal Weerawansa said that the Government was not only introducing new gazette notifications to control the media, but also rushing to recruit a Head for the security section of the Government Press, suddenly, in an illegal manner. He said the Government Press was an important place in the context of elections. The government was recruiting a person over 45 years, in violation of the prescribed age limit and added that the person concerned was a henchman of the regime. Weerawansa noted that the UNP led government was making all efforts to rig the Local Government polls and said they would take legal action against the controversial appointment.

Bureaucratic hurdles

The JVP on Tuesday (May 17) called on the government to declare a state of emergency in the country to expedite the process of providing relief to the disaster- hit people. JVP Gampaha District MP Vijitha Herath said various bureaucratic hurdles, including administrative and financial regulations and circulars had prevented the authorities from providing immediate relief to people affected by floods, landslides and earthslips. MP Herath said people in many parts of the country are undergoing numerous difficulties and hardships in the aftermath of the disasters. However, Government officials say they are bound by circulars and can only provide drinking water and cooked food to people in the camps. They cited various circulars which are obstacles, and insisted that the Government declare a state of emergency.

Meanwhile, Parliament sittings adjourned around 12.25 pm on Thursday (May 19) to enable MPs to visit their electorates and participate in providing relief to the people affected by disasters, following a decision arrived at, with the consent of both Government and Opposition MPs. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake requested the Chair to expedite the items listed on the Order Paper for the day so that sessions could be over early enabling the MPs to visit the areas affected by floods and landslides.