Batalanda: Once a Forgotten Relic, Now a Symbol of Accountability
Government Imposes Restrictions on Opposition Leader in Parliament
Frontline Socialists Capitalize on Batalanda Report
UNHRC Set to Scrutinize Sri Lanka in September
Cardinal Loses Patience over Easter Attack after Six-Year Wait
Unemployed Graduates Pressure Government for Solutions
The Batalanda Bombshell:
Unraveling the Impact of a Forgotten Report
The Batalanda Commission report unexpectedly resurfaced last week, overshadowing discussions on the Malima government’s maiden budget, which had been under parliamentary debate for weeks. The catalyst for this resurgence was an Al Jazeera interview with Ranil Wickremesinghe, a moment many believe was mishandled by the former leader himself. Critics argue that Ranil’s apparent lack of preparation for an interview with a global news outlet contributed to the fallout.
What began as a misstep quickly escalated. The Batalanda Commission report, long buried in public memory reemerged like a ticking time bomb, capturing the attention of the Sri Lankan public. The explosive impact of the report created unprecedented curiosity, reigniting conversations about a controversial chapter of the nation’s history.
Interestingly, this revelation provided an unintended advantage to the Malima government — a symbolic “feather in their cap.” Despite not featuring in their political agenda or election manifesto, the government’s willingness to address the issue demonstrated transparency. The credit for bringing the report to light largely goes to Al Jazeera and its interviewer, the world-renowned Mehdi Hasan, alongside former BBC correspondent Frances Harrison, who ensured its public exposure despite Ranil’s insistence that the report had never been published.
The aftermath of the interview has sent ripples through the country’s political landscape. The pressure was so intense that the government had no choice but to present the report to parliament. When Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayaka emotionally tabled the document, Speaker Jagath Wickramaratna was seen visibly moved, a testament to the gravity of the moment.
The Batalanda Commission report, once a forgotten relic, now stands as a symbol of accountability, challenging past narratives and shaping new ones.
A boomerang for the government
However, many people thought that the JVP government would use the Batalanda report to revoke Ranil’s civic rights and punish him, but it seems that the Batalanda report is now creating a disadvantage for the Malima government rather than being an advantage. This is because Ranil is being accused repeatedly due to this Batalanda report, and JVP leaders are also being accused in the same way.
The best example of this is the fact that information about the controversial killings committed by the JVP during the terror period is now coming to light. On the other hand, the Kumar Gunaratnam faction of the JVP, who broke away from the JVP, can also be seen to be exerting a great influence on the Malima government by taking the Batalanda report into their own hands.
Although Kumar Gunaratnam’s Frontline Socialist Party does not have a large voter base in the national elections, it is needless to say that ideologically the Frontline group is a long way ahead of the JVP. Accordingly, it can be seen that the strongmen of the Frontline Party, such as Kumar Gunaratnam, Pubudu Jayagoda, Duminda Nagamuwa, and Senadheera Gunathilaka, have now taken the Batalanda report into their hands and are putting severe pressure on the Malaima government to the point of abolishing Ranil’s civic rights and punishing him.
Similarly, a large group of people who joined the JVP in the 87, 88, and 89 rebellions and have now left the JVP are also hoping that the current government will punish and do justice to their brothers who were murdered by Ranil, who is said to have run the Batalanda torture chamber. Accordingly, the ball has now rolled and landed in the JVP’s court. If the Malima government is unable to deliver justice as expected by the frontliners and those who have joined the rebellion and separated from the JVP, it is unlikely that the frontliners will give it up easily.
Accordingly, as a prediction, we are revealing in this ‘Inside politics’ column that if the government uses the Batalanda report as a weapon to win elections and tries to suppress it as usual by holding a two-day debate, the outcome could be dangerous.
This is because the hard-line frontliners have decided to pressure the JVP government until justice is served. Therefore, it is impossible to predict right now how this issue will ultimately turn out. Accordingly, many believe that if the government is planning to gain any political advantage through the Batalanda report, it should think twice about it.
However, the way the government is planning to gain any advantage through the Batalanda report was seen last week at the party leaders’ meeting held in this regard. The government wanted to allocate a two-day debate for it during the election campaign period. However, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, realizing in advance that the government was planning to gain political advantage from the Batalanda Report, pointed out to the government that instead of debating the issue during the election, it could be debated for two or three days after the election. However, the government opposed this and said that Parliament should be convened on April 10 a one-day debate should be held, and then another day in May could be allocated for it.
September critical
However, despite all this, this time we are ready to reveal another serious matter through the inside politics column. That is, the Batalanda Commission report is scheduled to go international, in a way that neither the government nor anyone else expected. The fact that the Batalanda report became public through Al Jazeera television and subsequently became a big topic within the country, and the government tabled the Batalanda report, has created an environment in which the international community can take some action regarding Sri Lanka.
Through this chain of events, it can be seen that the international community has received strong evidence to prove to the international community that human rights have been violated by using state power through the intervention of a former head of state in Sri Lanka, not only in the North but also in the South, and that people have been subjected to severe torture and mass killings. Since the victory of the war in 2009, the Geneva Human Rights Commission has received numerous proposals alleging that the human rights of the Tamil people in the North have been violated by the war, but at no time has there been any allegation that the human rights of the people in the South have been violated. But now, the fact that a path has been opened for that too can be pointed out as a special incident.
It is learned from reliable sources that the Geneva Human Rights Session next September will be a very crucial one for Sri Lanka. A strong proposal against Sri Lanka is scheduled to be presented to the Geneva Human Rights Commission this September.
Although this was scheduled to be presented to the Geneva Human Rights Commission in September last year, the previous government was able to postpone it during Ranil’s last term due to it being an election year. Accordingly, the proposal is scheduled to be presented this September.
Western countries are now preparing to strengthen the relevant proposal by claiming that the Sri Lankan government has seriously violated the human rights of the people of the South. They are currently preparing to prove through the commission report that these human rights violations were committed during the Batalanda incident when former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was a minister.
In addition, many in the human rights sphere think that the incident involving IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon will also have a very negative impact on Sri Lanka. Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, who appeared for the Attorney General in the incident involving Deshabandu, stated before the Magistrate’s Court that evidence has been presented that former IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon had led an unofficial combat group.
It is believed that Western countries plan to add this to the Geneva charges by calling it ‘state terrorism’. Accordingly, the countries that have been watching Sri Lanka with a hawkish eye for a long time have now been given two easy catches by the government. Or, the South has been given two opportunities to justify the allegations of human rights violations allegedly committed in the North. Accordingly, many who analyze international politics believe that this chain of events will pose a major challenge to the government in September.
Six years since the Easter attack
Next month, it will be six years since the Easter attacks. For the past six years, cardinals, the Catholic Church and the people of the country have been demanding four presidents to expose the masterminds of the Easter attacks. The first was Maithripala Sirisena, who was in power when the Easter attacks occurred. Then Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed the presidency, promising to punish the masterminds of the Easter attacks and the Central Bank bond fraudsters.
But in the end, instead of searching for those accused, Gota left the presidency and fled through the back door, handing over the presidency to Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom they accused of being a bond thief. But Ranil was not seen catching the masterminds of the Easter attacks. Accordingly, in the last presidential election, Mr Anura Kumara Dissanayake came to power saying that he would punish the masterminds of the Easter attacks and the bond fraudsters.
The President had stated on numerous occasions before and after assuming the presidency that he would bring the masterminds of the Easter attacks to justice. However, statements are still being issued in this regard and it is not seen that it has become operational.
Against such a backdrop, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith made a special statement from the Colombo Archbishop’s residence last Sunday. In a way, giving a serious warning to the government, the Cardinal said that the government was given the authority to search for the Easter attackers and not to make certain deals and miss the mark.
The Cardinal also stated that if no action is taken in this regard before April 21, the 6th anniversary of the Easter attacks, the Church will have to take certain measures as well.
Special discussion
The Cardinal did not make this statement on the spur of the moment. It was after a discussion with Catholic leaders and various representatives at the Colombo Archbishop’s residence. The main discussion was about what should be done on the 6th anniversary of the Easter attacks. Although many people said that a march should be held from Colombo to Katuwapitiya like in the past, another group said that this time it should be celebrated in a normal manner without doing anything special. However, no final decision was made in this regard.
However, less than 24 hours after the Cardinal made the aforementioned serious statement, 7 powerful figures were seen arriving at the Colombo Archbishop’s residence. Among these seven people, several people who were known to be very high-ranking in security-related sectors were seen.
It was seen that the group had come to meet the Cardinal, being very disturbed by the Cardinal’s statement. It is said that the group, who had a discussion with the Cardinal for several hours, gave a long explanation to the Cardinal about the current status of the investigations into the Easter attacks.
Also, the sources we have say that the government is preparing to show some results regarding the investigations before the 6th anniversary to be held on April 21. We do not have clear information yet whether the mastermind will be declared, whether there is a plan to arrest someone, or whether they are preparing to make some other controversial statement. Also, we do not have information that the Cardinal is 100% convinced about the matters mentioned in this meeting.
However, unofficial sources available currently say that there is a plan on the part of the church to organize a huge march aimed at the 6th anniversary of the Easter attacks. Although such marches have been held before, many believe that this is about to begin in a new way through the cardinal’s serious statement made last week.
Chandrika’s Batalanda
After the Al Jazeera discussion, the Batalanda Commission report had become the main topic in the country for the past two weeks. When it was said that Ranil had not tabled the relevant report, many people pointed out that Chandrika had suppressed the relevant report by not tabling it due to the close relationship and family friendship between former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Ranil. However, there has been no official statement from Chandrika’s side in this regard.
Meanwhile, a strange incident occurred last week. The incident occurred at the ceremony to present the Sri Sannas Patra to the Pallethuththiripitiya Piyadassi Thero. Former President Chandrika and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa attended the event as the chief guests. Due to this meeting that took place after some time, those around saw how the two engaged in a cordial conversation for a long time. Sajith was also seen taking out his mobile phone and showing something special to Chandrika, and then talking about it for a long time.
Since the relevant photos were also received by the ‘Mawrata’ website, we also engaged in some investigation into what was discussed between Sajith and Chandrika. Accordingly, the information we received indicated that during this conversation, there was a lengthy exchange of views between the two regarding the Batalanda report. It was learned that Chandrika had also taken steps to expose many secrets regarding the Batalanda report to Sajith, accusing Ranil severely.
Blame Ranil
‘I don’t know why Ranil went to Al Jazeera and put this on. Now some people are saying that I covered this up. I don’t want to cover this up. I was the one who set up the commission to investigate Batalanda. In that, the way people were killed was revealed to the country. Finally, the man who was supposed to give serious testimony died mysteriously the day before he gave that testimony. That incident came as a surprise to everyone. Many people said that the man was killed. Some said that he was killed by a cover-up. That is why I did not submit this report to Parliament. The main witness died at the last moment. Now some people are saying that I made a deal to cover this up, but that is the real story. I was the one who revealed this Batalanda incident to the country…’ Chandrika gave a long explanation, and everyone could note Sajith looking at her in surprise.
We then investigated what Sajith had shown Chandrika on his mobile phone. We were told that Sajith had shown Chandrika a photo of him having a friendly conversation with Chandrika’s mother, Mrs. Sirimavo. It is learnt that Sajith had told Chandrika that although there was a serious political enmity between the lady and Mr. Premadasa at that time, she had engaged in a very friendly conversation with him without showing any of it. Below are the photos that Sajith showed Chandrika.
Sajith’s two photos
A ban on Sajith
Meanwhile, Sajith had to face a certain ban in Parliament last week. That was the restriction of the constitutional right given to the Opposition Leader to question the government under 27/2. Generally, 27/2 is considered a privilege granted to the Opposition Leader to present the problems of the people to the government.
Through this, Sajith had taken steps to place the problems faced by various sections of the population and professionals in various fields of the country before the government for the past few years and to get the government to provide some solutions to those problems.
The fact that Sajith continued to stand by the people in a way that no opposition leader had done was a big problem for the previous governments. Also, through this, the government got to see that Sajith was dealing with every sector of society and building relationships with them. Therefore, every previous government tried to somehow limit or stop Sajith’s questioning under this 27/2.
Not only the government, but as far as we know, some in the SJB also did not understand the value of Sajith’s questioning. Therefore, it was reported that some in the SJB had made comments on several occasions, making fun of Sajith’s questioning. In particular, it is known to the ‘Inside Politics’ column that an SJB senior sitting next to Sajith these days once came out of Parliament and laughed at Sajith’s questioning. However, no matter how hard Gota’s government and Ranil’s government tried, they were unable to prevent Sajith’s questioning.
However, with the coming to power of the Compass government, they initially said that they would take steps to impose restrictions on Sajith’s questioning under this 27/2.
When the government first came to power, due to the public’s approval, Sajith’s questioning did not attract much attention, but after five or six months, the government could see that Sajith’s questioning was becoming a headache in the face of the pressure from the people and the problems the government had to face.
Accordingly, although Sajith had previously been allowed to be questioned under 27/2 whenever necessary, the government has now decided to amend Article 27/2 so that Sajith can be questioned only once a week.
Made uneasy
However, a few days after the government made this decision, Sajith once again embarrassed the government by asking a question under 27/2. It was regarding the problem of unemployed graduates. Last week, when Sajith came to Parliament, he saw these unemployed graduates protesting at the Polduwa junction and immediately stopped his car and went to them to ask about their problems.
Sajith informed them that he would speak in Parliament on the same day and bring it to the attention of the government. As he had said, Sajith fulfilled that promise and brought the issue of unemployed graduates to the attention of the government under 27/2. Sajith said that steps should be taken to immediately fulfill the promise made to unemployed graduates under the Malima election manifesto.
Prime Minister Harini responded on behalf of the government. Harini replied to Sajith with a sarcastic tone, saying that jobs cannot be given based on tall or short stature, and that they will be given jobs according to a certain methodology. However, Sajith, who stood up again, said that the problem of unemployed graduates should not be taken for granted and that the government has a responsibility to provide immediate answers to their problems.
However, even though Sajith has been sending the people’s questions to the government almost daily under 27/2, the government has taken steps to restrict that, and it can be seen that the opportunity to present such questions to the government in the future is being lost.
Ruvaiz for Colombo
Last week, the Election Commission announced that the local government elections will be held on May 6th. Accordingly, almost all the major political parties in the country submitted nominations for the local government elections last week. However, all parties submitted nominations to all local government institutions across the country, but everyone’s attention was focused on the Colombo Municipal Council, to find out who the mayoral candidates would be for Colombo.
Generally, Colombo has been considered a UNP stronghold since ancient times. In almost every election held, the candidate nominated by the UNP became the mayor of Colombo. Once, after the UNP’s list was rejected, the UNP supported the independent group that contested under the mirror symbol, and with the support of the UNP, the independent group was able to seize power in the municipal council. But the biggest tragedy is that the UNP, which had such power in the past, has now sunk to the bottom politically under Ranil’s leadership to the point where it is no longer possible to find a mayoral candidate for Colombo, let alone a municipal council candidate. Therefore, this time, everyone is not eager to see who the UNP will field, but who the SJB will field for mayor.
Meanwhile, last week, we reported through the ‘Inside Politics’ column that a serious problem had arisen within the compass over the Colombo mayoral candidate. There, we said that a problem had arisen within the compass due to the premature nomination of Vrai Balthasar, who lost the general election, by the JVP.
The reason for this was that Prime Minister Harini, the Colombo strongman of the compass, had already initiated discussions to present an educated, intelligent, and professional person to the Colombo Municipal Council. But before those discussions were over, we pointed out that with the nomination of Balthasar as the Colombo mayoral candidate by the JVP, there is a background for Harini to withdraw from the Colombo election campaign.
In addition, the most important thing we revealed last week was that everyone is paying close attention to the candidate that the SJB will field for Colombo this time, and that the SJB is planning to field a respected professional for that. Accordingly, this time we are ready to reveal the name of that mayoral candidate. He is Dr. Ruwais Hanifa.
Selection process
Although many initially expressed the opinion that Iran Wickramaratne would come to Colombo from the SJB, we said from the beginning that Iran would not be contesting. As we said, Eran had taken steps to deny it. Meanwhile, Sajith had spent a lot of time discussing with various parties regarding the candidate who should contest for Colombo. When many people were asked for their opinions, almost all of them told Sajith that to win Colombo; an undefeated, scholarly, educated, intelligent, and professional person must be nominated. They also pointed out to Sajith that if a Muslim could be nominated, given the population density of the five Colombo constituencies, he could gain an additional advantage.
One of the names that some people proposed was the name of former mayor Omar Kamil. Since Omar Kamil had agreed to it, Sajith had also expressed his preference for that name in the first round. However, in the meantime, Sajith had received information about a doctor from another educated, intelligent, and powerful political family that is respected by the Colombo Muslim community and would be very suitable for the job.
Reputed professional
Ruvaiz Haniffa, a doctor by profession, was the son of the daughter of M.H. Mohamed, a powerful UNP minister in Sri Lanka in the past. Or known as M. H. Mohamed’s grandson. Sajith’s investigation into the matter revealed that he was a high-level doctor who had never tarnished his name and that he had held many key positions related to the medical field. Accordingly, Sajith immediately discussed the matter with Dr. Ruvaiz Hanifa. However, Ruwais very kindly rejected Sajith’s invitation at the first opportunity.
However, Sajith did not give up on the task after being rejected at the first opportunity. After explaining the current situation several times, Dr. Ruvaiz finally agreed to accept the post of Colombo Mayoral candidate. Accordingly, Sajith immediately informed the party General Secretary Ranjith Maddumbabandara about it and discussed it further with him. After that, they both invited Dr. Ruwais Hanifa for a discussion. Dr. Ruvaiz Hanifa participated in this discussion.
At the discussion, he made a very systematic presentation to Sajith and Maddumbabandara about how Colombo should be developed, the areas that need to be changed in Colombo, how to improve the health, educational and social environment of the Colombo community, and also how to launch the campaign for the Municipal Council election. At that time, both of them expressed their appreciation to Dr. Haniffa. Dr. Haniffa was nominated for the Colombo Mayoral candidacy in this way.
But no one in the SJB knew about this operation until the very last moment. Only senior SJB members Kabir Hashim, Madduma Bandara, Mujibur and Marikkar knew about it to some extent.
Red light from Anura
Last week, when underworld gunfire was being active at various places and IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon was in hiding for 20 days, the President suddenly met the police chiefs of the West and the South separately. There was a special reason for the President to call the police chiefs in this way. That is, the President had received several reports that a negative public opinion was being created against the government based on the above two incidents.
Therefore, it was noted that the President made two or three strong statements to the police chiefs during this discussion. However, several topics had been given to the police chiefs before the discussion, and they had been informed in advance to join the discussion with the necessary data.
Accordingly, during this discussion, the police chiefs took steps to present detailed information about the underworld gangs in the country to the President. The police chiefs presented all the information to the President, including what underworld gangs are currently operating in the country, the members involved, what are their connections, who are the leaders of the underworld gangs who have fled the country, in which countries they are staying, who are the people in this country who are associated with them, etc. The President directly stated that the police have an inviolable responsibility to suppress the underworld and ensure the rule of law and that it is the responsibility of the police to fulfill it properly.
However, after this discussion, several urgent decisions were taken by the police. One of them was to search the house of Deshabandu Tennakoon, who was hiding, and find more than a thousand bottles of liquor and several other items. It was also seen that the police were engaged in some kind of operation to confiscate Deshabandu’s property.
In this way, while the police were preparing to confiscate Deshabandu’s property, a surprising fact was revealed during the proceedings of the Matara Magistrate’s Court regarding Deshabandu. Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, who appeared on behalf of the Attorney General’s Department, told the court that Deshabandu does not own any property. Dileepa Peiris also pointed out to the court that he does not have any bicycle in his name.
