Ranil’s Foreign Dramas Unfold Again — This Time, in Russia’s Shadow
Bimal’s Promised Cabinet Shake-Up Fades into Political Fog
The Premadasa Legacy Captured: A Family Photo Sparks a Social Storm
Geneva Shadows Lengthen Over Colombo — A Government Gropes in the Dark
Haunted by the Gavel: Former Ministers Face Echoes of Corruption Charges
Government recover
With the huge decrease in the number of votes in the provincial elections by about 2.3 million compared to the last general election, no matter how one argues, it was seen that the compass has suffered a major setback.
Various factors contributed to this and many people are of the opinion that the weaknesses in the management and lack of experience shown by the government in various incidents, including the fake Japanese degree certificate of former Speaker Ashoka Ranwala to the funeral of the actress Malani Fonseka, have been the reason.
In this way, the compass government, which had to hide its head in the face of continuous failures, had received a good oxygen load by last week to stand up straight. This was after the courts took steps to sentence Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando, who held powerful ministerial positions in the previous governments, to 20 and 25 years of rigorous imprisonment respectively.
Although the relevant case was filed during the Yahapalana government, with the relevant verdict being received under the current Malima government, a certain opinion was formed among the people that Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake had started catching thieves after becoming President.
The powerful people in the government had also taken steps to very carefully convey that opinion to the people, and although the opposition had told the country that it was the root cause, the people must have accepted the popular opinion that the government had started catching thieves.
This opinion seems to have become more established by now with the summoning of powerful MPs, ministers and officials from the previous governments to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and the Criminal Investigation Department almost daily.
Accordingly, by now, many people are of the opinion that the popularity of the government, which was collapsing, has started to turn favourable again with this series of events. Since the government has also felt guilty about it, it can be seen that the government has put aside all other issues and has devoted its entire time to catching thieves.
However, while the Malima government is regaining its popularity among the people through this process of catching thieves, an incident occurred last week that took away this popularity like a drop of dung falling into a milk jug. That was through a controversial statement made by the Minister of Justice, Harshana Nanayakkara. Harshana, who was present at the ceremony to establish the Moratu Sabha, made a very passionate speech there and at one point, Harshana said that if it were not for the Malima government, Mahindananda would not have received such a prison sentence.
With this controversial statement by Harshana, various opposition groups interpreted this as an insult to the judiciary through Harshana’s statement, which he claims to be the Minister of Justice. With the opposition’s opinion receiving wide publicity in the media, Harshana also made a statement in Parliament, saying that the media had edited and published his statement and that his full story should be heard. But even then, the opposition groups launched a fierce attack on the government, saying that the statement made by the Minister of Justice had insulted the judiciary.
Will a case be filed?
Although many in the government thought that this incident would stop there, it appears that this is not the case, as some groups in the opposition have taken steps to seek legal advice regarding the statement made by Harshana. Accordingly, last week, several political party representatives and a group of lawyers met with a former powerful Chief Justice and arranged to hold a special discussion on this matter.
At that time, matters regarding the statement made by Harshana Nanayakkara were discussed at length and it is also understood that an argument has emerged that there is some similarity between that statement and the statements made by S.B. Dissanayake, Ranjan Ramanayake, and Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero regarding contempt of court.
However, although the final decisions of that discussion are not known to the ‘Inside Politics’ column, it can be seen that this incident is now being pushed to the point of going to court. Some of the statements made by Namal Rajapaksa to the media last week also hinted at this.
In the midst of all this, it seems that the government has now chosen this strategy of catching thieves as the only way to save itself and maintain its political existence. However, there is a special story here that neither the current MPs nor the former MPs and Ministers know, and at least the Mahindananda who was sentenced for 20 years are not aware of. That is, they themselves have now had to face punishment under the new Bribery Act and the Money Laundering Act that these former ministers themselves have passed with their hands raised in the past two years.
The fact that these two bills are very powerful has drawn the attention of these MPs who raised their hands, with the investigations against them being initiated using those bills. With them having to fall into prison. The government has also sensed this, and it is reported to the ‘Inside Politics’ column that the government has also decided to provide the Bribery Commission and the Criminal Investigation Department with the necessary environment to conduct investigations related to fraud and corruption freely.
However, when looking at the incidents of former MPs and ministers who are in custody and imprisoned one thing that many people point out is that if cases are filed based on technicalities in newly initiated investigations, it will take a long time, so there is a tendency to file cases under money laundering.
For example, in the incident involving former Minister Mervyn Silva, although he was arrested based on a land deal in Kelaniya area, investigations have now focused on how Mervyn and his son purchased land, vehicles and other properties. It is understood that an environment has now emerged where it can be done very easily under the new Bribery Act and the Money Laundering Act.
It is learnt that a situation has arisen where Mervyn Silva and his family members are unable to disclose how they purchased properties including properties in Colombo, and it has been decided to conclude the relevant investigations under the new laws expeditiously and file cases under the Money Laundering and Bribery Act very soon. Reports indicated that the Criminal Investigation Department and the Bribery Commission have already initiated a large number of investigations into the bank accounts of several former powerful people and the assets they have acquired.
Gem story
However, it is also reported that a number of former MPs and ministers have given a surprising answer to the investigation teams while investigating these assets. Many of them have said that they have gem mines in Ratnapura, that they received a large gem some time ago, that they sold it to a Thai national in Ratnapura for cash and that they bought this property with that money. It is also reported that a number of former MPs have told the investigation teams that it is difficult to find the Thai national who bought the gem.
However, it is reported that the teams conducting investigations into illegally acquired assets have already gathered a large amount of information regarding the billions worth of assets that some former MPs and ministers have illegally acquired. It is also reported that a former powerful minister has also acquired incredible amounts of money and assets in the last two years alone.
Investigations have revealed that this former powerful man has purchased a large mansion on a huge piece of land measuring nearly an acre in the Bambalapitiya area of Colombo 03 and has transferred it to his son’s name. It is also reported that when asked about this, the former powerful man has told the investigation officers about Gem. Conducting the investigation have also raised doubts about how this powerful politician acquired a huge piece of land in Colombo many years ago. Former powerful man, answerd theoretically when questioned about how many other former powerful men acquired this property. However, through these investigations, the inside politics column has learned that a large number of former powerful MPs are now in a state of shock.
Impending danger
However, the government is currently in a big hurry to catch the thieves, so it seems that it has lost focus on the dangers that are about to be posed from the surroundings. In particular, we have previously taken steps to report on several occasions on the serious resolution to be presented against Sri Lanka at the Geneva Human Rights Council meeting in September, and on the emerging conflicts between the International Monetary Fund and the government through inside Politics column.
Since it is known that the government has not paid much attention to this issue because it is currently on fire with popularity, we are ready to make a reminder about this accident once again. The main point is the emergency visit to Sri Lanka by the High Commissioner of the Geneva Human Rights Council, Mr. Volker Türk.
Türk is coming to Sri Lanka this month to investigate the progress of the recommendations issued and resolutions adopted by the Geneva Human Rights Commission regarding Sri Lanka in the past. In the context of another serious proposal to be presented to the Geneva Human Rights Commission next September, Turk’s sudden visit to Sri Lanka cannot be considered a casual one. On the other hand, all the necessary background for presenting that proposal has already been created internationally. The best example of this can be pointed out that the Tiger diaspora has now become very active through the opening of the Eelam Memorial in Canada.
It can be seen that this opening has been done with the aim of presenting the serious proposal to be presented to Geneva against Sri Lanka next September. However, it can be seen that many of the recommendations adopted in Geneva have not yet been implemented by Sri Lanka.
In discussions with people who are knowledgeable about international politics, they have expressed the opinion that the government has not paid any attention to this matter. According to the information, the government is currently preparing to attend the Geneva Human Rights Commission meeting in September, reject the resolutions to be presented against Sri Lanka, make a speech and return to Sri Lanka.
It is also seen that the government is currently working, forgetting the most serious part, which is to hold a vote to pass the resolution against Sri Lanka. If Sri Lanka has to face an embarrassing defeat in this vote, Sri Lanka will have to face many other serious consequences associated with it. For example, it is impossible to avoid the serious danger of other countries taking decisions against Sri Lanka based on this resolution.
Therefore, those who claim to be knowledgeable about international politics say that the government should immediately appoint an expert team for this purpose and discuss not only with the countries in the Geneva community that are friendly to Sri Lanka but also with the countries that are against Sri Lanka. However, it is a special incident that there are still no signs of such a thing happening on the part of the government.
However, Turk, who is coming to Sri Lanka in the next few days, is scheduled to meet and discuss not only government representatives but also opposition representatives and Tamil political representatives from the North and East. It goes without saying that the report that Turk will submit to the Geneva Human Rights Commission at the end of those discussions will be extremely decisive. However, there is still no clear indication of how the government intends to deal with Turk.
IMF Conflict
In addition to this Geneva issue, the next issue the government is facing is the emerging crisis with the International Monetary Fund. Last week, we revealed this issue that the government has created a conflict of interest with the new head of the IMF, Ivan Papagiorgio, who has been appointed for Sri Lanka.
The main reason for this is that the IMF should have taken steps to release the 4th tranche to Sri Lanka by now, but has not yet taken steps to release it. The IMF had said in this regard that several factors, including the incompatibility of electricity bills with the cost, have affected it. Although the IMF used to show some flexibility on such issues, it can be seen that their flexibility has now diminished. It is said that they are of the opinion that the conditions must be fulfilled in order to release the fourth tranche. For example, the IMF has not agreed to the 18% increase proposed by the government in the adjustment of electricity bills, and their position is that electricity bills should be increased by almost 30%. It is also reported that the IMF is currently in a strong position on other conditions.
The economy is falling
A few weeks ago, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa questioned the government in Parliament and said that the current economic growth rate of 5% had been predicted to decrease to 3.2% this year, and he also asked what measures the government would take to move forward with the program agreed upon with the IMF in such a context.
However, no acceptable response was seen from the government. After Sajith’s revelations, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Dr. Harsha de Silva, also made a special statement to the media, stating that the government is going crazy even though it has been reported that the economic growth rate will decrease to 3.2% this year.
Is it because the IMF is aware of this, that it is currently exerting strong pressure on the government to fulfill the conditions as per the previous agreements. Accordingly, although the economy appears to be stagnant on the surface, a dangerous ‘tide’ is moving underneath it, as can be seen through these events. It goes without saying that if the government is somehow caught in that tide, the country will fall into a serious situation.
Bar licence Battle
During the last presidential election, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had given SJB MPs liquor licenses as bribes to break into to gain the support of SJB MPs, to continue to retain the support of Pohottu MPs, and to gain the support of Tamil MPs from the North and East.
Qe continuously said that the list of names of MPs to whom Ranil had given liquor licenses should be disclosed to the country immediately. After our continuous disclosures in this regard, the then opposition leaders, including Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, publicly stated that they would disclose the list of names of MPs who had obtained these liquor licenses to the country as soon as they came to power, and that they would immediately take steps to cancel all the relevant liquor licenses.
Anura evades
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who came to power after the presidential election, had said, these liquor licenses would be abolished in the first phase and the list of names of the MPs who had obtained those licenses would be revealed, but this did not happen for several months.
Therefore, we continued this fight through the ‘Mawrata’ newspaper and demanded that the list of names of the relevant MPs be revealed to the country. We continued to fight like that not for any other reason, but because this ugly, filthy political culture should stop there, whether the MPs who had obtained those liquor licenses were in the Pohottuwa, the SJB, or the UNP. Although we continued in that fight, when we did not receive a proper response from the government, we also took steps to abandon our pursuit.
However, as the discussion in the society regarding this issue arose from time to time, the Malima government took steps to present a list of names of people who had obtained liquor licenses from Ranil to Parliament in order to escape from bail.
Many people thought that the list of names contained a large number of former MPs and Ministers, but it was revealed that it was a cover-up because instead of the names of MPs and Ministers, only the names of individuals and institutions running liquor shops were mentioned.
Accordingly, we started the fight again and demanded that the Malima government immediately reveal to the country the list of MPs who had obtained and recommended liquor licenses. At that moment, not only MPs from the South, but also MPs from the North and East like Sumanthiran and Rasamanikkam supported the fight we led. However, the Malima government took steps to suppress the list of MPs without revealing it.
However, a person named Thangavelu Dhanendra Raja from the Matale area had already filed a case in court demanding this list of names. Accordingly, a very good verdict was reached in the trial held last week, presided over by Supreme Court Justices Yasantha Kodagoda, Janak de Silva and Mahinda Samayawardena. The bench not only decided to proceed with the case but also took steps to order the Excise Department and related institutions to submit to the court a list of names of all persons who were illegally issued liquor licenses during and after the election period.
Authorities will have to submit this list to the court in the upcoming trial, the court will decide the further action to be taken regarding those liquor licenses. the ‘Inside Politics’ column has a humble pride and happiness in winning the battle we have waged so far. We are also now waiting for the punishment that the court will give to those responsible for the ‘bribery liquor licenses’ distributed to win MPs during Ranil’s time.
Nalinda against Bimal?
The country was first informed through the this column that a political crisis was brewing within the government. From time to time, we revealed internal information to the country, and a cold war had begun between the Compass and the JVP within the government, and accordingly, we reported examples of this from time to time in the column.
Our revelation was confirmed two weeks ago through a statement made by the most powerful minister in the government and the next leader of the JVP, Mr. Bimal Ratnayake, who came to the state media two weeks ago. Confirming the facts we had said, Bimal said that the time had come to change the engine of the government, and that a reshuffle of ministerial positions and a transfer of responsibilities, including his own, was scheduled to take place in the coming days.
Accordingly, it was confirmed through Bimal’s speech that discussions had been held within the government regarding this crisis, as we had said, and that the JVP had decided to carry out a reshuffle of ministers accordingly. It was also confirmed that a serious discussion had arisen within the JVP regarding this matter. For that reason, we also took steps to expose the speech we gave to Bimal as the main headline of ‘Mawrata’ that week.
However, with this revelation we made, it was seen that many very crucial discussions had taken place within the government regarding this matter. Accordingly, by now, the JVP has shown signs of reversing the revelation made by Bimal. It was first announced to the media by Sunil Handunnetthiya. In a conversation with a private media outlet, he publicly stated that there was no need for any such cabinet reshuffle and that the government’s engine was working well. Many people had considered Handunnetti’s statement to be an attack on Bimal’s revelations.
Moreover, at the cabinet press conference held last Tuesday, journalists also questioned Minister Nalinda Jayatissa about this cabinet reshuffle. At that time, Nalinda directly stated that no discussion had taken place within the government regarding such a cabinet reshuffle, and that the government had no such desire. Nalinda also stated that this was a lie created by certain groups and the media. Accordingly, when Bimal had clearly decided that a cabinet reshuffle would take place, this statement by Nalinda was also like an attack on Bimal.
What is Harini doing?
Next, everyone was watching the political activities of Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, who is in the midst of this crisis. After Bimal’s speech, many people analyzed it and said that through that speech, there was a plan to remove Harini from the post of Prime Minister. But last week, we said in this column that Harini has decided not to back down and continue fighting even when there is some opposition from within the JVP against her.
In particular, we said that Harini is not an easy character, that she is a radical character, and that she is the kind of character who attacks those who attack her. We also said that if anyone thinks that she can be removed from the political map by attacking Harini, it is a big mistake.
Accordingly, from the information we have, Harini has decided to face this conflict without running away. To begin with, she has been actively involved in the activities of her ministries these days. She had taken several tough decisions in the education sector in particular last week. One of the most important of these is her decision to take action against the incidents of freshmen torture in universities. Throughout the past, many parties have accused student movements affiliated with the JVP of being behind these incidents. Even after various governments came to power, the JVP student movement was very active in the universities, so the respective governments were unable to do anything against it.
However, by then, under a JVP-led Compass government, Harini had decided to take tough action against the incidents of freshmen torture. Accordingly, it appears that Harini is taking steps to retaliate in a strange way in the face of the challenge being leveled against her.
Meanwhile, last week we made several other special revelations regarding Harini. There we said that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was working to establish some kind of relationship with Harini. Accordingly, we also revealed how Harini was planned to be brought to an event organized by the Pathfinder Institute owned by Milinda Moragoda, a close associate of Ranil.
We also revealed that Harini had first accepted the invitation and then informed him that she would not be able to attend. According to the information we have, the President was also somewhat shocked after this information was reported. Accordingly, the column has also heard that the President and his team have been on high alert regarding whether Ranil is using Harini for any purpose.
There is also a special incident that influenced this. That is a story that Ranil has said in several places regarding Harini. There, Ranil has said, ‘We do not need to worry too much. We should plan to bring Harini as the common candidate in the next presidential election. Because Harini can bring all parties together.
It is not known for what purpose Ranil often tells this story to various groups, but many say that Harini has received several different messages from Ranil’s side at a famous political temple in the middle of Colombo. Anura is not unaware of this. Accordingly, it is understood that Anura is searching for whether the stories being told about Ranil-Harini in recent days are real, or if not, they are being told to provoke, or are they being told with the intention of creating a conflict.
Ranil secretly to Russia
Generally, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe presents himself to the country as someone with high-level international relations. He claims that there is no one in Sri Lankan politics who has more international relations than him. He often meets and talks with famous people involved in international politics.
However, we have pointed out that this propaganda of Ranil is a lie through the column of the ‘Mawrata’ in the past. We have said that Ranil does not have such international relations. We have also pointed out examples from time to time that these so-called international relations did not benefit the country at all during Ranil’s presidency.
Also, after the defeat in the last presidential election, Ranil went abroad on several occasions to deliver speeches in different countries, but each of them were not invitations extended by those countries, but were requests made by Ranil. Ranil’s custom is to inquire about a conference being held in a certain country and apply to participate in it as the former President.
A similar incident was reported last week. It was during Ranil’s visit to Singapore last week. Ranil went on this trip based on two reasons. One of them was to undergo a full medical examination. The second was to deliver a lecture at a national university there. However, Ranil published in media outlets close to him that he was going to Singapore to deliver a lecture at a conference.
However, while in Singapore, Ranil made a strong effort to meet former Singaporean Prime Minister Siang Loong. He continuously made requests to the Singaporean authorities for this. However, on each occasion, the Singaporean authorities said that even though Ranil was the head of state in Sri Lanka, he could not be given the opportunity to meet the former Prime Minister.
The Singaporean authorities had also informed Ranil that it was a violation of international protocols. Accordingly, Ranil made great efforts to meet the former Prime Minister of Singapore in person or through other means, but Ranil was unable to succeed until the last moment. Ranil returned to Sri Lanka empty-handed after completing his Singapore visit.
In addition, this is about another foreign visit that Ranil is going to make on the 12th. This time, Ranil is going to Russia, which no one expects. Although Ranil’s visit to America or England is usually not strange, his visit to Russia has become quite strange due to the extreme right-wing policy that Ranil has pursued since then. Accordingly, Ranil has decided to go to Russia and stay in St. Petersburg. While searching for more information on this, we came to know that UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena has done a lot of work to organize this trip.
This is through a prominent Sri Lankan businessman who does a lot of business in Russia . He is said to have many connections with Vajira. Also, Ranil is not going to Russia on an invitation, but on a visit he requested. Accordingly, it is said that certain parties have now found out all the information about why Ranil is going to Russia, where he will stay, what conference Ranil will attend, and who will provide facilities for Ranil in Russia.
Sajith Missing
With the commencement of the parliamentary session last week, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, as usual, took steps to draw the government’s attention to several issues that have arisen in the country.
Although it is Sajith’s custom to remain in the House until the end of the parliamentary session, many people were able to see Sajith leave Parliament as soon as he finished his speech that day. When investigating, many were able to learn that Sajith had left Parliament due to some illness.
Accordingly, Sajith spent the last week at home and rested. Despite this, Sajith did not give up the fight to seize power in local government institutions. During the few days he was ill, Sajith had taken steps to formulate plans for establishing power in local government institutions by constantly discussing the matter with party General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara and National Organizer Tissa Attanayake over the phone.
Meanwhile, last week, Sajith took the initiative to post a wonderful photo on his Facebook page. It was a photo of the Premadasa family together, taken on the occasion of Sajith’s daughter’s second birthday. This photo went so viral last week that it was reported within a day of its publication and received a huge response from the audience.
