News

The Sri Lanka rupee hit a record low today with the selling rate at 177.32 while the buying rate is marked at 173.42 against the US dollar. 

Stocks slipped from a nearly six-week closing high hit in the previous session as foreign investors exited after President Maithripala Sirisena's contreversial ouster of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Sri Lanka’s Attorney-General Jayantha Jayasuriya Wednesday refused to give an opinion to parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on the current political impasse over the sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, saying it would be “deemed inappropriate”.

The Speaker, seeking the AG’s opinion, asked five questions, including the one on the validity of President Maithripala Sirisena dismissing Wickremesinghe as the Premier.

The Attorney-General (AG) wrote to the Speaker: “Having regard to the role of the Attorney-General under the Constitution, I am of the view that expressing an opinion on the said questions would be deemed inappropriate”.

Letter sent by Attorney General to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya

President Sirisena replaced Wickremesinghe with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a dramatic turn of events last Friday.

Sirisena also suspended Parliament until November 16, which experts said was meant to buy time to engineer crossovers from Wickremesinghe’s side to Rajapaksa in the 225-member Parliament to reach the 113 working majority mark.

On Tuesday, angry protests rocked Sri Lanka’s Capital as thousands of demonstrators gathered for a rally organised by deposed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s party against what it said was a “coup” by President Sirisena, even as the opposing sides were engaged in efforts to secure their numbers in Parliament to end the country’s political crisis.

Wickremesinghe’s position was bolstered by a statement in the British House of Parliament where Hugo Swire, a former Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of South Asia, said they continue to treat him as the legitimate Prime Minister.

The country’s main Tamil party Tamil National Alliance (TNA), after a meeting with Rajapaksa, said they were not treating Rajapaksa as the lawfully-elected Prime Minister.

“We met him on his request as a fellow member of Parliament and his title of (former) President,” senior TNA leader M A Sumanthiran said.
Sirisena is under increasing political and diplomatic pressure to reconvene Parliament and resolve the Constitutional crisis.

Wickremesinghe, who is refusing to accept his dismissal, argues that he cannot legally be dismissed until he loses the support of Parliament.

President Maithripala Sirisena will reconvene parliament on Nov. 5, newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said today (11), as international pressure builds to resolve a political crisis.

Sirisena named the pro-China Rajapaksa as prime minister on Friday after abruptly dismissing the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe has said his removal is unconstitutional and has demanded he be allowed to prove his parliamentary majority.

"President has decided to reconvene the parliament on 5th," Rajapaksa said addressing a meeting at the prime minister's office.

Sirisena had earlier prorogued the parliament till Nov. 16 but political parties and foreign powers urged an earlier session to resolve the crisis.

With the recent political coup engineered by President Maithripala Sirisena, leading investigation officers of the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) are said to be bracing for possible transfers and a complete shutdown of ongoing investigations into crimes committed during the Rajapaksa regime. 

During the past three years, the Criminal Investigations Department headed by its Director SSP Shani Abeysekara made great headway into a large number of investigations such as the death of ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen, Lasantha Wickrematunge along with the disappearances of Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda and 11 youth abducted by a group of Naval Officers. While the cases were continuously heard in courts, the CID was able to arrest a large number of suspects while also unearthing a plethora of information and evidence. 

However, with Rajapaksa coming into power again, CID sources say main investigation officers who worked tirelessly for justice are now awaiting possible transfers out of the CID which will eventually lead to the shutdown of investigations allowing for the perpetrators to be released. “We know the transfers are coming, but what can we do?” an officer said. 

Meanwhile, Police sources say Rajapaksa loyalists within the force are already being brought in and is expected to be granted key positions in the Police soon.

(WASHINGTON) - The United States weighed in Wednesday on a political crisis that has engulfed the Indian Ocean island nation of Sri Lanka since the president abruptly fired the prime minister and replaced him with an authoritarian former leader who has been accused of serious human rights abuses.

State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters, “It’s up to the parliament to decide who the prime minister is.” That follows the Sri Lankan president’s sacking last week of Ranil Wickremesinghe and his replacement with former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, which critics say violates the constitution.

President Maithripala Sirisena swore in a new Cabinet under Rajapaksa on Monday despite a warning from the parliament speaker of possible violence if lawmakers were not summoned immediately to resolve the crisis. Sirisena suspended Parliament in an apparent move to give Rajapaksa time to muster enough support to survive any no-confidence vote.

The political upheaval and challenges to the democratic process could endanger improvements in U.S.-Sri Lanka relations since Rajapaksa lost power in elections in 2015. He had presided over the defeat of ethnic Tamil rebels in the nation’s quarter-century civil war that ended in 2009. However his government became alienated from the West over its failure to address allegations of war crimes in the final months of the conflict and his crackdown on dissent.

For the past three years, as Sri Lanka has had a fragile unity government, the U.S has expanded relations that were curtailed during the later years of Rajapaksa’s rule, including renewed military cooperation. Sri Lanka has a strategic location on sea lanes linking Asia to Africa and Europe, where Washington vies for influence with China.

The U.S. has also increased development aid. The government-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation has been preparing a five-year assistance package, or compact, worth hundreds of millions of dollars that was expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. That could now be thrown into doubt.

“No actions are being taken either to move the compact forward or to suspend it while we assess the situation in country,” MCC said in a statement to The Associated Press. The agency said it expects Sri Lanka “to remain committed to democratic governance, which includes respect for fundamental freedoms and rule of law.”

The developments in Sri Lanka will also cause concern in Congress, which has conditioned assistance to the island on post-war justice and the restoration of civil and human rights.

Vermont’s Sen. Patrick Leahy, the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, said that if the appointment of Rajapaksa as prime minister stands, “it will pose a grave challenge to U.S. engagement with that government.”

He said that when Rajapaksa was in power, he ran “the government as a criminal enterprise, making sweetheart deals with China, persecuting the Tamil minority and wrongly imprisoning political opponents and journalists.”

In addition, allegations of rights abuses, Rajapaksa’s government came under fire in Sri Lanka for taking out billions of dollars in loans from China to build a scantly used port. He was also criticized for the lavish lifestyles of his three sons and nepotism that saw his brothers holding sway in many key institutions.

(Time)

If President Maithripala Sirisena refuses to convene Parliament as requested by the majority of lawmakers, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya will take measures to convene Parliament under “special circumstances”, popular website Colombo Telegraph has reported. 

A final discussion to reach a conclusion in this regard is likely to take place between the President and the Speaker today it said. 

This one-on-one meeting will follow Jayasuriya’s second letter to Sirisena reiterating the Speaker’s request to convene Parliament.

In his letter, the Speaker Says over 125 MPs from the United National Party, Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress have called for reconvening Parliament.

“As the Speaker of the House, I have to heed their request,” Jayasuriya said, expressing disbelief that a leader who sought a mandate to ensure good governance had prorogued Parliament by 18 days.

Jayasuriya sent a letter to the President after a discussion he held with leaders and representatives of all political parties representing Parliament, yesterday.

At the meeting, the JVP requested the speaker to convene Parliament forthright citing a similar decision by former Speaker Joseph Michael Perera who ruled in 2003 that the President’s power to prorogue, summon and dissolve Parliament must be done in consultation with Parliament itself. (Colombo Telegraph)

Sources within the Police say, Former Secretary of Defence and Brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa is back to his old antics. According to reports he is said to have intervened into a transfer list being compiled by IGP Pujith Jayasundara. 

While the IGP had ordered the list to be made, Rajapaksa has ordered it to be cancelled immediately. It is questionable how a person with no position in the government, despite not even being fully legal and who is also not a citizen of the country can order the IGP of the country’s Police force to do his bidding. However, IGP Jayasundara is now said to be in a dilemma as he is well aware of his fate if he refuses to orders given.

President Maithripala Sirisena is said to have ordered a gazette to be immediately issued bringing the Attorney General's Department under him. This is a similar tactic used by Mahinda Rajapaksa during his regime during which the department lost all semblance of independence. Despite Sirisena repeatedly criticized the move on the election trail in 2015 he appears to have gone the same way now. 

Rajapaksa’s in shock 

However sources say the Rajapaksa camp is now uneasy following Sirisena’s decision and are concerned regarding the new developments.

Presidential Secretariat also appears to be paying attention to Basil Rajapaksa’s moves to strengthen the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna as opposed to the illegal but new government and working to highlight Mahinda Rajapaksa instead.

National Organizer of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Duminda Dissanayake has rejected an offer to join the illegal government that is being formed following a constitutional coup. According to reports, a group led by Basil Rajapaksa had visited Duminda at his home today (31) and engaged in a three-hour-long meeting. However, the discussion had ended without any success as Basil had been left helpless faced by the questions put to him by Dissanayake. 

Basil left speechless facing Dissanayake’s questions! 

During the discussion, Duminda had questioned the political future of SLFP members of the Maithree faction. According to reports, the Minister had wanted to know during next provincial council or general elections if they would have to contest under the SLFP, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) or the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). Basil had been completely stumped by these questions and was unable to provide a satisfactory answer. Instead, he had said that the current issue at hand should be resolved and the issue of which party to contest under can be looked at later, adding that he would accept the responsibility of Dissanayake. 

Cannot decide by thinking of my self alone! 

However, Minister Duminda Dissanayake had said no one needs to take responsibility for him and that he only needs to know the fate of those who have been loyal to him from local governments, provincial councils, seat organizers and SLFP members in the ground level. 

Basil had however continuously said it is a matter that can be resolved later as they should now focus on the question at hand adding that Dissanayake should agree to this as President Sirisena too had agreed to this arrangement. 

However, Duminda had rejected this stating that he does not intend to contest under any party other than the SLFP or the UPFA. He had also stressed that he is unable to take a decision thinking only about himself without knowing the fate of his supporters. Dissanayake had refused to take any position in the current government while also asking Basil to please return to wherever decisions are being made and to only come back with proper answers to his questions. 

Seven others refuse positions as well! 

Meanwhile, apart from Dissanayake, seven other SLFP Ministers and MPs have also rejected positions in the new government. According to them, they are not satisfied with the way things are going and will, therefore, remain independent. According to them, they are highly concerned about the positions and organizers posts currently being held by them within the SLFP in case they have to contest under the SLPP banner as well as its impact on their voter base.

For the first time in history today (31) the selling rate of a United States Dollar has hit Sri Lankan Rupees 176. Accordingly, the Central Banks daily exchange rates were reported as Buying rate of 1 USD at Rs. 172.3605 and the selling rate as Rs. 176.2547.

Australia has expressed alarm about the deepening political crisis in Sri Lanka, with Foreign Minister Marise Payne warning "democratic principles must be upheld in the country" and called to resolve the constitutional crisis through Parliament.

"It is important that issues be addressed expeditiously through Parliament and that democratic principles and freedoms are upheld," Foreign Minister Payne said.

Thousands of supporters of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe protested in Colombo on Tuesday (30) as political turmoil on the island entered its fifth day. 

Payne said Australia was concerned about the developments in Sri Lanka, and urged all parties to refrain from violence. 

"We encourage all parties to continue to resolve differences peacefully, and refrain from confrontation and violence," she said.

Slamming the President’s decision to appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa who once headed the much feared Rajapaksa regime, wife of missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda says all hopes of justice and truth have disappeared. 

“We risked our lives to get on stages and call for a new change to get Sirisena appointed and defeat the Rajapaksa government,” she said adding that she along with other families of the missing believed at the time that justice will be delivered. 

According to her, however, the President has now endangered their lives and is acting like a dictator. “The President we appointed has taken this decision unilaterally like a dictator and endangered our lives,” she said. 

“Families of the missing are now wondering what will happen to them, the legal cases of their loved ones and if the perpetrators will be released” Sandhya added. She says the families are now living in fear after Rajapaksa’s appointment. 

“As the people who appointed him, we ask the President to convene parliament and revert this decision made to ensure democracy and justice” she concluded.