Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday instructed the Food Security Committee to involve the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in the Government’s forthcoming cultivation drive to address the food shortage.
The Premier gave these instructions when he chaired the committee meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday. It was decided to include the SJB and the JVP in the Government’s program as they have already launched cultivation programs. The Prime Minister said that steps will be taken to provide food to the people as well as to those who do not have money in the event of a future food crisis.
US delegation meets President
The visiting high-level delegation representing the US State Department and US Treasury Department met Gotabaya Rajapaksa on June 27. Members of the delegation include Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Asia Robert Kaproth and Ambassador Kelly Keiderling, who is also the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.
The high-level US diplomatic delegation to Sri Lanka assured President Rajapaksa that they will continue to support the strengthening of the relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at all levels.
“It’s a challenging time, but we continue to deliver assistance and long-term partnership to help Sri Lanka achieve a prosperous, secure and democratic future,” US Ambassador Julie Chung said in a tweet.
President Rajapaksa had commended the delegation for their visit to Sri Lanka and briefed them on the current economic crisis in the country, the social crisis and the progress of the ongoing discussions with the IMF.
The delegation had told President Rajapaksa that US President Joe Biden is very keen about the future of Sri Lanka and has instructed it to stand by Sri Lanka during these difficult times and to extend all possible assistance.
It expressed confidence that the implementation of a program with the IMF will provide relief to families at risk and will have a positive impact on future activities. They said they were pleased with the similarities between the President’s understanding and their understanding during the country’s economic reform process.
The delegation commended the President on the democratic, free space given to anyone to express their views without any hindrance to speech. The visiting delegation had also held a meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the PM’s Office on June 27.
‘People’s uprising’
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said the SJB will lead a democratic people’s uprising against the Government which has pushed the country towards a serious catastrophe.
The Opposition Leader said that he was in discussion with all registered political parties to build a massive political movement for this purpose and added that the people’s struggle would not end until the Government was ousted. He said the SJB has decided to commence a series of discussions with political parties registered with the Elections Commission. Representatives of Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya, Nawa Lanka Nidahas Pakshaya, Purawesi Peramuna and United Left Front met the Opposition Leader on Tuesday.
Opposition Leader Premadasa urged the Government to resign instead of posting apologies on Twitter. He told the media on Monday, that the Government should leave immediately if it can’t fulfill the wishes of the people.
“If the Government steps down, the country will be rebuilt with talented MPs including those of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. The democratic opinion of millions of people will be brought back to the status quo of the next five years. There will be no room for fraud or corruption,” he added.
Premadasa said that the Government’s lies by appointing a new Premier have now been exposed to the public and reiterated that it should stop deceiving the people. He demanded the Government to stop playing games to show they are building a country in five to 10 months and to listen to the public’s views to restore the lost dignity of the country.
Discussion
For the first time, a discussion between Galle Face protestors and Opposition Parliamentarians was held at Hotel Janaki, Kollupitiya on June 29.
The discussion was organised by SJB Parliamentarian Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and a large number of Opposition political party representatives had attended it. SJB Parliamentarian Rauff Hakeem didn’t participate in the discussion as he was abroad while MP Kumara Welgama was also absent. The JVP and Frontline Socialist Party representatives too did not attend the discussion. Another significant gesture was that the alliance of 11 political parties had not been invited for the discussion following a request made by the protestors
Nearly 25 protestors attended the discussion representing the entirety of protestors. The extensive discussion had centered on how Parliamentarians think of protestors as well as how the protestors think of Parliamentarians.
At the end of the discussion, the protestors had said that they would compile a final report on their struggle within the next two to three days. Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera who came to the venue of the discussion had left within 10 minutes.
The protestors had requested Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, who organised the discussion not to invite any representative of the alliance of 11 political parties. However, a tense situation erupted among protestors when Ven. Rathana Thera came to the venue.
Ven. Rathana Thera who realised the situation had informed MP Senaratne that a group called ‘Galle protestors’ invited him to attend the discussion. Then Senaratne told Ven. Rathana Thera, “I am not aware of such a thing. They told me not to invite any representative of your alliance. I organised the discussion after discussing with them.” Ven. Rathana Thera had told MP Senaratne, “Yes, I understand that. It is not good to be present here,” and left the place.
“Will recover plundered money”
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said a future NPP Government will take steps to recover monies plundered by the present and deceased politicians even going to the extent of acquiring their property.
He was speaking while participating in a public rally held in Anuradhapura recently.
Dissanayake said that the NPP has a plan to rebuild the country and called on his party members to make everyone aware of the catastrophe that has befallen the country. He said that Sri Lanka is today known as a bankrupt country and added that those responsible for the crises will be brought to book before the eyes of the law.
Dissanayake addressing another JVP rally in Matara on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has accomplished the mission of saving the Rajapaksas.
He said, “The people had thought Wickremesinghe was a capable person accepted by the international community and he could resolve the current crisis. However, nothing of the sort happened and the crisis has worsened. In the meantime, the Rajapaksas have been emboldened to come out from their hiding places.
“Wickremesinghe brought Mahinda Rajapaksa from Trincomalee to Colombo and then to Parliament. He saved Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was contemplating resignation. Namal Rajapaksa was not to be seen at all but Wickremesinghe after becoming the Prime Minister enabled Namal to come out of hiding and go to Parliament.
“When the crisis was emerging Yoshitha Rajapaksa left the country for Australia. Sri Lankans in Australia started searching for him in hotels there. After Wickremesinghe became the Prime Minister, Yoshitha came back. Basil Rajapaksa, whose name is now mentioned in a case report as Ten Percent, too, is still active in politics. Therefore, Wickremesinghe has achieved his mission of saving the Rajapaksas and he hasn’t done anything to save the people from the crisis,” he said.
MR-in good health
There were social media posts on Thursday, June 30 that former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had been taken ill suddenly. Following which the former Prime Minister and his wife Shiranthi had received telephone calls continuously from morning till midnight on June 30.
A prominent bhikkhu had also phoned former Premier Rajapaksa and inquired into his health. He said, “Awasarai hamuduruwane, I had to take part in several meetings these days. Several Ambassadors including the Russian Ambassador came to meet me. I requested them to provide assistance to us at this critical juncture. I received a positive response from them. In addition, Parliamentarians and Ministers also come to see me and hold discussions,” the former Premier had told the Ven. Thera.
Maha Nayakas write to President
The Maha Nayakas of the four Buddhist Chapters have written to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, stressing 10 matters, including the creation of economic stability and provision of relief to the people.
In their statement issued on Friday, the chief prelates said the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution should be passed in the Parliament without delay. They also stressed that the President should take expeditious measures to convene political party leaders to appoint an honest, all-party Government again.
The tenure of the all-party government should be limited to six months, the Maha Nayakas emphasised, adding the tenure should be extended to 12 or 18 months only if it succeeds in stabilising the economy and minimising the issues faced by the public.
The Cabinet of Ministers of this all-party government should be limited to 15, and any politician convicted of corruption allegations should not be made part of it, the letter read further. The chief prelates also called for proper coordination with international institutions and friendly countries for securing loan assistance and implementation of a proper mechanism to manage these funds.
“Weak Amendment”
TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran, PC, said the 21st Amendment to the Constitution proposed by the Government (now published in the Gazette as the 22nd Amendment) is weaker than the 19th Amendment. He told the media that the reduction of the Presidential powers proposed under the Amendment does not apply to the incumbent President.
Sumanthiran said, “It is an irony because all of this is happening because of the protest by the people asking the President to go home. The powers of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa have to be reduced at least to the degree of the previous 19th Amendment. Instead, the Government has proposed to reduce the powers of the President who will follow President Rajapaksa.
“President Rajapaksa is going to remain in the position and he will enjoy most of the powers of the 20th Amendment. People have been fooled. They have been asked to believe that another Amendment to abolish the Executive Presidency will follow as the second step, whereas there is no such intention. The need of the hour is a system change. That is what the people ask,” he said.
“Unwise decisions”
National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader MP Wimal Weerawansa said that he believes the Government is trying to implement agendas under the cover of the current crisis.
At a recent press conference, Weerawansa also commented on Sri Lanka not buying oil from countries such as Russia where oil is available at concessionary rates. He said, “Russia has turned to the Asian market as they have lost the European market. Many countries such as India, Singapore and Malaysia now buy oil from Russia. India gets a 35 percent advantage from it. Meanwhile, we make unwise decisions about the country for personal gain.”
He said Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara is trying to privatise power supply, saying the reason for the oil crisis is the monopoly by the Government.
He said, “Former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike set up the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) in the 70s because she believed that the Government should have the monopoly of energy. According to Minister Wijesekera that decision was wrong.
Campaigns launched
Amid the economic and political crisis, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Jathika Jana Balawegaya Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake have launched campaigns to capture power.
On the instructions of the Opposition Leader, the main Opposition SJB is making arrangements to surround the President’s House at Colombo Fort and conduct a series of protests.
On the directive of Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the JVP is also planning to stop the functions of the entire country at one particular moment and bring the people to streets. However, Dissanayake has not yet announced the date and time of their protest campaign.
Japan assures support
Japan says it is ready to provide continuous support to Sri Lanka while strengthening relations between the two countries, for the island’s economic program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and development activities.
This was conveyed by Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mizukoshi Hideaki when he called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s House in Colombo on Friday. The Japanese envoy also noted that continued efforts will be made to further strengthen the economic, social and cultural relations with Sri Lanka. President Rajapaksa has expressed his deep appreciation to Japan for their support to Sri Lanka.
UNP Chairman meets Galle party activists
A discussion between UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena and UNP Galle district activists was held at UNP party office, Galle on Wednesday. During the discussion, views were exchanged regarding the future program of the UNP and current situation of the country.
The UNP Chairman said that plans to conduct a series of discussions with all party activists in the Galle district in the near future. A few party activists had requested the party chairman to make a brief presentation to them on the program implemented by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to get the country out of the crisis. Giving a brief answer, Abeywardena told the party activists that after assuming duties, the Prime Minister has commenced a series of work nationally and internationally to overcome the current crisis faced by the country and its people.