By the Black Box

• India’s NSA meets President for one-on-one meet after US, Russian, and Chinese envoys
• UNF leaders to form alliance under Premadasa for polls; crucial meetings this weekend

Sri Lanka has once again become a focal point amongst global powers with last week being one of the busiest weeks for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when it comes to holding high-level discussions with senior members of the international community.  However, the most important meeting took place yesterday (18) afternoon between the President and a senior Indian envoy who made a quick “under the radar” visit to Sri Lanka. India’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval met with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday afternoon, The Black Box learnt. Rajapaksa and Doval had a one-on-one lunch meeting yesterday, informed sources told The Black Box. Rajapaksa and Doval, during the lunch meeting, had discussed several issues – counterterrorism, intelligence co-operation, and economic development in the Indo-Pacific region. Doval had assured $ 50 million for the purchase of intelligence gathering equipment for the Sri Lankan armed forces. Sources at the Indian High Commission said Doval also had a brief conversation with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa over the telephone since the latter was out of Colombo. Doval was on a one-day visit in Sri Lanka as part of the ongoing high-level meetings between Sri Lanka and India. This is the second visit of an Indian envoy since Rajapaksa assumed the presidency last November. Indo-Lanka relations are currently on a growth trajectory with Rajapaksa making India his first official visit after assuming office and Indian government officials being the first amongst the international community to congratulate Rajapaksa on his electoral victory. The Rajapaksa-Doval meeting is yet another indication of the revitalised Indo-Lanka ties since Rajapaksa assumed office last year. “Mission Lanka on fast track,” stated Indian-based StratNews Global, explaining that the engagement at the highest levels between Indian and Sri Lanka, which began soon after the Gotabaya Rajapaksa-led Government  took charge in November last year, will get a leg-up with NSA Ajit Doval visiting Colombo yesterday (18). “It is a measure of the importance New Delhi attaches to its ties with the strategically located Indian Ocean island nation that the NSA is in Colombo barely two months after Gotabaya was elected President. The two men are expected to exchange views over lunch and security is on their agenda, a little bird tells us. Not surprising, given that ensuring national security has been promised by the new Sri Lankan President as his country still struggles to come to terms with the Easter Sunday terror strikes of last year,” the news report noted. The report further stated that India is keen on ensuring it maintains close and robust ties with the new Government to keep Chinese influence at bay in Sri Lanka. “New Delhi got off to a swift start with the new Government in Sri Lanka when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar flew down to Colombo within days of Gotabaya’s win in mid-November. This was followed by a visit by Gotabaya himself to India in late November. Early this month, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena was in New Delhi. And Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also a former President of Sri Lanka and Gotabaya’s older brother, is expected to be in New Delhi next month,” the report added. Sri Lanka last week was the hotspot for high-level discussions with the international community as top officials from the US, China, and Russia arrived in the country for the first high-level talks between their respective governments and that of President Rajapaksa. China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Principal US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells were in Sri Lanka at the same time for bilateral talks. Doval’s meeting with the President took place after all the other high-level discussions last week. Another fiery meeting While the country is gaining momentum in the international arena, the main Opposition, the United National Party (UNP), is oblivious to any goings on in the country due to its fixation on its internal crisis. The UNP is once again engaged in a “cat and mouse” chase over the party leadership. With UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe adamant on holding on to power for a few more years and his aversion towards handing the party leadership to UNP Deputy Leader and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, the UNP is likely to show its deteriorating vote bank at the upcoming general election. The decision on the UNP’s leadership is a never-ending game that keeps getting postponed and it would be no surprise if the “final meeting” to decide on the party leadership is held the day prior to the 2020 general election. The UNP parliamentary group was scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday (16) at the party headquarters, Sirikotha, to finalise the party leadership issue. Prior to the meeting at Sirikotha, MPs supportive of Premadasa met at the Opposition Leader’s office in Parliament. Premadasa was unable to attend the meeting since he was in Kandy, meeting with the mahanayakes. The meeting that commenced at around 12.45 p.m. had continued for about an hour before concluding. During the meeting, MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara had said that he would not contest the next general election under Wickremesinghe’s leadership. This view was backed by several parliamentarians including Ajith P. Perera and Sujeewa Senasinghe. It was also discussed that in the event Wickremesinghe is relentless in his effort to hang on to power, the Premadasa group should form an alliance with the members of the United National Front (UNF) and contest under the alliance without quitting the UNP. Meanwhile, a group of parliamentarians supportive of Wickremesinghe had also met prior to the evening’s parliamentary group meeting. When most of the MPs had asked Wickremesinghe as to what plans he had for the evening, the UNP Leader had said: “There’s only one decision to be made in the evening. That is whether Sajith, Karu, and I will be working together or not. We have to put a good fight at the general election and unity within the party is key to it.” Wickremesinghe had said that while he would remain the Party Leader, Premadasa would be the Opposition Leader, and Karu Jayasuriya would be the leader of the alliance. At around 5 p.m. members of the UNP parliamentary group started to make their way to Sirikotha. Interestingly, several new security measures were introduced that day. At the entrance to Sirikotha, a table was placed with security personnel with whom the MPs had to leave their mobile phones. Also, security personnel of the parliamentarians were not allowed to the upper floor of Sirikotha where the meeting hall is located. Only Premadasa’s and Wickremesinghe’s security were allowed to be outside the meeting hall. Calling the meeting to order, Wickremesinghe had started with the controversial audio clips of UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayake’s telephone conversations and explained the reasons for his temporary suspension from the party. He had said the leaking of the audio clips had posed a problem to the private lives of many UNP MPs. Afterwards, Wickremesinghe had noted that many party members were being politically victimised and action needed to be taken in that regard. By this time, members of the Premadasa group were becoming impatient since the meeting was decided the previous week with the aim of resolving the issue of the party leadership. Afterwards, Wickremesinghe approached the issue of party leadership. “As for the party leadership, I have only one thing to say, don’t try to divide the party. Don’t try to call for votes. Everyone must come together and move forward together with Karu Jayasuriya,” Wickremesinghe said. Heated arguments The Premadasa group lost its cool by this time. “Sir, this is not party democracy. It is this party democracy that we all spoke of at the last meeting. Therefore, please allow us to choose the party’s next leader in a democratic manner. The UNP is a democratic party,” MP Madduma Bandara said. UNP Chairman Kabir Hashim spoke next. “You destroyed the party even when I was the Party Secretary. I remember how you got a bunch of foreigners to come and do the party campaign at the last local government elections and caused massive losses to the party. We were humiliatingly defeated after trying to push strategies unsuitable for us. I immediately accepted responsibility and resigned from the post. The next general secretary appointed has not done anything for the party,” he said. “You cannot blame me to clear yourself. You were responsible for the downfall of the party,” UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam responded. “I never brought about the downfall. I did not have any power. The party leader got some foreigners to do everything. We were told not open our mouths. That’s how things operated then,” an angry Hashim retorted. However, Wickremesinghe intervened and prevented Kariyawasam from continuing with the argument. “The clergy and party members are asking me not to go for a vote and divide the party,” Wickremesinghe had said. Angered by Wickremesinghe’s statement, several MPs had stood and said that the situation at the grassroots level was much different. “People in the villages say they will not vote for us if you are going to stay the leader. People in Colombo also say the same. Why won’t you step down? Let’s take a vote and decide,” the MPs had said. Once again, Wickremesinghe had refused. MP Harshana Rajakaruna had then said:” Sir, you are the one who taught us democracy. You even sent us for workshops to study democracy and its principles. Now you say that various people have called you and asked you not to take a vote to choose a party leader. The party’s parliamentary group is here now. I propose that we take a vote to decide on whether or not a vote should be taken to decide on the party leadership.” Rajakaruna had then called out for the MPs in support of holding a vote to make their preference known. When Wickremesinghe loyalist MP Vajira Abeywardena had tried to object to the vote, several MPs in the Premadasa group had shouted at him saying that he was the one who had deals with the Rajapaksas and had even gone to the extent of calling Rajapaksa and keeping the phone switched on in order for him (Rajapaksa) to hear the goings on at the party Working Committee meeting. A majority of the MPs at the meeting had then stood and said they wanted a vote to decide on the party leader. MPs Kariyawasam, Gayantha Karunatileka, Daya Gamage, Abeywardena, Palitha Range Bandara, Sagala Ratnayaka, Ashu Marasinghe, Wijepala Hettiarachchi, and Navin Dissanayake had remained seated without voting. Wickremesinghe had continued to oppose any move to hold a vote while the Premadasa group MPs continued to demand a vote, saying it was party democracy. After objecting to the manner in which Wickremesinghe was conducting himself, former Party Chairman Malik Samarawickrama had walked out of the meeting. He had said that the meeting was called specifically to vote on the party leader and the Party Leader was not honouring his word. “This party is not something you inherited from your parents. This is our party. You have been hogging it for the past 26 years. Leave at least now. Sixty-five UNP MPs have left the party during your leadership. People in the villages don’t want you. These MPs are representatives of those people,” Senasinghe had said. Wickremesinghe had then stood up to leave the meeting hall despite calls from the MPs not to leave and to hold a vote. “None of the MPs should leave this room. Even if it means that we have to stay till morning, let’s stay and take a vote,” Harin Fernando had said. By then, Wickremesinghe had left the room with around 10 MPs who are supportive of him. The parliamentarians led by Madduma Bandara then called for a vote. Out of 77 UNP MPs, 65 had attended Thursday’s meeting, out of which 52 had voted in favour of Premadasa’s leadership. Meanwhile, a heated argument had taken place between MPs Harin Fernando and Navin Dissanayake. When Wickremesinghe continuously opposed the taking of a vote to decide on the party leadership, Fernando had said that the parliamentarians pushing for a leadership change would be compelled to form a separate alliance. Dissanayake had risen to object to Fernando’s statement. An angry Fernando had retorted: “Who do you think you are to tell us what to do? You left the party, creating a division after reaching a deal with Mahinda Rajapaksa. We will never leave the party like that.” RW till 2023 A question posed by a majority of the MPs that Wickremesinghe was unable to answer was the reason for holding on to the party leadership when he had not contested as the party’s candidate at the past few presidential elections and had no plans to do so in the future as well. The following day, Friday (17), several UNP MPs held a news conference to explain what had happened at the parliamentary group meeting the previous night. UNP MPs Dr. Harsha de Silva, Harin Fernando, Nalin Bandara, Ajith P. Perera and J.C. Alawathuwala were among the members of the group who had attended the news conference. They had said they were hopeful that Wickremesinghe will resign from the leadership with dignity and allow Leader of Opposition Premadasa to take over. Dr. de Silva had said Wickremesinghe had informed the MPs that he would not contest any national election after 2025 and a change would be made to the UNP leadership by 2023. “Ranil Wickremesinghe had informed the group that he had received many phone calls from party members and that 95% of them want him to continue as the leader. He also said he would come back to the MPs after meeting Premadasa and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya during the weekend. When some MPs proposed a poll to determine the majority view, several MPs such as Vajira Abeywardena and others have insisted that Wickremesinghe should continue as the leader. Wickremesinghe and others then walked out of the meeting after arguments. Ranjith Maduma Bandara then proposed that Premadasa should take the chair and continue the meeting. Thereafter, a poll was conducted to determine the majority view and the majority had wanted a leadership change,” Dr. de Silva had said while explaining the group meeting in brief. “The parliamentary group was in a battle between two ideas, where some MPs wanted a new face to the UNP while others wanted Party Leader Wickremesinghe to stay on till 2024. An unofficial vote was conducted to seek the majority view,” the MP had added. New alliance Meanwhile, a meeting of UNF leaders took place on Friday evening at the Opposition Leader’s office at the parliamentary complex. Apart from members from the Premadasa camp, UNF leaders Patali Champika Ranawaka, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, Palani Digambaram, Rauff Hakeem, and Mano Ganesan had attended the meeting. However, All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Leader Rishad Bathiudeen was a notable absentee at the meeting. After hours of deliberations, it was decided that the UNF members would contest as an alliance at the upcoming general election and that Premadasa would lead the alliance. Discussions are currently underway on the alliance, its structure, and symbol. In the run-up to the presidential election last year, the UNF formed the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), which was also joined by a splinter group of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). However, when inquired whether the new alliance led by Premadasa would be the same DNA, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Leader MP Ganesan said that the DNA was already constituted along with its own constitution while the UNP is the main constituent partner of the alliance. However, a final decision has not yet been made on the matter. “Premadasa and his group of MPs, which is a majority of the UNP parliamentary group, will be part of the alliance along with the other constituent parties of the UNF. There are 55 MPs in the Premadasa group and 20 MPs who are constituent members of the UNF; so there 75 MPs there,” Ganesan explained. As for the possibility of the UNP General Secretary, a pro-Wickremesinghe member, withdrawing the party from the alliance, Ganesan noted that with a majority of the UNF parliamentary group standing with the alliance, the “official UNP” will also have to decide if they want to be part of the alliance or not. The UNF leaders on Friday had agreed that Premadasa should not be confined to the post of Opposition Leader as it would be dissolved along with Parliament in early March. Interestingly, the UNF leaders had also explored the possibility of Wickremesinghe handing the party leadership to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya if he was opposed to appointing Premadasa to the post. In such a scenario, Premadasa would be the leader of the alliance while Jayasuriya will serve as the Leader of the UNP. When the meeting ended on Friday night, the UNF leaders had reached an agreement that they would contest the next general election as an alliance under Premadasa’s leadership. The UNF leaders had also noted the need to commence campaign work targeting the election, since time had already been wasted due to Wickremesinghe’s delay tactics on the UNP leadership issue. Next step Following the agreements reached at Friday night’s meeting between UNF leaders, a crucial meeting was held yesterday (18) between Premadasa and Jayasuriya at the latter’s residence. The duo had discussed at length about the current crisis before the party and how best to move forward. During the discussion, Jayasuriya had expressed his willingness to work together with Premadasa to bring the UNP back on to the victory path. They had also discussed the need for a change in the party leadership and Premadasa had expressed his willingness to work with Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya earlier stated that he had no intention of fighting to gain a position in the party and that he would not gain anything personally by it. However, he had stated that he would put forward several conditions if he is expected to unite the party and take it towards an electoral victory. Accordingly, Jayasuriya had sought complete authority to carry out party reforms that need to be implemented with the approval of the Party Leader, Deputy Leader, Working Committee, and parliamentary group. In order to ensure greater democracy, the reforms need to be approved at a party convention as well. Be that as it may, a meeting between Jayasuriya and Wickremesinghe is scheduled to take place today (19) and the outcome of today’s meeting will be the determining factor of the UNP’s future path. Despite claims last week by the UNP General Secretary that a meeting will be held between Wickremesinghe, Premadasa, and Jayasuriya to resolve the UNP internal crisis, a date is yet to be fixed for it. Meanwhile, the Premadasa group is to hold a meeting next Sunday (26) at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC) in Colombo to announce the formation of the alliance led by Premadasa. UNP local government members and provincial council members are to be invited for the meeting. Action against CBK Wickremesinghe was not the only political leader to face a firing line last week. His political counterpart, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga also had to face tough action by her party, the SLFP. Kumaratunga was removed as the SLFP Organiser for the Attanagalla electorate, SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara said. He said the decision was taken at the party’s Central Committee (CC) and politburo meetings held on Thursday (16) night under the patronage of former President Maithripala Sirisena. The SLFP politburo met first and the CC met afterwards. Both meetings took place at the party headquarters. Although Kumaratunga was stripped of her post as Party Organiser, she will retain her party membership and her position as advisor to the SLFP. Jayasekara said that Kumaratunga had extended a great service to the SLFP in the past and that could not be forgotten. “She has also made some bad decisions. But the CC and politburo will discuss all those matters at a future date,” the SLFP General Secretary said, adding that last week’s discussion was on the disciplinary action to be taken against the SLFP organisers who had violated the party’s official decisions during the last presidential election. SLFP MP Lasantha Alagiyawanna was appointed the Acting Organiser for the Attanagalla electorate. The SLFP politburo and CC had also decided to support President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the forthcoming general election and work together towards obtaining a two-thirds majority in Parliament for the President. The SLFP politburo had also decided to hold the convention of the People’s Alliance (PA) on the 30th of this month. The PA is the alliance that is likely to be re-activated as the electoral alliance of the SLFP and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). GR, MR, and MS to meet However, the SLFP politburo has decided to make a final decision on the manner in which the SLFP would contest at the next general election after holding a separate discussion with President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Rajapaksa. The discussion between Sirisena, the President, and Prime Minister are to focus on the proposed alliance between the SLFP and SLPP, its structure, the number of SLFP members who would be given nominations for each district, and all other related issues. A cold war has been brewing between the SLFP and SLPP since the new Government was formed under President Rajapaksa. The SLFP has made continuous complaints about the violation of the agreements reached between the SLFP and SLPP in the run-up to the presidential election. It has now been decided to discuss all these issues with the President and Prime Minister.