• President invites Xi to visit Sri Lanka; signs 15 MOUs during visit, secures $ 3.7 b investment
• RW Govt. members claim credit for Sinopec refinery deal; pressure on Govt. to reveal deals on media
• Changes witnessed in language in joint statements issued following RW visit in 2023 and AKD’s latest
• RW Govt. ‘recognised’ China as the sole legal Government, AKD Govt. ‘supports’ efforts at reunification
• Point in joint statement on maritime cooperation shows space for Chinese vessels to operate in Lankan waters
• India continues to maintain optimism over ties; says no one can break its relationship with SL
• Increasing prices, rice shortages, vehicle taxes under fire; Ravi, Champika take on Govt. on taxes
• Govt.’s delays and agreement to implement PUCSL-proposed electricity tariff reduction confuses public
• Govt. resorts to strong-arm tactics to get Court of Appeal President to resign; Bandula meets AKD
• Bandula says will resign end of January, AKD agrees; JVP/NPP gathers signatures for impeachment
• Harshana slammed by media, civil activists for honouring Emil for his service due to Welikada killings
• Sunil says Harshana was not aware of plan to honour Emil; prison authorities say SC has freed Emil
• JVP/NPP seniors meet to discuss issues, defeat at some cooperatives; SJB excited after several wins
• AKD looks at addressing Govt. ministers, deputy ministers; JVP/NPP seniors moot public sector reforms
• RW says public has taken over role of the Opposition; talks of SJB-UNP alliance under UNF revealed
• SJB appoints comm. headed by Ranjith for talks with UNP; Ruwan and Thalatha lead UNP side at talks
• SJB wants Sajith as UNP leader or ‘telephone’ symbol alliance; UNP proposes UNF under Sajith’s lead
• MR wishes Sajith on birthday, no wishes from RW or Govt. members; Marikkar shares b’day with Sajith
• Namal opens SLPP’s Legal Aid Division, says Govt. on political witch-hunt, ready to assist the persecuted
• ITAK urges need for political solution; US envoy told diaspora investments tied to Govt.’s assurances

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) Government is currently facing a mix of victories and defeats in its governance path. 

While AKD concluded a successful visit to China, his Government is trying to put out many fires in the country while trying to balance State finances and ease the burdens shouldered by the masses.

AKD’s first official visit to China as President was undoubtedly the most successful one out of the visits undertaken by Sri Lankan presidents to the country.

President AKD flew to China last Monday night (13) on a flight operated by China Eastern Airlines. The President received a warm welcome in China and engaged in key meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Qiang, and a group of Chinese investors. 

During his visit, President AKD had also extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi to visit Sri Lanka, to which Xi had responded positively.

President AKD’s Chinese visit, which was closely watched by many members of the international community, witnessed the renewal of close ties between Sri Lanka and China as well as between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the JVP.

The JVP/NPP Government announced last week that President AKD’s Chinese visit had generated a foreign investment of $ 3.7 billion to the country by way of the agreement signed between Sri Lanka and China’s Sinopec for the setting up of an oil refinery in Hambantota. However, the agreement by Sinopec for this oil refinery was initially signed in 2023 during the tenure of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. 

The Government’s announcement about the ‘new’ agreement for a billion-dollar oil refinery saw some members of the former Government, including Wickremesinghe’s Director of International Affairs Dinouk Colombage, thanking President AKD and the Government for continuing with a project that was launched by the previous Government.

However, a senior Government member noted that the money for the investment had been secured by President AKD although an agreement had been signed on the refinery during the Wickremesinghe Government.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath stated that Sri Lanka and China had signed 15 Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) following bilateral talks between the two countries. The MOUs, according to the Government, are very important to Sri Lanka in sectors such as the economy, education, media, and culture.

However, local media associations have urged the Government to be transparent with the agreements related to media that were signed with China. The associations expressed concerns over the Government’s move to sign agreements with the Chinese media, especially at a time when the Sri Lankan media is looking at progressive reforms.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the People’s Bank of China have renewed their currency swap agreement and will continue to carry out financial cooperation. The tenure of the Yuan 10 billion (approximately $ 1.4 billion)-worth currency swap facility ended in December 2024.

However, one of the key areas of interest for the rest of the international community in relation to President AKD’s Chinese tour is the agreement reached by the Sri Lankan Government to move forward with stalled negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Sri Lanka and China.

Interestingly, President AKD’s Chinese tour also indicated that the Government has also moved away from the previous Government’s policy in supporting the ‘One China’ policy. The statement following President AKD’s Chinese visit states: “Sri Lanka firmly supports all efforts by the Chinese Government to achieve national reunification, and opposes Taiwan independence in any form.”

However, the statement issued following Wickremesinghe’s Chinese visit stated: “Sri Lanka reaffirmed its commitment to the ‘One China’ principle, recognising that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal Government representing the whole of China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and reiterated that it supports the efforts by the Chinese Government to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and opposes any form of ‘Taiwan independence’.”

Looking at the language used in the two statements, the latest one that notes Sri Lanka’s support for China’s efforts of reunification indicates that the country has taken a new direction in supporting the ‘One China’ policy.

Maritime cooperation

Meanwhile, the joint statement issued at the conclusion of President AKD’s Chinese visit saw another interesting change in the language from the previous statement released following the conclusion of former President Wickremesinghe’s visit to China during his term in office.

One of the key changes seen was point No. 12 in the statement. “The two sides are ready to deepen cooperation in such fields as conservation and restoration of the marine environment and ecosystems, maritime domain awareness, maritime rescue and disaster relief, and maritime personnel training and capacity building, and pool their strength to build a maritime community with a shared future.”

This has the potential of allowing China to send across Chinese vessels into our waters and operate them under the guise of training Sri Lankan seamen/women.

Indian concerns

However, China’s ‘maritime cooperation’ with Sri Lanka will be an area under close watch by the Indians given the clear objections raised by Sri Lanka’s neighbours to Chinese research vessels, also known as ‘spy ships,’ calling in Sri Lanka to conduct research work.

President AKD during his first official visit to India noted that Sri Lanka would not let the country be used for anything that would threaten India’s national security. However, it is now to be seen how Sri Lanka will honour its statement to India and how India will view Sri Lanka’s dealings with China.

India meanwhile says that no one can break its relationship with Sri Lanka and that both countries will continue to remain together even in the future.

“We must work together like all brothers and sisters, to work for a shared future,” the High Commissioner said.

However, it is learnt that India is also looking at organising a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka following President AKD’s invitation to the Premier during his recent official visit to India.

Taxes under fire

Be that as it may, while President AKD is engaged in a tightrope walk between India and China, the JVP/NPP Government is trying to continue with the economic recovery path, with the Government’s revenue generation methods stirring quite a hornet’s nest with a growing section of the general public expressing displeasure at what they claim to be the failure of the JVP/NPP to honour its pledges during election time.

The high prices of food commodities, the shortage as well as the high prices of rice, the increase in prices of internet data packages, and the latest being the proposed increase in import taxes on vehicles, which is expected to result in a 300-400% increase in imported vehicles prices that could even increase by around 600% in some instances as pointed out by vehicle importers, have all left the people disgruntled. 

The JVP/NPP in the run-up to the election claimed that shortages of rice would not happen, that prices of food items would decrease, and that even low-income families would be able to afford a vehicle. 

However, it was reported last week that Hindu devotees who traditionally celebrated the Thai Pongal festival in previous years by preparing pongal rice with red rice had to use korra rice or nadu rice to prepare pongal rice.

Meanwhile, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) last week denied that prices of internet data packages had been increased. The public however found it difficult to believe this due to the increase in the amount spent by them for their existing data packages.

Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Ravi Karunanayake meanwhile raised concerns over the Government’s decision to recommence vehicle imports, highlighting risks to the country’s economy. 

Karunanayake told the media that such a policy must ensure that the rupee value did not fall due to the importation of vehicles. “If the rupee falls, it will increase the cost of expenditure of the country. This will cause a cost-push inflation, adversely affecting the country’s tax burden. On the other hand, interest rates will be increased to tackle the drop in the rupee value. All of this will surpass the Government’s expenditure,” he noted. 

Karunanayake however commended the Government’s plan for prior registrations to import vehicles, adding that this was a good mechanism, as imported vehicles could not be hoarded for a long period. 

Meanwhile, former Opposition MP Patali Champika Ranawaka also noted that the Government’s moves to meet revenue targets for 2025 would witness further burdens being placed on the general public. 

Nevertheless, with the reality of the country’s economic situation now sinking in among the newcomers to office, it is evident that President AKD and his Government are now aware of the hard decision-making that goes along with governance and ongoing economic recovery efforts.

Electricity tariff drama

Meanwhile, there are mounting concerns over the Government’s decision to hold off on implementing the approval granted by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) last Friday (17) to reduce electricity tariffs by around 20% with immediate effect.

While the PUCSL had stated that the reduced electricity prices would come into effect from midnight last Friday, the Government stated instead that the proposed reduction could only be implemented after receiving necessary approval from the Finance Ministry. This statement is a clear indication of the fact that the country’s economy is still on the mend and that decisions on tariff reductions should be made following a broader study on meeting revenue and expenditure targets.

It is also important to keep in mind the words of Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody in Parliament recently, where he said that it would take about three years to reduce electricity tariffs by 30% as stated by the JVP/NPP in the run-up to last year’s Parliamentary Elections.

However, Jayakody yesterday (18) announced that the Government would proceed with the PUCSL-approved electricity tariff reduction as a first step towards further reducing tariff in the coming years.

Impeachment moves

The AKD Government meanwhile turned to some hard tactics on what is stated as a ‘clean-up operation’. Such tactics were witnessed recently in the threat of an impeachment motion to remove Court of Appeal President Nissanka Bandula Karunarathna. It is learnt that the threat of an impeachment motion was thrown at Karunarathna after he had refused to resign from his post in the Court of Appeal.

The President has also taken steps to appoint several Court of Appeal judges who are junior to Karunarathna to the Supreme Court.

Karunarathna’s term in office will come to an end on 16 June this year and he had earlier stated that he would not resign prematurely. However, following the Government’s decision to move an impeachment motion against him, Karunarathna last Sunday (12) had met President AKD and said he would submit his resignation as the President of the Court of Appeal on 30 January.

It is learnt that Karunarathna’s decision to resign had been finally made after realising that if he were to be impeached by Parliament, which could be done easily with the JVP/NPP Government’s 159 seats in the House, he would stand to lose his dignity and pension as well.

The Government had last week confirmed the initiation of a motion of impeachment to be submitted to Parliament against Karunarathna.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Sunil Watagala has said that the signatures of a total of 118 MPs have been obtained as of now. Referring to Karunarathna’s claim that he would resign from the post of Court of Appeal President, Watagala has further noted that the Government will decide on the future course of action with the impeachment motion depending on Karunarathna’s actions. 

Gathering criticism

Meanwhile, the AKD Government was also criticised last week by many civil activists over an incident where former Prisons Commissioner Emil Ranjan Lamahewage was awarded a token of appreciation for his service of 37 years in the Prisons Department by Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara at an event held at Eagles’ Lakeside in Colombo. Lamahewage had in a post on his social media thanked the Minister and the incumbent Commissioner General of Prisons for honouring his service.

Nevertheless, civil activists took to social media criticising President AKD, Minister Nanayakkara, and his Government for forgetting what they had claimed to be Lamahewage’s role in the 2012 Welikada Prison riot that resulted in the killing of 27 prisoners. This was seen as the second incident that had killed a high number of prisoners during a riot after the killing of prisoners during the 1983 pogrom. 

Lamahewage was found guilty of being involved in the Welikada Prison riot and the killing of prisoners and a three-member judge bench of the High Court sentenced him to death. However, Lamahewage was released following a Supreme Court decision by a five-judge bench in 2024.

Journalist Kasun Pussewela, who has written a book about the Welikada Prison riot, posted on social media that it was a shame to see a Minister of AKD’s Government honouring someone like Lamahewage, and has even called on AKD, Nanayakkara, and the rest of the Government members to throw into the dustbin his book on the riot that he said he had personally gifted to AKD at the JVP Headquarters in Pelawatte. “Shameful, ugly, and insulting,” Pussewela claimed.

Meanwhile, prison authorities claim that since Lamahewage has been exonerated and released from court, continuing to accuse and criticise him is similar to criticising the Judiciary.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Watagala meanwhile said last week that Nanayakkara had been invited for the event and was not aware that he would be handing over a memento to Lamahewage and that he (Nanayakkara) had been invited to appreciate the former Prison Commissioner’s service a little after the event had commenced. 

Public protests

Amidst all these incidents, the public is beginning to engage in protests to express displeasure over the Government’s failure to address certain issues. 

A group of people in the Ambalantota area last week engaged in a unique protest. They brought a pot to the road and cooked milk rice with imported rice by the side of the road in the town. A video clip of the protest shows the people showing the rice not boiling in the pot. After protesting against the shortage of rice in the country, the protesters are seen throwing the pot with rice on the road, saying the milk rice cannot be consumed.

The protesters told the media that despite claims by the JVP/NPP Government that it would ensure there would be no shortage of rice, it had failed to supply rice to the people and that there were queues to buy rice even with the rice imports.

Meanwhile, Minister Samantha Vidyarathna last week participated in a Thai Pongal event at a kovil and, amidst rains, was seen dashing a coconut at the kovil after the pooja while one of his aides held an umbrella over his head.

After dashing the coconut, Vidyarathna said that it was now a people-centric government in power and that the public had high expectations from the Government as a result. He added that the Government would take measures to provide the relief required by the people shortly and that the upcoming 2025 Budget would be the first step towards addressing the issues faced by the people. 

Pep talk time

Meanwhile, President AKD, it is learnt, has decided to speak to his Cabinet of Ministers following the many complaints received by him related to failures and shortcomings in many ministerial functions.

It is also learnt that apart from the shortcomings in carrying out work at ministries, there have also been complaints about many ministers not answering their mobile phones or meeting with individuals for official work as well as people from their constituencies. This conduct of many ministers has had an adverse impact on the Government’s push for investments and re-commencement of stalled projects.

However, the failure on the part of these ministers to speak to people from their constituencies has also concerned the President, who is also the Leader of the JVP/NPP, given that Local Government Elections will be held in the coming months. People have started to make public comments about the ‘missing’ JVP/NPP representatives from their areas and the lack of a member of the Government for the public to express their grievances and seek solutions. 

Meanwhile, private sector businesses as well as investors have also complained to the President’s Office about the inability to meet with Cabinet ministers or any other high-ranking Government officials to discuss investments and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) despite statements made by AKD and key Government ministers in the media that the Government is seeking investments and PPPs for development.

Concerning defeats

Amidst the increasing internal issues within the incumbent Government, the JVP/NPP is increasingly concerned over the growing number of defeats experienced by the party in cooperative bodies.

The JVP/NPP recorded victories in several cooperative bodies during elections held for them soon after the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. The victories recorded by the JVP/NPP in some cooperative bodies saw the party securing over 90% of the seats in some cases and the party believed that the winning streak would continue. 

The JVP/NPP expected to therefore secure power in almost all cooperative bodies islandwide, especially after having secured 159 seats in Parliament. However, since of late, the JVP/NPP has been experiencing defeats in some cooperative bodies with the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and in some instances the combined Opposition winning these bodies.

Interestingly, the defeat of the JVP/NPP in several cooperative bodies surprised both the winners and losers. It is after the main Opposition SJB managed to secure wins at around five cooperative bodies that the Opposition parties realised that there had been a slight change in public sentiments since last November. 

The JVP/NPP leaders had last week held a discussion on the reasons behind the defeats recorded at cooperative bodies. One of the reasons for the defeats had been attributed to the growing displeasure among the public over the Government’s delay in honouring the pledges made during elections.

The cooperative bodies are a grassroot level organisational structure that play a key role in managing rural communities and therefore are of great importance to the JVP/NPP.

Reforming public sector

Another reason for the defeats as well as increasing public frustration had been attributed to the shortcomings in the public sector that have directly impacted the public, especially in relation to receiving basic services from the State sector.

The discussion had been chaired by a JVP senior since members of the JVP-led trade unions had also attended it. The trade unionists had also complained about a majority of the public sector workers, whom they claimed were continuing to work in the same manner in which they had carried out their work during previous governments.

It had then been decided that the entire public sector needed to be reformed in order to be converted into a service that addressed the needs of the people.

No Opposition

It is in such a backdrop that former President Wickremesinghe had said during a recent meeting with a group of United National Party (UNP) seniors that all the statements made by the JVP/NPP in the run-up to elections had now boomeranged on them in the Government.

Wickremesinghe had noted that the Government was facing opposition from the people now and not from Opposition political parties. He had pointed out that it was the people on their own who were now raising issues ahead of the Opposition.

He had further noted that the lack of a strong Opposition was being felt by the country and the people.

However, Wickremesinghe, it is learnt, had also noted that President AKD and his Government should be allowed to govern the country since the JVP/NPP needed to understand for itself the gravity of governance and steering economic recovery and that the realities were very distant from slogans on election platforms.

Cleaning SJB 

While President AKD and the Government are moving ahead with the Clean Sri Lanka programme, the main Opposition SJB is also looking at cleaning the party. This was a key topic discussed recently during a meeting of a group of SJB MPs in Colombo.

During the meeting, all the MPs in attendance had agreed that the SJB seemed to be heading on the right path following the decisions made at the party’s last Working Committee meeting.

Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa at the last Working Committee meeting decided to adopt some of the proposals made by Party Chairman Imthiaz Bakeer Markar to reform the party, including the appointment of a four-member committee to look at the changes required by the SJB.

Birthday wishes

Meanwhile, Premadasa celebrated his birthday last Sunday (12). Premadasa’s wife Jalani had been the first to wish him for his birthday and the next had been former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) on the 12th morning.

However, Wickremesinghe had not been among those who had wished the Opposition Leader on his birthday. Members of the incumbent Government had also not wished Premadasa on his birthday.

MP S.M. Marikkar’s birthday also falls on the same day as that of Premadasa. When Marikkar had telephoned to wish Premadasa, he (Premadasa) had responded “same to you”.

UNF talks emerge

Meanwhile, UNP Leader Wickremesinghe together with new General Secretary of the party Thalatha Atukorale recently spoke of the formation of the United National Front (UNF), which would be an alliance between the UNP and SJB.

This was stated during a recent meeting held with UNP members and supporters in Colombo. The meeting was attended by several senior UNPers including Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene.

Atukorale told the gathering that members of both the UNP and SJB wanted to see the two parties join forces. “It is evident that both parties have to unite to form a winning front. The victory of Jeevan Thondaman who contested under the ‘elephant’ symbol at the Parliamentary Elections shows that the people wanted the UNP symbol at elections,” the UNP General Secretary noted.

When asked about the leadership of the proposed UNF alliance, Wickremesinghe avoided the question, stating that leaders of the parties who joined the alliance could be leaders. “However, first let’s get the parties to join and form the alliance and plan to win,” the UNP Leader said with a laugh.

Sajith to lead

However, it is learnt that a majority of SJBers are still concerned about Wickremesinghe and his possible actions to sabotage the alliance by seeking to lead the new alliance. The SJB side had therefore proposed that either the new alliance be formed under the SJB and the ‘telephone’ symbol with Premadasa as the leader, or if the UNP was insistent on forming the alliance under the UNP and ‘elephant’ symbol, Premadasa should be appointed as the leader of the UNP.

It is also learnt that the UNP side had made a counter proposal for the new UNF alliance to be led by Premadasa under the ‘elephant’ symbol while Wickremesinghe remained the Leader of the UNP.

The SJB side is currently discussing the UNP’s proposal, with many SJB seniors stating they are agreeable to such a move, while some senior SJBers are adamant that the new alliance should be formed under the ‘telephone’ symbol.

SJB’s first move

In a bid to make the first move towards forming an alliance with the UNP and addressing the long-standing calls of both SJBers and UNPers, the SJB Working Committee headed by Premadasa last Thursday (16) announced that a committee had been appointed under Party General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara to engage in official discussions on forming an alliance with the UNP.

The committee also includes Kabir Hashim and Harshana Rajakaruna.

However, it is also learnt that a Colombo District MP of the SJB is disappointed over his exclusion from the alliance-making talks. This MP had also been involved in bringing the SJB and UNP together.

From the UNP side, it is Wijewardene and Atukorale who are engaged with the SJB on alliance-building.

RW’s usual game

Nevertheless, UNP Leader Wickremesinghe, it seems, is continuing with his usual tactics to manoeuvre appointments within the party to get his way at the cost of the UNP’s stability and its future. 

It is learnt that Wickremesinghe is in the process of mooting a new plan to ensure his way within the UNP. This time around, realising that the emerging youth leaders of the party are weary of his time-buying tactics, Wickremesinghe is looking at getting a group of former Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) members who had joined him during the last Presidential Election campaign into the UNP by appointing them to the party’s Working Committee. 

Through this move, Wickremesinghe is looking at expanding the base for his choice as the UNP leader after him. Among these former SLPPers are former MPs Kanchana Wijesekera, Shehan Semasinghe, Premitha Tennakoon, and several others.

Despite initial beliefs by the UNP and many others that Wickremesinghe’s choice will be Deputy Leader Wijewardene, it is learnt that the UNP leadership is now engaged in supporting and promoting one of his loyalists who served close to him in his office during his term in office as President instead of Wijewardene.

However, it was interesting to see outspoken former MP Mervyn Silva taking a swipe at both Wickremesinghe and Premadasa recently, claiming that both leaders have to step down and make way for a new leadership. He noted that both parties would otherwise be unable to move forward.

SLPP’s legal front

Amidst all these movements among Opposition political parties, the SLPP, which is currently under the spotlight with some of its senior members facing probes related to alleged fraud and corruption, last week inaugurated its Legal Aid Division in Colombo.

SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa inaugurated the office. “This initiative marks a significant step in addressing trade union repression, political reprisals, and injustices faced by our members. By providing an open platform for legal assistance, we aim to uphold fairness and justice for all,” Namal posted on social media. 

Namal, who initially challenged the JVP/NPP Government to bring on the probes into allegations levelled against the Rajapaksas and the governments led by them, last week claimed that the Government was engaged in a political witch-hunt and that the SLPP was prepared to provide legal assistance to those being persecuted.

ITAK’s concerns

Meanwhile, on the Tamil political front, the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) is continuing with its call for a political solution to the Tamil national question.

A group of ITAK MPs who recently met with US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung had also expressed these concerns. The MPs had also noted to Chung that members of the Tamil diaspora should invest in Sri Lanka in response to President AKD’s call for diaspora members to invest in the country only if there are assurances given by the Government on presenting a political solution to the Tamil national question.

Chung, it is learnt, had spoken in support of the President’s call for diaspora investments to come into Sri Lanka, saying that such investments would address the issue of youth unemployment in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. 

MP Gnanamuththu Srineshan has noted that the ITAK MPs had reiterated to the US Ambassador that the solution to the national problem was a federal system and that the US should work in partnership for that.

The ITAK MPs had met with the US Ambassador on 8 January, three days before their departure for the Tamil Diaspora Conference in Chennai under the chairmanship of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

The Sri Lankan Tamil MPs had continued with the discussion on the need for a solution to the Tamil national question in Sri Lanka during the conference and during one-on-one meetings with South Indian political leaders on the sidelines of the confab.