• Japan says will resume yen-denominated loans for development projects; LRT, BIA included
• Govt. asked to send letter to Japan stating it is committed to opening talks for exchanging notes
• Inflationary pressures hit May Day rallies; parties spend highest amounts so far on May Day
• UNP on a high after pulling large numbers after years; SJB MPs recommence talks with UNP
• SF publicly meets RW on two occasions; Treasury officials surprised by SF presence at meet
• SJB-JVP/NPP clash over May Day rally venue; Sajith addresses estate sector people in Tamil
• Sajith makes election pledges on May Day, seniors absent; Arjuna denies claims of joining SJB
• SLPP thanks people for attending rally; MR says presidential candidate needs SLPP backing
• Basil meets RW to continue discussion; SLPP seniors displeased, demand meeting details
• Rajapaksa family concerned over Namal’s future; MR backs Namal’s call for SLPP candidate
• Maithripala says Wijeyadasa is SLFP’s candidate; Wijeyadasa says no as SLFP yet undecided
• EC asks SLFP to resolve party issues; Wijeyadasa seeks interim order, decision on Tuesday
• SJB-JVP/NPP debate undecided; AKD asks overseas Sri Lankans to support like for GR in 2019
• SLPP dissident group led by Wimal, Udaya to form new patriotic movement, new candidate

Workers’ rights took a back seat last week, with political parties engaged in a competition to show their might in the approach to the Presidential Election this year. Spending millions of rupees on what seemed like May Day shows, parties that held May Day rallies have reportedly spent the highest amount of funds for a rally last week.

A news report in the Sinhala media last week pointed out that seniors of all key parties that had held May Day rallies had accepted that unprecedented expenses had been incurred at last week’s May Day rallies. They had noted that the increase in inflation had resulted in them having to spend more money on transportation of party supporters, stage, sounds, decorations, and meals for participants.

It is interesting to note that the day to mark the labour force around the world was not so pleasant for street cleaners in Colombo, with the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) having to deploy a total of 1,500 workers for cleaning and garbage collection purposes in the city after the May Day rallies.

However, in usual style in the run-up to an election, political leaders were seen engaging in making election pledges on May Day stages, forgetting the true purpose of May Day rallies.

Meanwhile, President Ranil Wickremesinghe tried to garner the support of estate sector workers by announcing an increase in the minimum daily wage of plantation workers to Rs. 1,700. He made this statement during his address at the May Day rally of the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) held at the Kotagala Public Stadium. However, the President’s ‘good news’ was short-lived, with plantation companies refusing to pay the increased wage and plantation workers vowing to continue their struggle to win a Rs. 2,000 daily wage.

Be that as it may, with all main political parties focusing on the upcoming Presidential Election and the need to form alliances, the Wickremesinghe Government is also looking at strengthening the United National Party (UNP) base at the grassroots. The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP), and the one-time powerful ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) are all battling it out in the open to secure a 50% vote base at the polls. However, none of the parties have been able to secure a comfortable majority so far.

The underlying message in this is that there’s a lot left to be done for Sri Lanka to return to real normalcy from the economic doldrums.

It is in such a backdrop that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has yet again reminded Sri Lanka to work on governance issues and to also stick to the IMF-supported programme.

IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director Krishna Srinivasan had recently noted: “They’ve [Sri Lankans] also moved on issues like governance and reducing corruption and so on, which are part of the Government’s programme. But going forward, the challenges remain. You have to stick to this programme so that you can make a durable exit and the economy comes on a durable basis, and comes out of the crisis. So it’s important to make sure that you work on the fiscal adjustment package, on governance issues which are part of the programme.”

President Wickremesinghe meanwhile also pointed out during a public event last week that the current challenge facing the nation was not about maintaining the executive presidential system but rather about building a robust economic framework.

The President also underscored the importance of allowing the people to decide the country’s economic trajectory, highlighting that this opportunity should not be missed by anyone.

Japanese visit

While Sri Lanka is in the process of finalising its debt restructuring programme, a high-level official of Japan, which is a key bilateral creditor, arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday (4). Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa undertook an official visit to Sri Lanka from yesterday to today (5).

The Japanese Foreign Minister was scheduled to pay courtesy calls to President Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, and Foreign Minister Ali Sabry. The meeting between Wickremesinghe and Kamikawa took place last evening at the Presidential Secretariat.

During the meeting between President Wickremesinghe and the Japanese Foreign Minister yesterday, it had been communicated to the Sri Lankan side that Japan was prepared to resume yen-denominated loans for development projects, including the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) expansion projects.

The Japanese side had also asked Sri Lanka to send a letter to the Japanese saying Sri Lanka was committed to opening negotiations with Japan on economic cooperation which would lead to the exchange of notes. It is learnt that the relevant letter will be sent by the Sri Lankan Government to Japan sometime this week.

Minister Kamikawa had also expressed that Japan was happy that the Sri Lankan Government was looking at making the IMF agreement to be made law to ensure commitment to complete it.

Sri Lanka and Japan are to also cooperate in women’s empowerment and gender equality.

SJB overtures

However, the May Day rallies were a point of focus for the public, with suggestions that several Members of Parliament (MPs) would be joining opposing political camps on their stages. 

For the UNP, the presence of SLPP MP Gayashan Nawananda and SJB MP Vadivel Suresh was surprising but not groundbreaking. For the SLPP, a bigger focus was given to ensuring their existing MPs joined the party’s May Day celebrations, rather than trying to entice new members. The JVP meanwhile ignored the MPs and allowed their crowds to speak for them. 

However, for the UNP, a strong showing this May Day had caught the attention of several SJB MPs. It is reported that those in talks with the UNP to extend their support to the President have reached out inquiring about the next round of discussions on joining the fold. The message has been sent to the camp that with the expected gazetting of a new economic bill shortly, they could use the expected opposition by Premadasa to this legislation as an excuse to sever ties with the SJB. 

Some MPs don’t seem to be waiting for such a move, with reports indicating that SJB Chairman and MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka was seen publicly meeting President Wickremesinghe twice this past week after May Day. While the purpose of the meeting was unknown, several Treasury officials were surprised to see the former Army Commander join the President for a meeting at the Ministry of Finance.

UNP on a high

There is no doubt that the UNP is now on a high after the May Day rally, where the party managed to bring large numbers out to the roads from all parts of the country after a very long time. President Wickremesinghe and his loyalists were elated that the UNP had piled the crowds with only one MP in Parliament.

The President addressed two May Day rallies – the CWC rally in Kotagala in the morning and the UNP one that was held opposite the Maligawatta Police in the evening.

In a first-of-a-kind campaign, UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena led three special trains organised to Colombo on the southern railway line for people in the south to arrive in Colombo to thank President Wickremesinghe for salvaging the country from the economic crisis.

The UNP also looked into crowd-pullers even after the May Day rally by holding a musical show featuring local and Indian artistes after the rally.

The organiser of the event, Minister Harin Fernando invited all political party members holding May Day rallies to attend the musical show which was being held to honour Sri Lankan workers and it was interesting to see more participants at the musical show than at the rally.

SLPP MP joins RW

Meanwhile, ruling SLPP Monaragala District MP Gayashan Nawananda joined the UNP May Day rally, along with his supporters who had arrived in Colombo to attend the rally.

He said that on Wednesday (1), thousands of his supporters had joined the UNP rally together with him. According to Nawananda, he is ready to face any consequence of his decision but will not change his stance under any circumstances. He also claimed that President Wickremesinghe was the only political leader in the country who had the capacity and experience to revive the country’s failing economy. 

The SLPP however maintained that Nawananda was a member of the Democratic Left Front (DLF) and not of the SLPP, even though he was elected from the SLPP-led alliance.

Clash over venue

Meanwhile, the main Opposition SJB and the JVP/NPP locked horns last week over the venue to hold the rallies of the respective parties. The clash between the two parties was also witnessed during a political debate on a private television channel last week.

The SJB was represented by former MP Ajith P. Perera while the JVP/NPP was represented by Attorney Sunil Watagala.

Perera claimed that the SJB had first requested the Town Hall Ground (CMC) in Colombo for the party’s May Day rally, with all relevant documents also being handed over, but that the party had later been informed that the venue could not be given to it. He added that the venue had later been allocated to the JVP/NPP. Perera also implied that the JVP/NPP had received the support of the Public Security Minister to prevent the SJB from getting the ground it had requested. 

Watagala, while dismissing claims of the party receiving preferential treatment, responded saying that the JVP/NPP had not been assigned the Town Hall Ground but an area adjacent to it. He further noted that the SJB should raise the issue with the relevant authorities as the JVP/NPP was not aware of such an incident.

Sajith’s Tamil statement

The SJB and its allies held two May Day rallies, with one rally held in Colombo Fort and the other in Talawakelle, Nuwara Eliya. 

The May Day rally in Talawakelle was organised by Palani Digambaram. Opposition and SJB Leader Premadasa, during his speech in Talawakelle, made it a point to address the crowd in Tamil as well. He told them that he would ensure the plantation sector community would live with dignity under a future SJB government.

In the afternoon, the SJB May Day procession in Colombo began from Gunasinghepura and ended with a rally at Chatham Street in Fort.

Election pledges

The SJB’s Colombo May Day rally also saw Premadasa moving out of the traditional May Day speeches by making public a list of electoral pledges.

The pledges included full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, a fresh probe into the Easter Sunday attacks, creating smart farmers and fishermen, creating a conducive environment for investors, creating employment opportunities, and creating Silicon Valley-type IT zones in every district.

Other pledges made by Premadasa included the paying of a higher interest rate for deposits of senior citizens and creating smart schools.

Seniors absent

However, several SJB seniors were notable absentees at the party’s May Day rally in Colombo. Key among them were MPs Thalatha Atukorale, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Leader Rishad Bathiudeen. Nevertheless, SLPP dissident MPs Prof. G.L. Peiris and Dilan Perera were given prominence at the SJB rally.

Meanwhile, SJB Chairman Field Marshal Fonseka attended the rally but made an early departure after paying respects to the Buddhist clergy and greeting other party members. SJB Vice Chairman Sujeewa Senasinghe last week claimed Fonseka did not play any role in organising the SJB May Day rally and therefore did not deserve any prominence.

Arjuna’s clarification

Meanwhile, Arjuna Ranatunga, who attended the SJB May Day rally in Talawakelle, stated that he had not joined the SJB as claimed by some sections of the media. 

As soon as Ranatunga attended the Talawakelle rally, the SJB media machinery immediately released news items of his participation in the rally, with photographs of him and Premadasa at the rally and on stage being widely shared on social media.

However, Ranatunga issued a statement the following day to the effect that he had not joined the SJB and that he had attended the Talawakelle rally on the invitation of MP Digambaram, who had organised the event. “It should not be interpreted to say that I had joined the SJB,” Ranatunga added.

SLPP starts rebuilding

The ruling SLPP May Day rally at Campbell Park in Borella meanwhile saw a considerably low turnout, especially given the party’s strength at one time that drew crowds to fill Galle Face Green. It was evident that SLPP seniors were focused on putting on a realistic show with considerably high numbers – the message to SLPPers was that the party was definitely on a path to rebuild itself.

Although the party had decided earlier to make an announcement about its stance at the upcoming Presidential Election, such a message was not delivered by the leaders who addressed the gathering.

The SLPP was the only party that conducted its May Day rally at a playground, since all other main parties held their rallies on the roads.

Businessman-turned-politician Dhammika Perera, who is among the frontrunners to become the SLPP’s candidate at the Presidential Election, was seen seated on stage between SLPP theoretician Basil Rajapaksa and National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa. Pro-Wickremesinghe SLPPers like Minister Prasanna Ranatunga were seen in the front row on the stage.

Addressing the gathering, SLPP General Secretary MP Sagara Kariyawasam thanked party members and supporters who had participated in the rally amidst much hardship.

SLPP Leader, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) meanwhile engaged in a show of strength by noting that any presidential candidate who wanted to win the upcoming Presidential Election must have the support of the ruling SLPP. He further said that the SLPP would announce its decision regarding the Presidential Poll when it was necessary and added that only the candidate who obtained the SLPP’s support would win the election.

Basil meets RW

The SLPP, which is on the mend, saw its theoretician Basil meet with President Wickremesinghe last evening (4) at the latter’s official residence in Colombo. This meeting between Basil and the President comes just a few weeks after the last meeting between the duo.

The meeting that took place after the May Day rallies and the UNP’s show of strength was expected to see the President outlining to Basil the UNP’s plans for polls preparations. It is learnt that Wickremesinghe and Basil had reached an understanding on having frequent meetings to discuss issues and concerns of the SLPP and the evolving political stage.

It is interesting to note that during the last meeting, Basil had asked Wickremesinghe to publicly declare his intention to contest the Presidential Election first and that the SLPP would announce its stance afterwards.

MR backs Namal

Meanwhile, MR and members of the Rajapaksa family, it is learnt, are not too pleased with Basil’s ongoing dialogue with President Wickremesinghe. Some senior SLPPers have expressed displeasure at being kept in the dark about the discussions between Basil and the President. They have informed the SLPP leadership that they need to know the full details of the discussions and not just parts picked by Basil.

It is also learnt that some members of the Rajapaksa family have expressed concerns over the impact a move to back President Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Poll will have on Namal’s political future. Namal has expressed his opposition to backing Wickremesinghe at the polls by saying that the SLPP needs to field a candidate of its own since it is important for the party logo to be on the ballot paper.

MR was also seen last week endorsing Namal’s statement by saying that the SLPP would field a candidate at the Presidential Election and that the party was yet to make a final decision on the candidate.

JVP’s four-way split

Meanwhile, the JVP/NPP May Day rallies that were held in four venues – Colombo, Matara, Jaffna, and Anuradhapura – drew the highest number of participants. Video footage of the party’s processions in Matara and Colombo indicated that the JVP/NPP still remained the party to pull the largest crowds.

JVP/NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) told the gathering in Colombo that next year’s May Day rally would be celebrated under a government led by the JVP/NPP. He noted that the people not being adequately connected to the national economy was one of the main issues faced by Sri Lankans and that it was crucial to support the people to become a part of the economy, especially when it came to sectors such as agriculture and groups such as the youth, in order to revive the country.

AKD noted that as the country’s economy was on a revival path, its outcomes should be shared equitably and not equally.

Maithri’s hit on CBK

Meanwhile, the crisis-ridden Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) saw its ongoing internal clashes resurfacing at last week’s May Day rally.

Sirisena and his loyalists, including Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and deposed Acting General Secretary Dushmantha Mithrapala, decided to hold what they claimed to be the May Day rally of the SLFP in former Leader of the SLFP and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s (CBK) hometown – Gampaha District. 

The pro-Sirisena faction held the May Day rally at the Gampaha Municipal Council Ground under the theme ‘People’s front that protects the country’.

Maithri’s declaration

Sirisena claimed that Justice Minister Rajapakshe would be the SLFP’s presidential candidate at the upcoming election. Joining the commemoration ceremony of the late T.B. Ilangaratne on the morning of 1 May, Sirisena claimed that Rajapakshe had the support of the majority of SLFP members.

“I have previously served as the President and pledged not to contest for the presidency again. Dr. Rajapakshe will run in the upcoming Presidential Election and we will offer him our full support. We took a Minister [Rajapakshe] from the ruling party [SLPP], who is now aligned with us [the SLFP]. He no longer desires the ministerial position,” Sirisena added.

Wijeyadasa says no

Rajapakshe meanwhile claimed that he would initiate a programme that would revive the country, hours after being named the SLFP candidate for the Presidential Election by Sirisena.  “We are ready to form a government led by the SLFP,” Rajapakshe said.

However, a few days after the May Day rally, Rajapakshe observed that despite claims by Sirisena that he [Rajapakshe] would be the party’s candidate at the Presidential Election, he was yet to make a final decision on the matter.

Rajapakshe noted that the SLFP had not yet made an official decision to support his candidacy and that Sirisena’s statement on the matter would have been his [Sirisena’s] personal sentiment. He added that a meeting would be convened shortly to discuss and decide on the SLFP’s stance at the upcoming Presidential Election.

No Vimukthi

Meanwhile, CBK last week claimed that her son, Vimukthi, would not enter politics while also denying claims that she was looking to form an alliance with the UNP. She said that President Wickremesinghe had invited her to work with the Government but that she turned down the offer.

According to CBK, she had informed Wickremesinghe that she could not work with the Government as long as there were crooks in the Cabinet. She had further noted that she would not be giving special support to any political party, even though she continued to receive many such invitations, and added that the current politicians had completely disregarded the message given by the people during the ‘Aragalaya’.

More cases for SLFP

The SLFP meanwhile saw another case being filed before court over the party’s ongoing internal battle for supremacy with Minister Rajapakshe, whose appointment as Acting Leader of the SLFP by the pro-Sirisena faction was put on hold by a court enjoining order, with a petition being filed before the Court of Appeal to invalidate the recent order by the Colombo District Court prohibiting him from holding the post of Acting Leader.

Rajapakshe’s petition was listed to be taken up on Thursday (2). However, the court decision on whether an enjoining order can be issued on his application is to be announced on Tuesday (7). The defending parties have presented to court that the Court of Appeal does not have the jurisdiction to hear the petition filed by Rajapakshe.

Fix yourselves

The Election Commission (EC) has meanwhile stated that, given the current turmoil within the SLFP, the commission does not have room to intervene in or resolve the crisis situation.

With an interim injunction being issued by the Colombo District Court preventing former President Sirisena from functioning as the SLFP Leader, a problematic situation has arisen within the SLFP.

EC Chairperson R.M.A.L. Rathnayake has said: “We have now stopped engaging in this issue. They [the two factions] should resolve this crisis through judicial proceedings or internal discussions.”

Noting that injunctions have been issued against the party leadership, Acting General Secretary, and Acting Leader (appointed by the Sirisena-led faction), Rathnayake has said that there is no clarity on which faction’s decisions should be accepted as party decisions.

Not moving

Meanwhile, deposed SLFP Leader Sirisena last week vehemently denied rumours suggesting that he planned to relocate to South Korea.

Dismissing the claims as false propaganda spread by political adversaries, Sirisena had further emphasised that he had no intention of moving to any country. Issuing a statement, Sirisena had refuted the speculation, asserting his commitment to remain in Sri Lanka. 

Debate, debate

Meanwhile, the much-touted debate between the Leaders of the main Opposition SJB and the JVP/NPP continues to make news, albeit on the failure to reach a final agreement on the date.

Opposition and SJB Leader Premadasa has also called on the JVP/NPP to prepare to hold the debate this month.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) meanwhile decided to defer the SJB’s request to act as an independent moderator in the proposed debate between Premadasa and JVP/NPP Leader AKD. BASL President, President’s Counsel Kaushalya Nawaratne said: “We discussed this matter in detail. There, it was decided that the BASL should not get involved in this debate. The reason is that it is a political debate between two rival parties. Being an apolitical institution, the BASL should not get involved in such a debate.”

Meanwhile, AKD has called on Premadasa to confirm a date before 20 May for the proposed debate on the policies of both the parties on economic issues.

From GR to AKD

JVP/NPP Leader AKD meanwhile says that while Sri Lankans overseas had played a key role in bringing former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) to power in the 2019 Presidential Election, they [the Sri Lankans overseas] were now campaigning for a system change and a new change in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at a meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, he had requested Sri Lankans there to arrive in Sri Lanka and vote for the NPP or carry out an online campaign to garner support for the NPP.

Dissanayake said overseas Sri Lankans would play a crucial role at the upcoming elections and requested them to support the NPP to obtain power and develop the country thereafter.

A patriotic candidate

The Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya led by SLPP dissident MPs Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila held several public meetings in the past few months in preparation to form an alliance targeting the Presidential Poll this year.

According to the movement’s Deputy Leader Gammanpila, a new patriotic movement will be formed by them and a patriotic candidate will be fielded by the alliance at the upcoming polls.

“It is being witnessed that the component that claims to not support Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, and Anura Kumara Dissanayake has seen an increase. That is now the main voter base of the country. They are patiently waiting to see a new patriotic movement to come forward at the elections,” Gammanpila observed last week.

The Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya is also focused on getting the support of SLFPers who are currently disgruntled over the party crisis, with Gammanpila pointing out that the patriotism of the Bandaranaikes as well as the anti-imperialism of the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike were now vested only with the Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya.

Focus on HR

Amidst the goings-on on the political platform, Sri Lanka’s human rights record was once again in the international spotlight last week.

The US State Department has stated that 2023 was marred with a slew of “significant human rights issues,” including torture, degrading treatment by the Government, unjustified arrests, and extrajudicial killings in its recently-released ‘Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Sri Lanka’.

Documented by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the report finds that the “Government took minimal steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses,” which includes “crimes involving violence targeting Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Tamils”.

“Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the Government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the Judiciary; transnational repression against individuals in another country; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence and threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests of journalists, and censorship; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws on the organisation, funding, or operation of nongovernmental organisations and civil society organisations; inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections; serious Government corruption; serious Government restrictions on or harassment of domestic and international human rights organisations; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic and intimate partner violence and sexual violence; crimes involving violence targeting Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Tamils; laws criminalising consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, even if the laws were not enforced; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons.”

PHOTO VENURA CHANDRAMALITHA