• RW hosted for dinner by Jaishankar, breakfast by Doval and lunch by Modi
• India proposes Indo-Lanka land bridge; President says special PSC will decide
• Indian leaders given ‘devolution and development’ programme by President
• Will give what’s in the document and nothing less, says RW; Modi non-committal
• Govt. ready to implement 13A without Police powers; final call with Parliament
• President to convene party leaders’ meeting this week to discuss Police powers
• RW requests Hindi song from movie ‘Bobby’ during Indian CEO Forum dinner
• President meets EC members to discuss LG Polls, court cases and Presidential Polls
• EC members asked to give estimate for early Presidential Polls to Finance Ministry
• Split in SLPP affects preparations for polls; seniors send mixed messages to members
• SLPP dissidents’ group begins forming new electoral alliance; opens office in Rajagiriya
• PSC on bankruptcy proceeds sans Opposition; SJB forms shadow committee for probe
• Sajith cries foul over new PSC to probe EC; new EC members say no idea of the probe

President Ranil Wickremesinghe undertook his maiden visit to India this past week as he celebrated one year since assuming office on Friday (21). Interestingly, Wickremesinghe’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took place on Friday as well.

While the focus of the visit has been the promotion of connectivity between the two countries, as outlined by the policy vision jointly released by the two leaders, several other key issues were also addressed. It is learnt that Wickremesinghe had also given clear undertakings on what could be delivered and the limits to which the Government could go on them, something refreshing for the Indian Government leaders when dealing with Sri Lanka.

During previous visits to India by former Sri Lankan heads of state, there had been several instances when the Indian side had been given undertakings that were not honoured or could not be delivered by the Sri Lankan side. One such undertaking was by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, when it was stated during one of his visits to India as then Head of State, that the Government would go beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution to resolve the ethnic issue.

However, it was noticeable that, unlike during previous visits of Sri Lankan heads of state to India, this time around, the President had one-on-one discussions with key Indian Government officials. Wickremesinghe’s meetings with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were all one-on-one discussions without delegations. Jaishankar had hosted the President for dinner on Thursday (20) night, while Doval had engaged in a breakfast meeting the following morning with Wickremesinghe.

The meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi on Friday started off with a meeting along with delegations. The President was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, President’s Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayaka, Foreign Ministry Secretary Aruni Wijewardana, and Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda. After the meeting, Modi had hosted Wickremesinghe for lunch.

Discussion with Modi

During Wickremesinghe’s meeting with Modi, one of the key areas of discussion was on the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

The President had handed over the document that he had already given to the Tamil political party representatives on devolution and development. In fact, Wickremesinghe had handed copies of the document to Jaishankar and Doval as well.

Wickremesinghe had noted that the details presented in the document would be implemented and ‘nothing less’. “This is the minimum that the Government will deliver,” the President had said.

Wickremesinghe had also noted that the 13th Amendment could be implemented without Police powers since it was a matter that needed to be discussed with all parties in Parliament. The President had also pointed out that the up-country Tamil parties had also stated that they wanted to discuss the implementation of the 13th Amendment.

It is learnt that Prime Minister Modi had attentively listened to what Wickremesinghe had to say and had not commented on the issue of Police powers.

Wickremesinghe had also stressed that power devolution should also be tied to development in order to ensure meaningful power sharing.

It is also learnt that President Wickremesinghe is to share the document on devolution and development with other parties in Parliament and to initiate a discussion on it, with the main focus being the issue of Police powers. The President has directed his officials to convene a meeting this coming week with all political party representatives to commence the discussion on implementing the 13th Amendment.

Land bridge talk

Wickremesinghe’s meeting with Jaishankar had focused mainly on strengthening connectivity between the two countries. 

It is learnt that while the Sri Lankan side had proposed a fully-fledged ferry service between the two countries that would also enable vehicles to be transported between the two countries, the Indian side had proposed the setting up of a land bridge connecting the two countries.

The Indian External Affairs Minister had noted that it would be best to develop a strong link between the two countries that would overcome the sea gap between them.

The issue of a land bridge between India and Sri Lanka has been a controversial one for many years. The project was named the Sethusamudram Project.

President Wickremesinghe, it is reliably learnt, had responded saying that the proposal would be presented to Parliament and a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) would be formed to look into the matter. The President had noted that building a land bridge connecting the two countries would have to be a decision for Parliament to make. 

Wickremesinghe had also told Prime Minister Modi that the proposed land bridge between the two countries would only move forward pending parliamentary approval.

Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Friday (21) said that India and Sri Lanka were looking at the possibility of land connectivity between the two nations.

He had however told a media briefing that the idea of land connectivity had been proposed by Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe.

“The leaders of both India and Sri Lanka agreed to take this forward and in taking this forward, you would have heard Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his press remarks say that both sides would carry it forward through an initial feasibility study to look at this land connectivity between the two countries. This move will help to bring about economic prosperity to both our societies, also help in regional cohesion between the two countries and can be a source of tremendous bilateral and regional economic prosperity in our region,” Kwatra had added.

Signing agreements

Five Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Moragoda and India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay in the presence of Wickremesinghe and Modi. 

The five MoUs encompassed various areas of cooperation including an MoU for the economic development of projects in the Trincomalee District, an MoU on renewable energy, an energy permit for a solar power project, a network-to-network agreement between IPL and Lanka Pay for UPI application acceptance, and an MoU on animal husbandry.

The proposed energy connectivity project is the development of the proposed power transmission line between Sri Lanka and India.

Other areas discussed were regional security, especially on tackling the threat of external actors.

Adani meets RW

Meanwhile, Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani had also met President Wickremesinghe during the latter’s brief visit to India. Adani, who is a close confidant of Prime Minister Modi, had shown much interest in investing in Sri Lanka.

“Great honour to have met H.E. President Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss a fascinating set of projects in Sri Lanka including continued development of Colombo Port West Container Terminal, 500 MW wind project, and extending our renewable energy expertise to produce green hydrogen,” Adani tweeted following his meeting with Wickremesinghe.

Meeting before India

Prior to the President’s visit to India, he met with Tamil MPs from the north and the east on Tuesday (18). Invitations were sent out for the meeting that took place at the parliamentary complex from 3 p.m.

The discussion was focused on various bills and plans concerning the functioning of Provincial Councils, the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation, the Truth-Finding Mechanism, the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), and the development of the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Since discussions began in December last year, the President and the MPs have been regularly meeting to finalise a programme for devolution of power and to address the concerns of the Tamil populace. 

During this meeting a final document was presented to the Tamil MPs by the President, which outlined several key points including devolution, development in the north, and accountability measures for past crimes committed during the war. 

Speaking at the event, the President outlined that a political solution was not enough for the people of the north and east, but that they also required an economic solution and roadmap. India has been eyeing greater economic integration in the north of the country, so the presentation of an economic roadmap for the north ahead of the visit was expected. 

However, while in the middle of presenting this economic plan, the President was cut off by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader R. Sampanthan, who had stated that devolution was all that mattered and without that all other topics were inconsequential. 

The elderly TNA leader had launched into a prolonged statement on the perceived absence of meaningful engagement in finding a political solution. It was at this point that the President had agreed to skip ahead and address the matter of devolution.

Accordingly, the President had outlined that the 13th Amendment would be enacted in full, sans Police powers. It was at this point that TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran had objected, saying that Police powers were essential. The President had responded that he was prepared to go further, if the rest of the party leaders in Parliament were agreeable. However, he had explained that so far the rest of Parliament had opposed the devolution of Police powers. 

The President had further stated that it was not just the Tamil MPs whose agreement was needed, but the rest of Parliament as well to ensure the two-thirds majority. The President had also outlined an expansion of responsibilities being delegated to the provinces, including tourism promotion and agriculture. 

While Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP Angajan Ramanathan and Tamil Peoples’ National Alliance (TPNA) MP C.V. Wigneswaran had spoken out in favour of measures taken to devolve power, Sumanthiran had rejected the proposal completely. The MP had stated that he considered these proposals hollow and while they would not oppose the moves, they would not support them. 

However, following the meeting, the President had instructed his officials to distribute the plans among all Colombo-based diplomats and the media. 

Wickremesinghe had noted during the meeting that he had already put forth a comprehensive proposal to address the problems faced by the people in those regions and it was up to the Tamil parliamentarians to take it forward or not.

The President had also said that the Government did not agree to the involvement of foreign judges in the administration of justice in the north and east, but it would however consider obtaining reports from foreign observers, following existing systems in South and East Asian countries.

The Tamil parties had discussed several other matters at the meeting concerning missing persons, the OMP, reparations to families of missing persons, the grant of presidential pardons to Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) prisoners convicted over involvement in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam-related activities, occupied land release, archaeological acquisitions, Lankan refugees in South India, and Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs).

In response to the Tamil MPs’ concerns that the complaints received by the OMP did not provide complete information about the missing persons, President Wickremesinghe had requested that detailed information be submitted for forwarding to the Interim Secretariat for the Truth-Finding Mechanism. 

RW’s reminder

Wickremesinghe, during the meeting with the Tamil party representatives, had also made an interesting comment about his political purpose.

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m not Ranil Rajapaksa, I’m Ranil Wickremesinghe. I only move to implement areas that could receive the required political push,” the President had said.

Wickremesinghe had made this comment when Sumanthiran had stated that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had promised to fully implement the 13th Amendment and to even go beyond that.

Letters to Modi

Prior to Wickremesinghe’s visit, India’s Prime Minister Modi also received several letters from politicians and civil society representing the Northern and Eastern Provinces of the country.

The TNA had written to Prime Minister Modi, urging him to push President Wickremesinghe to fulfil the commitments made by Sri Lanka to India with regard to devolution of power.

“I write to you as the leader of the largest parliamentary group of the Tamil parties in Sri Lanka,” TNA Leader Sampanthan has stated in the letter.

In the letter, Sampanthan had stated that the Tamil people’s safety, security, identity, and existence as a nation was inseparable from the national security of India, especially in its southern neighbourhood.

“Sadly, the twin purposes for which the accord was signed, namely, the safety and security of the Tamil people and the security of India, remain elusive even after the lapse of 36 years,” he had said, adding that any solution must be seen as one that stretches to the maximum possible devolution without sacrificing the sovereignty of the country, given the background to the conflict.

“In total disregard of the pious promises and repeated assurances on its part, the Sri Lankan State has not only failed to fulfil its commitments, but has also attempted to abort the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution by resisting brazenly the continuous demands for the devolution of land and Police powers and by misappropriating powers already enjoyed by the provinces by legislative manipulations,” the letter had noted.

He had urged the Indian Prime Minister to prevail upon the President of Sri Lanka when he visited New Delhi around 21 July to fulfil the commitments made to India with regard to sharing powers of governance with the Tamil People of the north and east in Sri Lanka without any further delay.

RW’s Hindi song

Meanwhile, President Wickremesinghe, in a lighthearted moment recently, was seen enjoying a Hindi song during an event in Colombo.

Wickremesinghe and First Lady Maithree Wickremesinghe were the Chief Guests at a recent meeting of the Indian CEO Forum held at the Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo.

After the meeting had concluded, a popular Indian artiste had been invited to sing and entertain the gathering. When the singer had started to entertain everyone at the venue, Wickremesinghe had inquired if he could make a request for a song. The organisers had said he could and the President had then sent a message to the singer requesting a song titled ‘Main Shayar To Nahin’ from the Hindi movie ‘Bobby’.

After receiving the President’s request, the singer had accommodated it soon after he had completed the song he was singing. The President and First Lady were seen enjoying their requested song being performed by the singer.

It is learnt that prior to the event, the organisers had asked the President’s Private Secretary whether Wickremesinghe had a favourite Hindi song. The Secretary had said that it would be best if the organisers asked the President himself about it.

Preparing for PCs

On the local political front, the President’s visit to India and the pre-tour preparations have once again placed focus on the delayed Provincial Council (PC) Elections.

The President’s undertaking to implement the 13th Amendment has made all parties gear up for the holding of Provincial Council Polls.

Many senior Government members had held several discussions last week with former provincial councillors in their respective constituencies about their preparedness to face a Provincial Council Election.

Several senior Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs had held several discussions on holding Provincial Council Elections in their districts, inviting several former Local Government members as well.

SLPP split an issue

However, talks of preparing for an election at national level has posed a problem to the SLPP given the split within its senior ranks.

While a group of SLPP seniors is aligned to the Wickremesinghe Government and has expressed interest in forming a coalition with the current members of the Government, another group in the SLPP led by the party’s National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa believes that the SLPP should further strengthen itself as a political party outside the Government.

It is learnt that this split has resulted in mixed messages being communicated to the SLPP membership at district and electoral levels. 

The pro-Wickremesinghe group in the SLPP continues to send out messages to its supporters that they need to be aligned with the Government and prepare to face elections as a Government coalition. 

The pro-Basil group continues to maintain that while the Government has not fully honoured its commitment to the SLPP, the party should build itself as a separate entity and prepare to face elections on its own.

Dissidents’ alliance

Meanwhile, a group of SLPP MPs who are pro-Wickremesinghe had on Thursday (20) decided to give a formal framework to their alliance by opening what seemed an office for them to meet and plan their political moves. This new office premises, it is learnt, has been opened at a lowkey event at Lake Drive in Rajagiriya.

The alliance is to commence the task of gathering the support of more SLPP parliamentarians and it is to be expanded into the official electoral alliance of breakaway SLPPers.

The grand opening of the alliance office is expected to take place once the proposed alliance is formalised.

According to reports, dissident SLPP MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa is likely to be appointed as the leader of this political alliance. Coordination work of the alliance is to be handled by MP Nimal Lanza.

According to this group, they have the support of around 30 other parliamentarians representing the Government and Opposition sides.

Talk of Prez Polls

Meanwhile, speculation over the holding of an early Presidential Election has also started to do the rounds in political circles once again last week, following a recent meeting between President Wickremesinghe and the newly-appointed members of the Election Commission.

The President’s meeting had reportedly taken place last weekend and Wickremesinghe had made an inquiry from the commission members about the holding of an early Presidential Election and the possible cost the commission might have to bear for such an exercise.

The members of the Election Commission had informed the President that they could prepare a rough estimate and present it if needed. The President, it is learnt, had told the commission members to prepare the estimate and hand it over to the Finance Ministry.

It is also learnt that Wickremesinghe had discussed the delayed Local Government Elections and the ongoing court cases about the matter.

Hearing about this discussion, political circles were abuzz last week with talk that an early Presidential Election was likely to be held during the second quarter of next year.

Dinner for SLPPers

President Wickremesinghe on Monday (17) met the Government parliamentary group. An invitation was extended to the ruling SLPP to attend the group meeting as well as for a post-meeting dinner.

It is learnt that the invitation for the dinner had included the spouses of the SLPP parliamentarians. The invitation had been extended via SMS and through Whatsapp. 

According to reports, all SLPP MPs in Government had not attended the dinner.

SLPP PSC proceeds

Meanwhile, the PSC appointed to look into the causes of economic bankruptcy in the country proceeded last week without the participation of any of the Opposition parliamentarians who were appointed to it.

The PSC’s Chairman, SLPP General Secretary and Attorney Sagara Kariyawasam has told the media that all Government MPs who were members of the PSC had participated in its first meeting while it was only TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam who had shown up at the meeting representing the Opposition and had expressed his concerns about the committee and walked out of it.

According to Kariyawasam, the PSC will go ahead with its proceedings without the participation of Opposition MPs who have been appointed as its members. He said that they would continue to fulfil their duties and responsibilities with or without the Opposition’s participation.

SJB’s shadow committee

The Executive Committee of the joint Opposition coalition has meanwhile decided to appoint a committee consisting of the members of the Opposition to look into causes for the country’s economic crisis and identify those responsible for it.

“This committee, to be appointed by the Opposition, will take steps to formally investigate all parties responsible for the economic ruin and report to Parliament. Any Member of Parliament may contribute and support in good faith for the functioning of this committee and this committee will arrange to gather information from every party required for the purpose. Also, arrangements will be made to facilitate anyone willing to provide information to do so,” Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said in a statement.

However, PSC Chairman SLPP MP Sagara Kariyawasam last week downplayed the proposed shadow committee the Opposition plans to establish, calling the move a ‘joke’.

He had noted that the Opposition-appointed committee would not serve its purpose, as it did not have the power to summon relevant officials and call for relevant State documents for an inquiry.

“What the Opposition is doing is merely a joke. When the Parliament appoints a committee, it has the authority to summon anyone before it and call for documents. However, will a committee appointed by the Opposition have such powers? It won’t. Due to these issues, the Opposition’s committee will not find anything in respect of the financial crisis. That is why we see it as a joke,” Kariyawasam had charged.

Probing EC

Parliamentary party leaders on Monday (17) had agreed to appoint a PSC to probe whether the actions of the former members of the Election Commission had violated the privileges of parliamentarians.

Opposition Leader Premadasa has however cried foul over the move, charging that the Government had suddenly convened the meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business on Monday and had submitted a motion to appoint a ‘select committee’ to investigate the way the Election Commission and its members worked on the country’s election programme.

Stating that the motion would be taken up in Parliament on Tuesday (18), he had also claimed that the Government was in a hurry to take up this motion only to apply pressure on the newly-appointed Election Commission and the hearings before the court in order to coerce the court and the Election Commission to implement the Government’s agenda instead of implementing the democratic agenda.

Premadasa had stated that a select committee would be appointed in Parliament to investigate how the Election Commission had dealt with the Local Government Election affairs to give a hint and an indirect threat to the current Election Commission that it should work according to the Government’s agenda, or else it would have to appear before a PSC.

He had also said that this also hinted that if the judges did not act according to the whims and fancies of the Government and court decisions were not implemented accordingly, even the judges could be brought before a select committee and put under pressure. 

Meanwhile, the Election Commission is reportedly seeking clarification on the specific grounds for the allegations levelled against it.

Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake had said that the commission was yet to be informed of the basis for the allegations that had been levelled against it. 

It was in February this year that a letter signed by 14 SLPP MPs was handed over to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, requesting him to immediately appoint a PSC to look into the conduct of the Election Commission.

SLFP’s reinstatements

The SLFP meanwhile is on a reconciliation path, with the dissident MPs returning to the party fold once again and being reinstated to their former posts in the party.

The party’s All-Island Working Committee approved the reinstatement of the party dissidents to their former posts and uniting the factioned SLFP.

Meanwhile, an interesting incident had taken place during a recent party meeting in Beruwala. The incident had taken place when SLFP National Organiser Duminda Dissanayake had been addressing the gathering. 

There had been a cutout of SLFP Leader Maithripala Sirisena, which had been put up along with the backdrop on the stage. However, when Dissanayake had started to talk about the formation of a national government during his speech, Sirisena’s cutout at the back of the stage had fallen due to the wind.

Some participants at the meeting who had noticed this incident had found the timing of Sirisena’s cutout falling off the stage quite ironic. 

Being optimistic

On the economic front, the first review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is scheduled for September and the Government is now working hard to meet the revenue targets set by the fund for the disbursement of the second tranche of the facility.

Sri Lanka had verifiably met 33 of the trackable programme commitments of the IMF programme as at the end of June 2023 but had failed eight, according to the ‘IMF Tracker,’ which is an online tool launched by Verité Research.

Accordingly, the number of unfulfilled commitments had doubled from four (including one partially met) in May, to eight in June 2023. These include obtaining Cabinet approval for the restructuring plan of key State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), enacting new anti-corruption legislation, publishing the annual reports of all 52 major SOEs for 2022, and preparing a plan to gradually eliminate import restrictions.

The Central Bank appears to have taken a further conciliatory approach on imports, as it has recommended relaxing another batch of 900 goods, not including vehicles. 

While the economy is on its stabilisation journey, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe has expressed optimism that the headline inflation of the country will reach a negative level by the end of this year after arriving at single-digit levels. 

Speaking at Minuwangoda on Sunday (16), he said that prices were coming down but admitted it was not at the same speed at which they rose last year when inflation reached 70%.

Following Zambia

As for Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring programme, the US has expressed its expectation that bilateral creditors will apply common principles agreed upon on completing Zambia’s debt treatment to other cases such as Ghana and Sri Lanka to meet the IMF’s first programme review later this year.

Speaking to the media at the G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting in India on Sunday (16), US Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had said that although it had taken too long to negotiate a debt treatment for Zambia, it showed that creditors could overcome differences and agree on common principles for debt relief. 

“We should apply the common principles we agreed to in Zambia’s case in other cases rather than starting at zero every time and we must go faster,” she had said.

Yellen had noted that they expected debt treatment for Ghana and Sri Lanka to be finalised quickly so that the IMF could move forward with its first programme review of the two countries later this year.

Last month, Zambia had successfully struck a deal to restructure $ 6.3 billion of its debt owed to bilateral creditors, of which $ 4.1 billion is owed to China, while, according to Reuters, the country is also expected to come to an agreement with its private creditors to treat $ 3 billion by the end of this year.