Ranil Wickremesinghe: Performance vs promises

13 March 2019 

The writer’s article titled President Maithripala Sirisena - Performance Versus Promises appeared in two newspapers on 16 February 2019. There was one inadvertent error in that article that required correction, namely, that it was “Sri Lanka Telecom” and not the “Telecommunications Regulatory Authority” to which President Maithripala Sirisena (MS) had appointed one of his brothers. However, the inference about the nepotistic nature of the appointment is not affected by this error.

When, near the end of 2014, President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) announced a premature end to his second term and called for Presidential Elections, RW knew that, in a direct contest between himself and MR, he (RW) would be unlikely to win. 

Therefore, a few senior members of the UNP, including RW, secured the cooperation of ex-President Chandrika Kumaratunga, the inestimable backing of the Venerable Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera and the critical support of several smaller political parties and a number of independent political activists, and came to an agreement that (the willing) Maithripala Sirisena should be presented as their “common candidate” to challenge MR at the polls. An integral part of MS’s manifesto was that RW would be appointed Prime Minister if Maithripala Sirisena were elected President.

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• Integral part of MS’s manifesto was RW would be appointed Prime Minister
• RW should not have ignored the inadmissible conflict of interest that would arise

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On Maithripala Sirisena becoming the President of Sri Lanka in January 2015, he also became the head of the SLFP. Immediately thereafter, MPs of the UNP, the SLFP and some other parties were able together to muster more than enough strength to form a stable government with RW as PM. The price paid by RW for SLFP’s cooperation was that a number of the “more attractive” Ministries had to be given to its senior members. By this accommodation, the government was assured of the support of a total of well over 113 MPs (50% majority).

Together, Maithripala Sirisena and RW did some good work in the period immediately following MS’s election to the presidential office. As stated in the writer’s aforementioned article, there is no doubt whatever that the people of Sri Lanka presently enjoy a degree of freedom of expression that was denied to them for about a decade. The fear of being taken away without warning, most of the time in white vans, and being made to disappear for good has ceased. The obnoxious 18th Amendment was repealed and replaced by the incomparably superior 19th Amendment that so many opponents of the government criticize as geared to further their own ends.

The Right to Information Act was passed and the people are now slowly getting familiar with how to make use of it for the public good. The status and security of the Judiciary have been notably improved although recent controversies regarding the selection of judges may, if not nipped in the bud, become a cause for concern.

This can be best seen in the self-serving camaraderie that exists among the vast majority of MPs who plainly consider the welfare of their fellow MPs as being more important than their duty to the public  

The intensification of the war on drug-trafficking is encouraging even if there are some blind spots left that need corrective action. The appointment of a Presidential Commission to investigate the Central Bank bond transactions of early 2015 was also a necessary and valuable intervention. The creation of Special High Courts to speed up cases by resorting to more-or-less continual sittings has been of crucial importance. Both Maithripala Sirisena and RW may deservedly take credit for the part that they played in these valuable achievements as summarized in the aforementioned article pertaining to MS.

What are the promises that RW himself made to the people of Sri Lanka when he called upon them to elect Maithripala Sirisena as President and allow him (RW) to form the Government?
A few of the key undertakings that he gave either explicitly or implicitly, and how well he has fulfilled them, are discussed briefly below.

RW promised to help abolish the Executive Presidency by getting an appropriate new Constitution drafted. He appointed a team to collect views from the public as to what a new Constitution should contain. He then set up six or so Parliamentary sub-committees to study various aspects of the Constitution in the light of the opinions expressed by the people and to set out what features should be included in it. Although almost all the MPs in Parliament participated keenly at the beginning, those from the SLFP and SLPP, after many months of cooperation, were dissuaded by Maithripala Sirisena and MR from contributing any further to the writing of a new Constitution. This brought the work on drafting a fresh Constitution to a halt. Thus RW has failed, whatever extenuating explanations there might be, to get Sri Lanka a Constitution that excludes autocratic presidential rule.

There was also the undertaking given by RW to establish an efficient, corruption-free administration, unlike the one that was thrown out by the people in January 2015. One of the first appointments that he got Maithripala Sirisena to make was that of Arjuna Mahendran (AM) as the Governor of the Central Bank, notwithstanding objections that Maithripala Sirisena says he raised.

At that time, newspapers published details of AM’s professional background which indicated that he had the knowledge and skills to hold this post. What the public did not know at that time was that one of the principal traders in Central Bank bonds was AM’s son-in-law, Arjun Aloysius (AA), and that AM was resident in this son-in-law’s house.

RW should not have ignored the inadmissible conflict of interest that would arise in these circumstances.

This was an altogether ill-conceived appointment, the negative aspects of which were compounded by RW’s dilatoriness in getting AM out of the Central Bank at the very first hint of possible misconduct. It should surprise no one that the public have a very negative assessment of RW’s judgment, and even intentions, in making AM the Governor in a setting with so much the potential for impropriety.

Not too long after becoming President, Maithripala Sirisena had obviously come to enjoy his new-found powers so greatly that he acquired an open craving for a second term as President, contrary to the pledge that he made during his campaign and immediately upon election. 

It is the writer’s considered opinion that the overwhelmingly compelling factor that contributed to the parting of ways of Maithripala Sirisena and RW was almost certainly the fact that RW was not agreeable to writing a Constitution that would provide for the executive presidential rule that would allow Maithripala Sirisena to run for a second term. The intensity of the fury engendered by the unwillingness of RW to help Maithripala Sirisena to realize his new dream can now be understood.
It appears to have decided not to respond but to bide his time. Inevitably, RW’s efforts to get an improved Constitution passed have not been fruitful.

In the midst of this confrontation, on 26 October 2018, in a totally unexpected turn of events, Maithripala Sirisena directed the SLFP MPs who were loyal to him to resign from the Government. He also “dissolved” Parliament - but unconstitutionally, as the Supreme Court later held. Following SLFP’s desertion, RW was nevertheless able to form a “minority government” with the tacit voting support, but not direct participation, of a number of opposition parties in Parliament, thus restoring democracy in the country. The steadfast loyalty of the vast majority of UNP MPs to their party and its leader has been remarkable considering the well-publicized temptations placed before them to cross over.

Probably the most noteworthy contribution ever made by RW to support of the Rule of Law was his unswerving refusal to vacate Temple Trees during the 50-60 days that the unconstitutional regime of MR was imposed on the country. Given the revoltingly crude manner in which Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and General Sarath Fonseka had been treated by MR’s regime, there was genuine public concern that a similar fate might befall R W. 

However, in an unprecedented show of public support, a determined contingent of civic activists took significant risks, made personal sacrifices and gave very generously of their time to protect R Wand thereby safeguard the existing Constitution. The highly impressive, steadfast and absolutely vital part played by RW in protecting the Constitution during this fearful period is something for which all citizens of this country should be eternally grateful.

Based on the manner in which so many well-publicized allegations of corruption are being so desultorily investigated and followed up by the various authorities concerned, there is a widespread belief that Maithripala Sirisena and RW are not going after numerous wrongdoers who are out of power at that moment. One reason for their inaction is the “insurance” factor where protection is given now to persons out of power so that it may come in useful in future to protect current wrongdoers. Another factor is that the more longstanding MPs think of Parliament as a sort of “club of kindred souls” who need to look after each other as some secret societies do. 

What are the promises that RW himself made to the people of Sri Lanka when he called upon them to elect Maithripala Sirisena as President and allow him (RW) to form the Government?

This can be best seen in the self-serving camaraderie that exists among the vast majority of MPs who plainly consider the welfare of their fellow MPs as being more important than their duty to the public. From the fact that very little action has been taken against those MPs of whom the public rightly have a poor opinion, the writer is inclined to the view that both Maithripala Sirisena and RW are equally protective of erring MPs, irrespective of whatever misdemeanours are committed.

No one has come forward to defend Ravi Karunanyake (RK) regarding the plainly unbelievable explanations given by him to the Presidential Committee of Inquiry (PCol) appointed to look into the Treasury Bond auctions that took place in and around February 2015. 

Everyone with whom the writer has had occasion to discuss RK’s role in politics has been highly critical of RW for supporting RK so strongly as he does but they have also conceded that there is no one else in the UNP who could ensure better attendance at important UNP rallies.

This is a factor that RW is not in a position to ignore in the world of practical politics. Nonetheless, as far as the general public are concerned, RK has so badly compromised his own image that RW himself cannot avoid being tainted by giving RK important positions either in the UNP or in government. The fact that there are several persons with even more compromised records in the SLFP and the SLPP is not considered to be an adequate excuse for RW’s generous treatment of RK.