Sri Lanka Brief (6&7/15)

Internal Developments:

Election Results Out, MR Concedes Defeat:

1. Sri Lankan parliamentary elections were held on August 17, 2015, ten months ahead of the schedule to elect 225 members to the 15th Parliament. The incumbent United National Party (UNP) led United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) won 106 seats (including 13 seats through National List). The main opposition United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won 95 seats (including 12 through National List). The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest party representing Sri Lankan Tamils, won 16 seats (2 from National List). The remaining eight seats were won by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (6, 2 seats from National List), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (1) and Eelam People's Democratic Party (1). Out of the 22 districts, UNP won 11, SLFP 8 while remaining 3 districts were dominated by the minority Tamil party. No alliance secured an absolute majority of 113 seats.

2. Former president Mahinda Rajapakse conceded defeat in the parliamentary elections. "My dream of becoming prime minister has faded away. I am conceding. We have lost a good fight,” said MR. He accepted defeat even before Elections Chief Mahinda Deshapriya announced the final results.
Wickremesinghe Sworn in as PM:

3. UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in for the 4th time as Prime Minister at a function at the Presidential Secretariat. He served as Prime Minister for eight months when President Maithripala Sirisena appointed him following the victory of 2015 Presidential Election. Mr. Wickremesinghe had also served as Prime Minister from May 7, 1993 to August 19, 1994 and December 9, 2001 to April 9, 2004. He topped the UNP Colombo district list with 500,566 votes; the most number of preferential votes at a parliamentary election obtained by a candidate.

Sirisena Sends Hard-Hitting Letter to MR:

4. Earlier, in a hard-hitting letter to Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Maithripala Sirisena as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) had asked Mr. Rajapaksa not to raise communalism and that he will not be appointed Prime Minister even if the party secured absolute majority in the elections. In a response, Mahinda Rajapaksa had said on August 14 that he hoped Sirisena would respect the verdict of the people at the parliamentary elections in the same manner he respected the verdict on January 09. In the letter, Mr. Rajapaksa said he was compelled to re-enter into active politics at the request of the majority of SLFP members.

Most Peaceful Elections ever in Sri Lanka:

5. President Maithripala Sirisena said August 17 election was one of the most peaceful, free and fair elections in the history of Sri Lanka. He said his decision, as President, to stay neutral at the poll was a major reason that the election was peaceful.

SLFP Likely to Withdraw from UPFA:

6. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headed by President Maitripala Sirisena and its newly appointed officials are contemplating the termination of its political alliance with the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The SLFP is the main constituent of the UPFA which was formed in 2004. Its other constituents are the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), Sri Lanka Mahajana Party (SLMP), Desavimukthi Janatha Party (DJP), the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and the National Unity Alliance (NUA). The Communist Party (CP), the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and National Freedom Front (NFF) had aligned with the UPFA though not being members of the alliance and governed by its constitution. The present SLFP leadership believes that the alliance partners had gained upper hand in the UPFA by pushing aside the SLFP. They were in the forefront of the 'bring back Mahinda campaign' and had backed Rajapaksa at the general election.

New Speaker, Opposition Leader appointed:

7. UNP MP and former Public Administration Minister Karu Jayasuriya was appointed uncontested as the Speaker of new parliament. R.Sampathan of TNA as new Opposition Leader.

Gotabaya Quizzed for 5 hours by PCoI:

8. Former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was questioned by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry over allegations of misusing state funds and using personnel of the state-owned security firm, Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Limited (RALL) for the presidential election campaign of January 2015.. RALL is a Sri Lanka Government-owned business undertaking in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense to provide security services to the commercial sector.

No Legal Basis for International Investigation- Wickremesinghe:

9. Asserting that there was no legal basis for an international investigation within Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that there should be a domestic inquiry into the alleged violations of human rights in Sri Lanka as Sri Lanka wasn't a signatory to the Statute of Rome.

UN Supports Northern Province on CM’s Request:

10. United Nations is exploring provision of a broad package of technical and financial assistance to the Northern Province to bolster citizen confidence in the peace process. This was being done at the request of the Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneshwaran.

JVP Rejects TNA Demand on Federalism

11. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has accused Tamil National Alliance (TNA) of demanding federalism at every election and this was fueling Sinhala hardliners and resulting in unwanted ethnic tension.

Wickremesinghe Promises to Develop North:

12. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, at an election rally in Vavuniya, on August 02, promised that a future government led by his United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) will set up a special centres for the empowerment of war widows, and for the benefit of those physically handicapped during the war, He also pledged to look into the cases of missing persons and to give redress to their families.

‘Will Continue Struggle for Just Society’- Sobitha Thera:

13. Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, the Head of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) reiterated that they would not remain silent once the election was over.

“Our battle for the establishment of a just society will not end once the next government was established. We will force the government to create political reforms which could not be achieved previously. We will also push until stable national policies in the country are implemented,” the prelate told at a news conference.

‘Power Devolution Through Gram-Rajya System’ -Ranil:

14. ‘A United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) government would devolve power down to the village level according to a ‘Grama Rajya’ system but will not adopt federalism’, said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesing. He told a media briefing that power would be devolved only to village elders and religious leaders and not to politicians in accordance with the ‘Grama Rajya’ system.

External Relations:

US Pledges Support to Sri Lanka:

15. United States pledged to support Sri Lanka in its endeavor to bring about reconciliation, uphold democracy and the rule of law as long as Sri Lanka continued to take courageous and positive decisions on these matters. This commitment was given on August 25 by the high-powered US delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Biswal and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Tom Malinowski. US would provide one million US$ as assistance for education and resettlement in Sampur.

US backs Lanka’s domestic probe:

16. The United States on August 26 said that it would work together with Sri Lanka's new government to propose a resolution to a U.N. human rights forum that seeks to come to terms with the painful legacy of a 26-year civil war. Washington will move the resolution, to address responsibility for alleged human rights abuses and propose a framework for reconciliation, at next month's U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

India gifts ship ‘Varah’ to Lankan Navy:

17. Former Indian Coast Guard Ship Varaha, which had been in service with Sri Lanka Navy as Naval Ship ‘Sagara’ since 2006, was ceremonially handed over to Sri Lanka Navy by Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, on August 27, at Colombo port. The ship, which is 75m in length and 11m in width, was provided by the Indian Government on a free dry lease agreement to the Sri Lanka Navy in 2006 in appreciation of the Sri Lanka Navy’s efforts to maintain maritime security in the region. SLNS Sagara served the Sri Lanka Navy in many successful operations conducted during the conflict period. It has contributed immensely for surveillance activities since 2009 to date.

Golden Opportunity for SL Refugees in India to Return- Chandrahasan

18. Given the prevailing political situation in Sri Lanka, the time has come for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu to return home, especially when there is an effort to form a national government in Sri Lanka, said S. C. Chandrahasan, founder of the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR). Tamil Nadu is home to more than one hundred thousand Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka, with over 60,000 of them residing in a hundred camps spread across the State. Mr. Chandrahasan said already over 10,000 people had returned to Sri Lankan on their own. However, politically too, their return was very important to the Tamil community. “We have lost two MPs in the Northern Provinces because of lack of Tamil population. Our return also will make up for the loss,” he said. Noting that the present dispensation in the island nation had the support of former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, he said the Special Presidential Commission that she heads on finding a solution to the problems of the Tamil community was a ray of hope.

Australian Naval Ship in Colombo:

19. The Australian Naval Ship HMAS “Melbourne” arrived at the port of Colombo on August 29 on a goodwill visit. The crew members are scheduled to take part in several special programmes arranged by the SL Navy to enhance the friendly relations between the two navies.