Asked to sever links with UNP
Minister Sujeeva Senasinghe. There he castigated President Sirisena and claimed he was doing it on his own “without the permission of the leader.” If this assertion is correct, he has made himself liable for disciplinary action by the party hierarchy. Here are some of the highlights of the news conference:
“I have respect among lawyers because I am a clean person. The treasury bond issue is very complicated. It may take 6-7 months to understand the transactions. I studied a lot about this. I am the one who asked most of the questions from Arjun Aloysius at the COPE. Nobody else questioned him. I am the one who questioned him about the conflict of interest of having his father in law as the Governor of the Central Bank…….
“The Central Bank had said that there was no Board Paper on Direct Placements since 2008. Cannot the President understand this? This is where the catch is. We submitted this to the Auditor General. He did not take care of this. After the first COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) ended its probe, I got an opportunity to write the book. I did not have the information and therefore got details from Arjuna Mahendran and other officials. Is it wrong that I spoke to him? This is a plan to fix the UNP. Even the Auditor General and COPE Chairman were on the other side. Former COPE Chairman D.E.W. Gunasekara was also on the other side. This became a headache to some. I was an obstacle to them. If I make that disclosure it will be known who pressurised me. After the first COPE committee sessions were over, I started writing the book. I had to find information from persons like Arjun Aloysius, Arjuna Mahendran and former officials as to how these transactions take place. That is the reason I had to talk to Arjun Aloysisus. He is not an accused anywhere. After the second COPE was set up, I never spoke to him.
“The Commission has now said that the information gathered was not relevant, but why did they release our names and sling mud at us? The media has crucified us. One media institution has gone on to say I won the elections using this money. I am speaking on my own. I have not even asked the Prime Minister. I am disappointed about the President. We made sacrifices and got him elected not to lay political traps. One institution has created the impression that Rajapaksa era will be ended and the UNP also ended. By 2020 so he (President) will inherit power.
“I called him and told him a month ago. What has happened by extending the term of the Commission? It should have been given three months and the matter ended there. Here the term is being extended to give them the opportunity to sling mud at us. Where are the Commissions for the MiG deal, what about the spectrum deal, for the ship deal, advertising firms? These are my personal ideas, not the Prime Minister’s ideas. We made sacrifices to form this Government. We need to protect it. Ravi Karunanayake is my colleague. I do not criticise him, but also do not defend him. There is no COPE ruling that I cannot speak to anybody. If I am having deals it would be only two calls.
“The Bond Commission is not something the President needed. It was appointed to sling mud at us and it ended. This government should continue. If the President is attacked by a website that is not correct. In the same manner if we are attacked through the media that is also not correct. When he initially said he was coming with 20 persons to join us and it was revealed that only four persons were coming. But, Ms Rosy Senanayake and I said he should be accepted. He is the President, he cannot point fingers. If he can appoint a Commission on bond transactions, he can do the same thing about other issues. This is my personal opinion. It is painful when my character is assassinated. The President should not be a part to destroy a young UNP politician.”
Senasinghe’s remarks have generated serious controversy in Government circles. Some SLFP ministers say his role should be probed. He was not an original member of the COPE but was a replacement after a UNP Tamil parliamentarian representing the hill country resigned unexpectedly. According to COPE records, he has stoutly defended the UNP position that there was no wrong doing in the Central Bank bond issue. His book was an elaboration of this position. Telephone records before the Bond Commission claimed that from July 4, 2015 to March 3 this year, he had made 227 calls to Arjun Aloysius whose Perpetual Treasuries Ltd. (PTL) was the subject of the COPE probe. This revelation established that Senasinghe had known Aloysius at least from July 2015. A question that arises in the public interest is whether his relationship prompted Senasinghe to defend PTL, move to courts to seek to prohibit reportage (later withdrawn) and write a book defending the bond transactions?
At the SLFP Central Committee meeting Sirisena said that there was no substance in the claims made by State Minister Senasinghe. He said he would make a statement at the next meeting of the Government Parliamentary Group. Addressing a public meeting in Nikaweratiya on Friday, Sirisena alluded to the remarks. According to a news release from the Presidential Secretariat, he said, “If there are complaints against my decisions to stop corruption and fraud, I will continue the struggle together with people -- President
“If there are undue criticism and complaints against the decisions taken by me to stop corruption and fraud, I am ready to leave all positions and join the people to continue the struggle.
“As the government of SLFP did wrong things, the SLFP candidates lost in 2015. If the UNP is doing the same faults and mistakes being in the government, people will not approve that”, he said. “The people elected a new government, expecting a correct programme which would change the existed (sic) corrupted system of governance. Everybody should be ready to start a correct journey to fulfil that expectation of the people. The politicians should love the country and the people, without acting according to their political powers and private agendas,” the President emphasised.
“Whatever said by whomsoever, I am committed to a clean and good political culture throughout my 50 years of political life. I will act with patience and equanimity with my experience of that long political journey. I am not a stranger to the political arena”, he stated. “Though there are complaints against the decision to postpone the Provincial Council Election, even the SLFP wants the elections to be held soon. We have done every commitment in this regard”, he said.”
As he made those remarks, more than 45 UNP parliamentarians handed in a signed petition to President Sirisena. In that they urged him to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to probe corruption during the previous regime. This is much the same way he has appointed a Commission to probe the current administration over the bond issue.
These developments came as the prospects of local government polls in January next year almost diminished. This was after the Court of Appeal on Wednesday suspended until December 4. the operation of the Delimitation Commission report gazetted in February this year. This, the petitioners have said, was on the grounds that the Minister, in terms of the law, was not empowered to alter the number of members from a particular ward in a local authority. He was only empowered to make alterations to the boundaries of the local authority. This was on a petition filed by six electors from different parts of the country. A three-judge bench observed that the Local Government Minister had acted ultra vires the powers vested in him under the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance. Besides hearing the petition, the Court is also to hear intervenient petitioners from political parties and civic action groups. The Attorney General is to now file a motion in the Appeal Court tomorrow to seek the early hearing and conclusion of the case.
At Tuesday’s Central Committee meeting, Sirisena said that they had prepared a list of candidates and urged members to be ready for local polls in January. Though 90 percent was complete, he said that he had agreed that the lists could be amended depending on the ongoing discussions with the ‘Joint Opposition.’ That has not prevented the UNP from accusing the SLFP of being responsible for moves to delay the polls. Minister Lakshman Kiriella, Leader of the House, made the charge at a party leaders’ meeting on Friday evening. Even Premier Wickremesinghe who had just returned to Colombo from New Delhi took part in the meeting chaired by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. However, the SLFP representatives strongly denied the allegation. The party was represented by Nimal Siripala de Silva, Sarath Amunugama and Mahinda Samarasinghe.
“They kept blaming me then for delaying elections. They called me all kinds of names. People can express their views through the franchise and this Government has been denying it,” said Mahinda Rajapaksa. He said various excuses have been given and added that “this is killing democracy.” He said there is no point blaming the people. The Government must answer whoever is responsible. “There are stories that the counsel from Local Government Minister Musthapha’s chambers were responsible. If this is correct, it is a shame,” he said.
The ‘JO’ parliamentary group leader Dinesh Gunawardena has already handed in a motion of no-confidence against Musthapa. Another motion of no-confidence was also handed over by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which is demanding that Minister Musthapa should resign.
JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva told the Sunday Times, “We will not allow the postponement of elections due to internal divisions within the SLFP. They cannot rob the democratic rights of the people until they iron out their differences. It is very clear that it is the SLFP members who have gone to court to get the elections delayed. Therefore, we need to win the right to hold the elections. On the other hand, we must take stern action against all those who tried to deny the people their right to an election. For our part, the JVP will do its utmost to ensure that the election is held as quickly as possible.
“We have organized a series of protests in this regard. The first of these will be held in Colombo on November 30. It is the Minister in charge of the subject Musthapha who has failed to perform his duty consecutively. It is the Minister who issues the Gazette. What he has done is to issue a Gazette notification which can be easily challenged in courts. Therefore, he has either neglected his duties or deliberately issued a Gazette notification which can be challenged.”
The party leaders meeting chaired by Speaker Jayasuriya on Friday evening in Parliament focused on ways and means of holding the local elections early. Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya and Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya together with two of his officials were present.
One of the matters discussed was the possibility of the Attorney General filing a motion before the Court of Appeal to advance hearings on the petition by six electors. Another was to introduce a Bill to give legal effect to the creation of multi-member wards in local bodies, the subject of argument before the Court. However, it was noted that it would be time consuming. It would take a minimum of one and half months.
Elections Commission Chairman Deshapriya said he would recommend to his other members that polls be held to the 93 local bodies which do not have multi-member wards. However, some party representatives did not favour the conduct of a staggered poll.
The meeting also saw Deputy Minister Ajith Perera who was one of those representing the UNP declare that he planned legal action over references made to him for making telephone calls to Arjun Aloysius. He, however, did not say against whom such action was being taken.
The remarks led to Premier Wickremesinghe intervening to say he was also going to make a request for the transcripts of the conversations carried out by his party members. He said this was to “initiate disciplinary action” if there has been any wrongdoing. However, the Commission of Inquiry into the bond issue said that only call records were available from service providers and not details of conversations.
‘JO’ parliamentary leader Dinesh Gunawardena and JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake insisted that a date be given before December 6 to debate their respective no-confidence motions against Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister Musthapa. This would be ahead of the votes of his Ministry being taken up for discussion during the committee stage debate of the budget. Premier Wickremesinghe said this was not possible. Party leaders are to meet the Speaker again to decide on a date.
The political developments in the past many days, it is no secret, have further deteriorated the relations between the UNP and the SLFP. The statement by Sujeewa Senasinghe has helped President Sirisena move more towards reaching a rapprochement with the Mahinda Rajapaksa camp, said an SLFP Minister negotiating between the two SLFP factions. To that extent, it has added impetus to the negotiations now under way within the feuding factions of the SLFP. Quite clearly, the UNP has been drifting away with little or no strategy to cope with the issues it faces. Like the Sujeeva Senasinghe fiasco, sporadic responses at the lower level seems to be doing more damage to the party that is already reeling from the ill effects of the bond scam. More so with the absence of any inputs from the party hierarchy.