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Home , Chamal Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena, Ranil Wickremesinghe

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abducted, questioned and tortured by unknown persons. In the police investi - gations that followed, the woman was arrested for making false allegations.. The arrest of two former ministers, Hits And Misses Dr Ranjitha Senaratne and Champika By keeping key ministries within the family President Gotabaya may have Ranawaka, of the Sirisena government, who were at the forefront of the cam - ensured a tight grip over the administration, but challenges remain on other fronts paign to defeat in By Col R Hariharan the 2015 presidential elections, appears to be another example of vindictiveness. While Ranawaka was arrested in a case of accident of 2016 vintage, Senaratne One of the first actions that Gotabaya took after becoming president was to instal his was arrested in connection with a news brothers, Mahinda Rajapaksa (right) and , as interim PM and minister conference he held two days before the of agriculture, respectively. The three brothers, between them, hold crucial portfolios. presidential elections in which he pro - duced two persons who claimed to be strong man who will revamp - In an interview, Gota baya said that drivers of white vans that carried out al security structure to make it more the 19th amendment that curbed the abductions during the Rajapaksa rule. effective. Gotabaya’s winning chances powers of the president was “a failure Though both leaders have been released further improved as the terrorist attack and if we get 2/3 majority in parliament on bail, the action sends a strong mes - became a rallying call for conservative we will drop it from the constitution”. So sage to the opposition that the Raja pak - Buddhists to defend the land they con - in the near term, Gota baya’s actions will sas will neither forget nor forgive. sider the last bastion of Theravada be aimed at securing an absolute major - Administratively, Gotabaya has . In their previous tenure, the ity in the parliamentary elections. shown that he is the master of his own Rajapaksas had pampered Sinhala actions. He has introduced steep tax Buddhist nationalism and soft-pedalled oon after Gotabaya came to po- cuts in income tax which he had prom - on fringe elements spouting anti-Mus- wer, there were distur bing trends ised during campaigning. He ordered lim hate rhetoric and attacking Mus- Sreminiscent of the past Rajapaksa the removal of portraits of all politi - lims. Their votes were naturally his. authoritarian rule, with some smacking cians, including the president and min - One of the first actions that Gota- of vindictiveness. A Special Presidential isters, from the walls of ministerial baya—who completed two months in Commission (SPC) was appointed to offices. He drastically pruned defence office on January 17, 2020—took was to pro be those responsible for falsely im - personnel assigned on presidential and instal his brother, Mahinda, as the inter - pli cating people in murders or related ministerial security duties. im prime minister even as he placed investigations. State investigative agen - The number of security vehicles UNI another brother, Chamal, as the minis - cies like the Criminal Investigation Dep - accompanying VIP convoys was also ITH the swearing in prime minister BURDEN OF EXPECTATIONS ter of agriculture. The three brothers, artment (CID) and the Financial Crimes slashed and authorities were directed of Gotabaya Raja pak - fell far short of people’s expectations in took charge as the between them, control the ministries of Investigation Division (FCID) had been not to hold up traffic on roads unneces - sa, the war he - delivering good governance which they last year at a critical defence, public security, finance, econo - investigating a number of cases involv - sarily when VIP convoys moved. Newly ro and controversial had promised, with their endless squab - time for the country my and policy development, Buddha - ing the Rajapaksas. inducted ministers were advised to ass - former defence secre - bles virtually paralysing government sasana and cultural and religious affairs, Even before the SPC probe started, ume their duties immediately after they tary, as the president functioning in nation. People were shocked to learn that the urban development, water supply and Chief Inspector Nishantha de Silva, were sworn in. Ministers have been of Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksas are back in Perhaps the main reason why most government failed to act upon receiving residential facilities. head of the organised crimes division of advised not to take their spouses when power at a critical time in the country. of the Sinhalas voted for Gotabaya was information on the impending terrorist President Gotabaya has acknowled - the CID, fled with his family to Switzer - they go abroad on official duties. All WOnly five years back, the people of Sri the Easter Sunday massacre of 259 peo - attack, two weeks in advance. Further ged that the Sinhala majority vote “all - land to seek asylum. He was hand ling these have reinforced his popular image Lanka had thwarted then president Ma - ple by ISIS-inspired and home-grown inquiry into the attack revealed that owed me to win the presidency”. He will high-profile cases involving members of as a man of action. hinda Rajapaksa’s bid for a third term in Jihadi terrorists last April. It created a both Sirisena and Wickremesinghe fai- thus come under pressure from the Sin- the which included Unlike his brother, Mahinda, Gota - office. His authoritarian style coupled huge scare among the people who are led to nip jihadi terrorism in the bud hala majority to deliver upon his pre- important ones like the killing of baya has appointed qualified and experi - with allegations of corruption and mis - yet to fully recover from the after-effects when the first indications of Islamist election promises. For that, he will need Lasantha Wickrematunga, the editor of enced persons to head state institutions, use of office clouded his success in end - of fighting Tamil separatist insurgency extremist activity were brought to his party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Pera - . After the police instead of political people. Dr PB Jaya- ing the Tamil Tigers’ separatist insur - for nearly three decades. The terrorist their attention. muna (SLPP) to win an absolute majori - officer fled, there was a nasty backlash sundara, an economist, was appointed gency. However, the last five-year rule of attack created a ripple effect. It exposed Public opinion thus swung in favour ty in the parliamentary polls to be held when a Sri Lankan woman staffer of the secretary for revamping the country’s President and huge gaps in the national security fabric. of electing Gotabaya as he was seen as a in March 2020. Swiss embassy alleged that she was sinking economy. The president has

32 February 3, 2020 | LEGAL | February 3, 2020 33 Global Trends / Sri Lanka

clarified that no decision had been taken on the issue. On the international front, the presi - dent’s priority appears to be to improve relations with India and Prime Minister in particular, perhaps to use India to improve his bargaining position with China. He responded posi - tively to Modi’s invitation to visit . The invitation was extended soon after he became president. For India, the visit was strategically significant as the Rajapaksas were seen as close to China. Gotabaya needs India’s support to im prove national security, combat Islamist terrorism and enable economic recovery. Though Modi had raised the issue of the full implementation of the 13th Amendment giving limited autono - my to Ta mils, Gotabaya later said the UNI 13th Am endment could not be imple - chosen Dr DWD Lakshman, an econo - Gotabaya wants to improve relations with mented “ag ainst the wishes and feelings mist not tainted by the infamous bond of the ma jority community”. scam, as the governor of the Central India and PM Modi in particular, perhaps China had been watching with con - Bank of Sri Lanka. Similarly, Gotabaya to use the bilateral ties to improve his cern after Gotabaya during his visit to appointed Prince Sarojini Manmatha - bargaining position with China. He visited India termed the agreement with China rajah Charles, a senior Tamil civil ser - India shortly after becoming president. on the Port as a “mistake” vant with vast experience, as the gover - and called for it to be negotiated. How - nor of the Northern Province. During authoritarianism. P Sampanthan, leader ever, Gotabaya felt the fallout of the the conflict in 2009, Charles was in of the , has said statement after returning home. He charge of the refugee camps in Vavu- the president’s statement that develop - later told foreign correspondents in niya, housing about 2,90,000 people ment would be prioritised in resolving that there was no need to re- from the war-torn districts. the ethnic conflict, would not fulfil the ne gotiate the Hambantota agreement long-standing desire of the to but the security aspects needed to be he president presented the “Vis- develop within a united Sri Lanka on looked into. ion for Progress” policy statement their own terms. They are also dismayed Though the Chinese reacted quickly Twhen he addressed the parlia - at Gotabaya’s assertion that there was with a statement reminding that the ment for the first time on January 3. “no problem of missing persons to be agreement could not be renegotiated, Read with his earlier statements, the key resolved” except those who fell on the the president is expected to take up elements of the policy include national battlefields. This statement neutralises the issue of redrafting some clauses security concerns, particularly relating what little prog ress was made in 2017, of the agreement when he visits to jihadi terrorism, tax cuts and incen - when the government created the Office Beijing shortly. tives for small and medium enterprises, of the Miss ing Persons to expeditiously Overall, Gotabaya has, by keeping skill-building, reducing inflation and deal with cases of missing persons and control of key ministries within the beefing up economy and actions to “curb enforced disappearance. dynasty, ensured a tight grip over corruption and prosecuting the corrupt”. The Tamils are shocked at the ann - the country. He had also proposed other structural ouncement that the national anthem changes to revamp the economy and would be sung only in Sinhala and not —The writer served as the head of strengthen security apparatus, including in Tamil at the Independence Day cele - intelligence of the IPKF in Sri Lanka. He the intelligence set-up. brations in the country. The fringe ele - is associated with the Chennai Centre for There is a sense of déjà vu among ments among the Buddhist clergy had China Studies, South Asia Analysis civil society and minorities who fear that welcomed the move. After a lot of public Group and the International Law and the country could see the return of outcry over the issue, the prime minister Strategic Analysis

34 February 3, 2020