Rajapakasha’s tension

By Luxman-Arvind
Letter to the Editor

(February 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) There is much to believe the January 26 “victory” in the Presidential Elections was once again a fraudulent victory as it was when Mahinda Rajapakse was elected in circumstances somewhat similar in 2005. None other than Tiran Alles, stalwart of Opposition strongman Mangala Samaraweeera, confesses to be so. He confirms he was in that transaction where Rs.180 million was handed over to the LTTE to influence Velupillai Prabakaran to prevent the North-East Tamils from voting in that election. Many believe the sum was much larger. His house in the suburbs of Colombo was bombed a few hours before his admission and the scene broadcast all over the world.

This was besides another estimated 500,000 voters in the South disenabled from exercising their right of franchise. The Polling Cards necessary for them to vote on Election Day was sabotaged by JVP-inspired Grama Sevakas (local officials who provide a list of names and addresses of voters to the Elections Commissioner) Prabakaran, apparently keeping to his part of the bargain, obliged and an approximate vote of nearly 800.000 that would have gone to Rajapakse’s rival Ranil Wickramasinghe made the difference. Rajapakse won the 2005 election by under 190,000 votes.

The January 26 result was not far too dis-similar although former Oxford University man Dr. Rajiva Wijesinghe – presently Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights - when he came on BBC today – described the victory as a “trouncing.” Former Army Chief and Opposition Candidate Sarath Fonseka spiritedly contests the outcome and claims the process of counting was fraudulent. Many in the country, analyzing the results in the Colombo District and in the General’s own home base of Ambalangoda, believe this to be so. Fonseka and the Opposition lead by the UNP and JVP have taken exception to the results – that is likely to go for legal scrutiny in a country where the once highly viewed independence of the judiciary has come to such a plight a legislator has called for “a revision of the judgements” of former Chief Justice Sarath Silva. The latter was involved in several controversial judgements favouring ruling incumbents. In one instance he was also accused of pecuniary irregularities in the setting up of a Buddhist TV channel in which he was regularly featured. That in itself is an irregular feature in a country constitutionally claiming to be secular.

By normal electioneering standards there was sufficient grounds to set President Rajapkse’s alleged victory aside. He had absolutely no compunction in misusing almost every aspect of the State apparatus – over 90% of State TV time, tens of thousands of vehicles of the State were used to promote his campaign, unlimited fuel etc., Giant-hoardings of the President crowded almost every furlong of streets - athough this was prohibited by law. The successful Hollywood movie “The Last King of Scotland” featuring the life of the despised army dictator Idi Amin was shown 3 days before the elections in all State Channels . The idea was to place before the 20 million people “this is what will happen to you if an ex-Army man becomes President.” Government and State employees were ordered to vote for the President – that included the Police as well. The Election Commissioner is in record stating in exasperation “my orders to the Police to bring down illegal street-hoardings have been totally ignored” After the polls were concluded and election results announced, the EC admitted “serious wrong doings in the voting and counting process” and further admitted “his own officials were prevented from carrying out their lawful functions” Karu Jayasuriya, a senior leader of the UNP went in delegation to the Chief Buddhist Prelates of Kandy carrying bundles of Ballot-paper favouring the opposition candidate that were thrown away. Said Jayasuriya to the religious heads “We have none to complain except to God through you, Reverend Sirs” Foreign election observers, the EU and the US governments while cautiously and formally noting the announced victory remarked “the many allegations of fraud and irregularities needs to be immediately looked into and acted upon”.

By January 24-25 it was sufficiently clear to those very close to President Rajapakse he has lost the initiative and there were fears of cross-overs of seniors in the government. Priyantha Kariyapperuma is a fish vendor – known in local parlance as “fish mudalali” He is not to be known to possess any education of worth or any management experience in governance. His only qualification was he was a close friend of Mahinda Rajapakse from the time the latter was Minister of Fisheries (1994) and financed Rajapakse when the chips were down for the current President. Kariyapperuama’s brother Rohantha – of equal social status – eventually married popular Sinhala film actress Sangeetha Weeraratna. The trio remain very close to President Rajapakse in the post-2005 period in particular. Priyantha is generally seen most everywhere the President goes – both locally and overseas. He is even allowed to attend sensitive security meetings involving the Police, the army and other forces. He was made Chairman of the Merchant Bank of Ceylon – where he proved to be a colossal failure and was sacked. He was thereafter placed in charge of the National Lotteries Board – a cash-cow which he managed to run dry in a short spell. The NLB Board, appointed by the President himself, asked Priyantha be removed. Of late he was made Chairman of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority – a fairly technical position for a man who cannot speak English. To the surprise of many – including those very close to the President – Priyantha was not only removed unceremoniously from the TRC on January 28 but was even severely reprimanded by the President “for surreptitiously meeting with General Fonseka and offering his support to him.” This is one clear indication even Rajapakse insiders were aware till the last moment the election was going against the Rajapakse clique. It is common knowledge, at the latter hours on election day, army officials loyal to the Defence Secretary had unlawfully and threateningly showed up at the Election Commissioner’s office and influenced both counting and the announcement of the results. Equally well known is the fact that intimidation was set in motion against three popular TV stations – MTV (English) Sirisa (Sinhalese) and Shakti (Tamil) so that their broadcast does in no way go against the Government’s plans to claim “victory”

Since the announcement of the “result” Candidate Sarath Fonseka has been continuously engaged in consultations with his coalition partners the UNP. the JVP, the Managala Samaraweera faction of the SLFP, the SLMC and the TNA together with their lawyers assembling data to file objections in Courts. It was in the last of such consultations over an estimated one-hundred fully-armed commandos of the Sri Lankan Army lead by a Lt General had surrounded the office of Candidate Sarath Fonseka to “arrest him “ on trumped up charges – a prospect that was widely accepted although the President’s Brother and powerful Defence Secretary Gothabaya Fonseka (Rtd. Brigadier) assured Ethirajan Anbarasan of the BBC 3 days ago when asked the question that was very much in the air in Sri Lanka “why should we arrest Sarath Fonseka? This is, after all, a democratic country” This is not the first time the loquacious Defence Secretary was mendaciously caught flat-footed.

Army Chief Sarath Fonseka and President Mahinda Rajapakse were virtual Siamese-twins from the time Rajapakse assumed the Presidency in 2005. Fonseka was later presented Carte Blanche –believed to be at the behest of the Defence Secretary – tp prosecure the war against the LTTE. Fonseka, said to possess a mean and sadistic streak, prosecured the war breaking all rules in the modern conduct of warfare. He cared little for civilian lives, property, livelihood of people or collateral damage. To this man, hardly fitting the image of Officer and Gentleman, the end of the war will justifies any means – a chilling scenario. And so nearly a third of a million civilian Tamils were subject to untold suffering between January and May 2009 to the horror of a watching and complaining world. They could do no more other than dispatching VIPs including high-profile Foreign Ministers from Britain and France and a multitude of seniors from the USA, Bani Ki Moon and many other. President Fonseka could do little against the no-quarters-given attitudes of Army Chief Sarath Fonseka and the Defence Secretary acting in concert both of whom wanted to end the war somehow and claim credit for future electoral gain. It was clear they recognized one factor and one alone – and that is, whoever wins this war will rule Sri Lanka for a long time. It is precisely on that score the Army Chief Fonseka and Brothers Rajapakses were eventually to part company and become the mortal enemies they have since become. As Fonseka said in a pre-election interview “this fight will last until one side gets the better of the other – by any means” Not surprising, therefore, both candidates were to later accuse each other of “trying to assassinate me and my entire family and supporters” – yet another first in Sri Lanka’s dubious record-making on the global scale.

Mahinda Rajapakse and his brothers continue to have sleepless nights – as the Bard was to sing six centuries ago “Uneasy lies the head that wears the Crown” The fearful prospects of a War Crimes Tribunal on a global scale - which the US Senate and the EU are pushing for - haunts them constantly. Sarath Fonseka’s sensational and ugly arrest on Feb 08 follows his vocal challenge “I will give evidence in any international enquiry against those who gave illegal orders for execution type of killing of those combatants walking with raised hands under a White Flag of surrender” The official reason given for his arrest was because he had given away sensitive security information of the Army and the State while in uniform to political opponents. He is said to be kept in detention at Naval Headquarters - coming under his nemesis Commander Karannagoda with whom he shared a very bitter relationship. A Court Martial debarring the media is being mentioned here. The news gets worse when one hears this is to be followed by legal steps to be taken against him in civil courts “for attempting to assassinate the President, his brothers et al” said to be as partr of a conspiracy hatched at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in residential Colombo on or about January 2-28. This can mean he can be held for a long time. That Parliament is now dissolved and General Elections are likely to be held around April 2010 can mean the General may be barred from being a candidate in a General Election that in all probability will be manoeuvered in favour of the Rajapakse regime. In electorates like that in Sri Lanka winners of one major election generally win the subsequent elections too in the old cliché “everybody loves a winner.”Besides, the UNP, JVP and their coalition partners might be at a disadvantage to come out with the necessary financial resources to fight yet another costly election 3 months from the last. Presumably, President Rajapakse and his advisors have so calculated having their advantage in mind.

Seasoned political watchers add further morbidity and speak of Dejavu. They recall the early 1990s when leading Opposition Candidate Lalith Athulathmudali was assassinated while campaigning - to be followed in a few days by the killing of President Ranasinghe Premadasa himself.

As I mentioned in an earlier piece, Sri Lanka is one theatre that can offers stark surprises. In the January 26 Elections it was widely believed those who win the Tamil votes will generally get through. This did not happen because the Tamil and minority votes went to General Fonseka. Neither did the blood-bath that was feared to follow take place – to the sigh of relief of all. Apparently, the General once retired does not enjoy that much of clout that he boasted he has with the army – indications of which he was to see when he was crudely manhandled and carried away. Mano Ganesan was to describe this to the foreign press “like a dog” Embattled Sri Lanka is once more in the eye of the storm. Economically, the EU has announced the withdrawal of the vital GSP + that can hit over a quarter million jobs. The Cost of Living factor –another time bomb against the administration – is soaring to the stars - unengaged and unchecked. The stomachs of a war-weary people cannot be contained by empty rhetoric alone. Neither can the Tamil people of the North East kept under the military heel indefinitely. If unity, peace, affordable food prices, a professional set of good managers of the economy do not show up Sri Lanka will continue to bleed by self-inflicted wounds.