Columns

• Behind the positive impressions cited by UN Human Rights Chief lie continued efforts to haul Lanka for war crimes
• Repeal of PTA, other controversial laws, gender rights and MMDA on UN agenda
• Politics makes strange bedfellows: NPP-SJB tie-up in Norwood
• Govt’s anti-corruption drive sees more high-profile arrests

By our Political Desk

Sri Lanka has had a troubled history when dealing with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for decades, but this week’s four-day visit by Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, passed without any serious run-ins with the Government, unlike visits by some of his predecessors that ended with more antagonism than appeasement between the two sides.

Compared to his predecessors, Mr. Türk, who arrived in the country on Monday, had unimpeded access to both people and places, including a visit to the Chemmani mass grave site, which is under excavation, and met with family members of victims of enforced disappearances in Jaffna and Trincomalee and also heard from a woman whose husband disappeared more than 30 years ago.

He also met with everyone who is someone in office, from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, and Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara to Government and opposition lawmakers, as well as leaders of all faiths, including the Mahanayaka Theras of the Asgiriya and Malwatte Chapters and Colombo’s Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, as well as Hindu and religious Muslim leaders. He also met the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, senior security officials, officials of the National Human Rights Commission, the Office of Missing Persons, the Office of Reparations, and the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation. Such ‘open government’ was unprecedented.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk (centre) at the media conference in Colombo. Pic by Indika Handuwala

Government upbeat but challenges remain

The Sri Lankan side seemed upbeat over the outcome of the visit, going by the statement issued by the President’s Media Division following the President’s meeting with Mr. Türk on Thursday evening. The PMD stated that Sri Lanka has secured the full support of Mr. Türk for the direction Sri Lanka is pursuing under the leadership of President Dissanayake to strengthen national unity, promote reconciliation and safeguard human rights. In a separate statement, the Foreign Ministry said the UN High Commissioner had appreciated the Government’s plans on promoting ethical governance, human rights and national unity and offered the support of his office to strengthen the Government’s initiatives.

The President seems to have found common ground with the UNHRC over the missing person question, which hit him closer to home, as he told the UN official that “as a political movement that has directly faced the experience of missing persons, his administration has a deep understanding of their pain.”

The biggest plus point for the government from the visit of the top UN official—or at least how the government seems to see it—is that the UN envoy has wound up with a positive impression of the Government’s commitment to address issues which the previous rulers paid only lip service to. “I leave here with strong hope that there is a palpable desire both in the Government and civil society to draw a line under the entrenched identity politics of ethnicity, religion, language, culture, caste and class. I feel a real momentum of change,” Mr. Türk said, as he wrapped up his packed tour of the country.

At the Weligama PS vote for chairperson, councillors trade barbs, with NPP saying two of its members had been abducted Pic by Tharanga Chanaka

But while the visit looked positive compared to past such visits, there remains a conflicting position on several issues between the two sides. Mr. Türk’s full report on Sri Lanka, which he will present to the UNHRC on a future date, will not shy away from bringing up the problematic issues with regards to investigating human rights abuses and particularly those related to the alleged war crimes linked to members of the armed forces of the country. It would also be the same with regard to any international involvement in such investigations.

The Government’s stance on HRC 46/1 and 51/1, based on which external evidence-gathering mechanism was established within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2022, has remained unchanged from the one taken by the previous government.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, who addressed the high-level segment of the UNHRC in March this year, reiterated its stance that a credible and sound domestic process will be put in place to address accountability issues in the country but flatly rejected the external evidence-gathering mechanism.

The OHCHR says that as of July 5, 2024, the repository established within the framework of the OHCHR project comprises 96,215 items and contains information from over 470 different sources (over 220 witnesses and 250 organisations), including international and multilateral organisations.

Even though governments have changed and whatever promises are made of setting up a credible domestic process, Mr. Türk explained that the reason that an international component is needed for the investigation is because Sri Lanka has struggled to move forward with domestic accountability mechanisms that are credible and have the trust and confidence of victims. “This is why Sri Lankans have looked outside for justice through assistance at the international level. Ultimately it is the state’s responsibility, and it is important that this process is nationally owned—and it can be complemented and supported by international means. My own office has been mandated to gather and preserve information and analyse violations and abuses and has established a dedicated project for this purpose. I hope that it can support future accountability efforts, both here in Sri Lanka and internationally,” he said.

Future of PTA and other legislation

Another sticking point could be the calls for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and a moratorium on its use as well as the release of long-term PTA detainees and prisoners. A moratorium on the PTA has been long advocated by the UN body, but it has been ignored while attempts to draft a new anti-terrorism law adhering to international guidelines too have been in the making for several years now. In March 2023, the then government published the draft Anti-Terrorism Bill but was met with wide opposition on grounds that, while it was an improvement on the PTA, it needed substantial amendments to prevent abuse.

The NPP Government has appointed a committee to prepare a new draft anti-terrorism bill and assured that it will repeal the PTA as was pledged during the last presidential and parliamentary elections, but no timeline is in place, with government sources saying September this year would be the earliest when a draft would be ready. They said that there had been no comprehensive discussion with Mr. Türk on the repeal or a moratorium on the PTA, and while the UN official had aired his views, the government remained noncommittal.

Mr. Türk also brought up several other laws which the UNHRC would like to see either repealed or amended, as they unduly restrict the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and of association and peaceful assembly. They include the Online Safety Act, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act, the NGO bill, and the proposed amendment to the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act.

In his statement at the conclusion of his visit, Mr. Truk gave a brief outline of the main issues he had taken up with the authorities in Sri Lanka.

“My visit yesterday to the recently reopened mass grave at Chemmani was a compelling reminder that the past haunts the lives of many in Sri Lanka. I am very grateful for the access granted. At the site, I had a chance to meet a family who are still searching and still grieving for a loved one; they hope that his remains may be unearthed there even after all these years.

“I am encouraged that there is a growing space for memorialisation of victims—as I saw in Jaffna yesterday—but I also heard that despite this change, the same old patterns of surveillance of human rights defenders persist. Civil society members are partners and allies in nation-building and development, especially when resources are limited.

“The legacy of the past presents a daunting challenge for the new Government. I have followed and been encouraged by the speeches of the President over the past few months in which he has publicly recognised the shared pain and grief of individuals from all communities. It is important to build on this momentum and to translate it into tangible results so that the truth of what happened to loved ones is unearthed. Acknowledgement and truth-telling are important steps towards healing and closure, as are justice, reparation and non-recurrence.

“The Government has reopened investigations and prosecutions into some important cases, including the Easter Sunday attacks, and I encourage these to be advanced. Achieving results in at least some longstanding and representative human rights cases would have a powerful demonstrative and confidence-building effect.”

He also addressed the issue of women’s and gender rights in Sri Lanka and the need to bring the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act into line with international human rights law as well as the economic rights of the most vulnerable, who were hit by the worst economic crisis in living memory. Mr. Türk also said he was encouraged by what the Government was doing on accountability for corruption and economic mismanagement and praised the long-standing work of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.

Less than 24 hours after the conclusion of Mr. Türk’s Sri Lanka visit, it was announced that the White House has recommended terminating US funding for several programmes that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally, including in Sri Lanka.

The OHCHR Sri Lanka accountability project, which has been affected by liquidity issues from its inception, is likely to be further affected by the US decision to defund such projects.

The United States, which withdrew from the UNHRC in February this year, stopped funding the UN body as well.

More arrests and indictments
in anti-corruption drive

On the topic of accountability, the Government is moving with some added gusto with its pledge to go after those involved in corruption under previous governments. There were a string of notable arrests and prosecutions this week too over past acts of corruption.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) this week filed indictments in the Colombo High Court against former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, his wife, three daughters and a son-in-law. Indictments were filed under 43 charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Further woes for Mr. Rambukwella were to follow as the Attorney General indicted him and 11 other accused on 13 counts before the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar over the alleged importation of counterfeit immunoglobulin vials. The accused have been indicted on charges of criminal misappropriation of Rs. 147 million and aiding and abetting the crime. The case will be heard before a three-judge bench comprising High Court Judges Mahesh Weeraman, Amali Ranaweera and Pradeep Abeyratne. The bench was appointed by the Chief Justice following a request by the Attorney General. The prosecution is expected to call nearly 350 witnesses in the case. They include former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and former ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Douglas Devananda and Roshan Ranasinghe.

Meanwhile, former Health Ministry Secretary Janaka Chandraguptha was remanded until July 8 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court after being arrested by the CIABOC in connection with an ongoing investigation into the illegal accumulation of assets. The former chairman of the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation, Upali Liyanage, was also arrested by CIABOC in connection with an ongoing corruption probe. He was produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate, where he was ordered to be released on bail. The Bribery Commission also informed court that former Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne is expected to be named as a suspect in the same case.

SriLankan Airlines’s former chairman Nishantha Wickremesinghe too was arrested by CIABOC this week in connection with an ongoing probe related to three separate corruption allegations that occurred during his tenure as chairman of the airline. According to the Bribery Commission, the first charge is causing a financial loss of USD 4,512 by diverting flight UL 319 that was supposed to operate from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Katunayake on January 22, 2014. Additionally, he is also charged with causing a financial loss amounting to USD 19,160 by sending 75 passengers who were travelling from the Maldives to France via Colombo on UL 563 on January 26, 2014. The third charge against Mr. Wickremesinghe is misusing Rs. 1.25 million in state funds for election campaign activities at the 18th Mile Post Grounds in Katunayake, in support of the former President.

Mr. Wickremesinghe, who is the brother of former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, was remanded until July 1 after being produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.

Number of NPP-controlled councils passes 200

On the political front, the number of local councils where the National People’s Power (NPP) secured control crossed 200 this week. These include about 60 councils where no political party or independent group had secured 50 per cent or more of the total vote. Altogether, the NPP had been able to consolidate power in about 220 local councils by Friday. A collection of opposition parties which includes the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), the United National Party (UNP), the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the People’s Alliance (PA) have managed to secure control of close to 40 local councils by the same date.

There were also plenty of controversies during this week’s elections for heads of councils as well, as disputes over the method of voting to elect local council heads led to chaotic scenes at several locations.

As has been the pattern over many council meetings over the past three weeks, opposition parties demanded an open vote to elect council heads while the NPP called for a secret ballot. The demands resulted in inaugural meetings of several local councils descending into shouting matches, with presiding officers struggling to control proceedings. Opposition parties walked out in some councils over the decision to hold secret ballots, leading to some meetings having to be postponed without electing heads of those councils due to lack of quorum.

Alleged “abduction” of NPP councillors
rock Weligama PS meeting

The most dramatic incident in the contest to control councils happened this week on Friday at the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha. The NPP had emerged as the largest party at the Weligama PS with 22 members, though other parties collectively had 23 seats. This meant that any vote to elect the head of the council had the potential to be a nail-biter.

There was drama almost as soon as the meeting began at 9.30am when NPP members who were present announced that two of their colleagues were missing. The members, identified as Ajith Priyantha and Kamani Mala Alwis, had left their homes that morning for the council meeting but did not turn up. The NPP members alleged their missing colleagues had been “abducted” and insisted that the Southern Province Local Government Commissioner, who was presiding, postpone the meeting until their missing colleagues are found. The local government commissioner, however, rejected the request, pointing out that though the council was missing two members, there was still a quorum present to continue the meeting and elect the council’s head. This led to furious protests from the NPP members, and they were soon joined by a large group of NPP supporters, who barged into the council hall and joined in the protest being led by the party’s local councillors.

With protesters refusing to leave and police unable to restore order, it became impossible to continue with council proceedings, and Southern Province Local Government Commissioner Umanga Mendis had no choice but to postpone the meeting with the expectation of reconvening the council within the next 30 days.

The two missing NPP members were subsequently located near a beach in the Dewata area in Galle on Friday afternoon. A complaint lodged with the Kananke Police states that the two members had been travelling to the council meeting in a three-wheeler when they were abducted by a group of unidentified men who arrived in a double cab. They had then allegedly been taken to a house and forcibly held there and had then been taken to the Dewata area and released by their abductors.

Opposition parties, however, have dismissed the entire sequence of events as a drama designed to postpone an election the NPP knew it would lose. The SJB’s Weligama Organiser Rehan Jayawickreme took to social media following the incident to condemn the NPP’s behaviour. Posting a video statement to his X account, Mr. Jayawickreme alleged that the whole incident had been staged with the intent of sabotaging the election scheduled for that day. He accused the NPP of instigating the crowd that barged into the council premises to halt the election and urged the police to investigate the matter.

As of yesterday, no suspects had been arrested in connection with the alleged abduction of the two NPP Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha members, police confirmed. No arrests had been made in connection with the incident where a crowd composed allegedly of NPP supporters barged into the Pradeshiya Sabha premises either.

NPP-SJB tie-up in Norwood PS

This week also showed that no matter what the leadership of political parties decide, at the local council level, it mostly comes down to what the members of those councils wish to do when forming their administrations.

Friday offered up ample evidence of this fact, for as the meeting of the Weligama PS in the Matara district was postponed amid acrimonious scenes where allegations and counter-allegations were levelled between NPP and SJB members, an entirely different scenario played out at the election of the chairperson of the Norwood Pradeshiya Sabha in the Nuwara Eliya district.

During the open vote that was held for the chairmanship, the NPP’s candidate prevailed over the one fielded by the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) by 12 votes to 7. In marked contrast to many other local councils, all five SJB members elected to the Norwood PS voted for the NPP candidate for chairperson. The candidate fielded by the SJB, meanwhile, defeated the candidate from the UNP to win the post of deputy chairperson. The 12 votes the winning SJB candidate received included the six votes of the NPP members in the Pradeshiya Sabha. Politics makes strange bedfellows.

There were also those among the opposition parties who continued to defy the terms of the arrangement they had reached to support each other in the formation of local councils. During the inaugural meeting of the Karuwalagaswewa Pradeshiya Sabha on Tuesday, mSJB, UNP, PA, SLPP and Sarvajana Balaya members walked out in protest at the decision by the North-Western Province Local Government Commissioner to hold a secret ballot to decide whether the majority of members wanted an open vote or secret ballot to choose the council’s chairperson. However, one of the SJB’s four PS members defied her colleagues and chose to stay. The local government commissioner intervened when members who were walking out attempted to forcibly take the rebel member with them and asked the police to prevent the SJB member from being intimidated. The SJB member who remained then voted with the NPP to elect the party’s candidate as chairperson.

There were also small victories this week for the UNP and the PA, as for the first time, these parties had members being elected as chairpersons of local councils with the support of other parties. A member of the PA was elected as chairman of the Udpalatha Pradeshiya Sabha in the Kandy district, defeating the NPP candidate by 28 votes to 18. A UNP member, meanwhile, was elected chair of the Madurawala Pradeshiya Sabha in the Kalutara district, prevailing over the NPP candidate by 10 votes to 5. An SJB member was elected deputy chairperson.

Mahindananda backed group wins
control of Nawalapitiya UC

Another interesting development occurred on Wednesday when an Independent group won control of the Nawalapitiya Urban Council. Amal Priyankara, a former council chairperson, who had been elected this time from the Independent group, was elected chairman. He received 10 votes compared to just 5 garnered by the NPP candidate during the open vote that was held.

A member from his group was also elected the deputy chairperson. The Independent group is backed by former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after recently being convicted of causing a loss of more than Rs. 53 million to the state through the purchase of 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 checkers boards through Lanka Sathosa. The boards had been purchased, claiming they were to be distributed to schools and sports clubs selected by the Sports Ministry, but they had then been distributed to party offices of the then government during the 2015 presidential election.

Mr. Aluthgamage had been in active politics for over 30 years and had represented the Nawalapitiya electorate as an MP for nearly 23 years before choosing to retire from politics after his defeat at the 2024 parliamentary election. Yet, the result of the Nawalapitiya UC election shows that Mr. Aluthgamage continues to wield political influence in his former electorate, even from prison.

Over the past few weeks, an obvious pattern has emerged regarding how administrations have been formed in the local councils where no party or group had obtained an outright majority. The group of opposition parties led by the SJB have won in many councils where there has been an open vote. In contrast, the NPP has prevailed in most instances where there have been secret ballots. Opposition representatives have railed against the NPP’s insistence on secret ballots, arguing the party was using the tactic to enable members from opposition parties whom they had done “deals” with to betray their own parties when electing council heads.

NPP General Secretary defends secret ballots

NPP General Secretary Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe rejected the allegations against secret ballots. “The local council election to elect these councillors was a closed vote. Voters went to the polling centres and voted individually to elect the councillors. So, there is no difference in what happened there and what happens in a secret ballot in the councils. That is why people are asking for a secret vote. They can vote for the candidate they want,” he says, defending the secret ballot method.

Dr. Abeysinghe also observed that under provisions of the legislation governing local authorities’ elections, there is no governing party and an opposition party in a local council. “The council works as a single entity and gets together to appoint their chairperson, deputy chairperson, mayor or deputy mayor. They must vote for the candidates who have been proposed. The duty of the mayor or chairperson is to work with everybody. That is how I see it.”

Political parties, though, will always strive to obtain control of the councils by electing one of their own as the head of that council, the NPP General Secretary stressed. “But when the council is formed, we have to work with everybody. It will be one council, and everyone will be treated the same. There is no other way according to the Act.”

He also dismissed fears expressed by some in the opposition that the Government will withhold funds from local councils which opposition parties had won control of by working together or that they will be brought under the control of commissioners. “That is all speculation. There will be no interference. I only attended the formation of one local council in my electorate, and that was the Horana Pradeshiya Sabha. As I told all the members afterwards, the councillors have to work together and serve the people. As the parliamentarian from that electorate, I will support anyone. That has to be the way,” he said.

Dr. Abeysinghe noted that on Friday, the SJB-led group won control of the Madurawala Pradeshiya Sabha. “I am the one in charge of the divisional coordinating committee in the area, so I have to work with the elected chairman. I told the divisional secretariat to invite the chairman for our next meeting on July 1, so we are working with everybody. I don’t believe you will hear of any issue,” he added.

New Treasury Secretary faces many challenges

With the retirement of former Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana, Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, who resigned from Parliament last week to take up the post, assumed duties on Monday. Dr. Suriyapperuma has been a past Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, which operates under the Ministry of Finance. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and a Ph.D. from the Management and Science University, Malaysia. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the United Kingdom.

Over the past seven months, he served as Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, and the NPP Government’s move to appoint him to succeed Mr. Siriwardana has raised more than a few eyebrows, particularly as the post of Treasury Secretary has traditionally been apolitical, or at least from within the public service. Dr. Suriyapperuma, in contrast, was a member of the NPP’s Economic Council and has been a standard-bearer for the party’s economic policies. He will have to quickly transition from being a politician to filling the role of the country’s senior-most finance official. The challenges before him are enormous. They include continuing the ongoing economic reforms supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), liaising with international financial institutions and helping formulate economic policies that would help to build up the country’s external and fiscal buffers to meet future debt service obligations. He will also have to start the process of helping to formulate the upcoming budget soon.

Whatever Dr. Suriyapperuma’s qualifications and abilities, however, his appointment is yet another instance of the NPP Government backtracking on its pledges to de-politicise the public service. The very concept of appointing a politician who has long been an advocate for the economic policies of his party as head of the Treasury flies in the face of everything the party said before the election. All those statements from NPP politicians about how former governments politicised the public service will ring especially hollow now, and with good reason.