RW shows an iron fist

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, hours after assuming the presidency on Thursday demonstrated to the protesters outside the presidential secretariat that he means business. The new president who met with defence chiefs soon after he had been sworn into office at the Diyawanna Parliament had made clear that the protesters may continue to remain at the GotaGoGama site at Galle Face, but that they were not going to be permitted to block entry to the presidential secretariat as they have been doing for several days after they vacated President’s House and Temple Trees. Brute force was used and first reports as this is being written on Friday said that an Indian BBC photographer who had been kicked in the stomach had been hospitalized.

 Mercifully, the Gotabaya Rajapaksa presidency, though lavish in the use of teargas and water cannons and sometimes firing into the air, did not fire live ammunition into marauding groups of unarmed protesters storming barricades. As all Lankans and many outside this country well know, they overcame stiff resistance and captured President’s House where the former president was living after his ejection from  Mirihana. This was from where he conducted official business during his last few days in office. The Presidential Secretariat at the old Parliament was barred to him. Protester storm troops were well aware that none of them would be shot dead as they charged the barricades. They were right. We would guess that even now live bullets will not be fired at them. But they run the real risk of being severely beaten-up and probably arrested if they cross certain prescribed limits. An MTV crew was beaten by the STF near then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Kollupitiya home the night it was burned down. Wickremesinghe apologized for that incident unusually widely publicized by MTV and an STF Senior Superintendent in command was interdicted. He has since been reinstated.

The Aragalaya in any case had lost considerable steam in recent days. More militant elements, particularly from the JVP breakaway Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), had become the moving force in the protest. Earlier middle class and even upper middle class support that was previously evident  had dissipated. It has never been clear from where the Aragalaya was getting its funding. There was an unconfirmed report a couple of days ago about  Rs. 45 million received by activists who denied the allegation which police said was under CID investigations. There is no doubt that Lankans abroad have been supporting this cause. It also drew considerable domestic support from the well-to-do people disgusted at the direction the country had been taken by the Rajapaksas.

 Hours before Wickremesinghe’s comfortable election as the new president on Wednesday, supporters of Dullas Alahapperuma, his opponents claimed various pledges by political parties to carry him above the 113 vote absolute majority. But this dissipated overnight and the eventual result was 134 for RW against 82 for his opponent with the JVP/NPP’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake trailing with the three votes of his party. The TNA’s MA Sumanthiran tweeted: “The numbers of those who publicly endorsed Dullas Alahapperuma is more than 113. What happened to them?” There are credible reports that there was a massive effort by MR and Basil Rajapaksa on Tuesday night shifting SLPP MPs believed supporting Alahapperuma. Factors influencing individual decisions included parliamentary pensions, vehicle permits, compensation for property destroyed on May 9 and assurances that the incumbent parliament will be allowed to serve its full term. The JVP leader is on record saying that big bucks were part of the influencing. The offer of office has long been used as a post-election inducer to change sides. MPs Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara had done just that weeks earlier and Fernando is on record claiming saying that several SJB MPs had voted for Ranil. This has been denied by SJB Secretary Ranjith Madduma Baandara saying their MPs are honourable people.

Hundreds of thousands of television viewers saw MR, after Wickremesinghe’s victory saying on camera that they had fielded Dullas and lost. “After all someone must win,” he said Many wondered whether he was joking (“he’s a joker”, said AKD) or whether he was being sarcastic. But many were not aware that Alahapperuma, in fact, is treasurer of the Pohottuwa party (SLPP). Likewise, Maithriala Sirisena who stunningly defeated MR in 2015 thanks to UNP backing was general secretary of the SLFP. They’d remember of course that he defected the day after a hopper dinner at Temple Trees with MR. That’s hard to forget. The fact is that the law provides for defectors to lose their parliamentary seats. But nobody has suffered this fate since Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake after the abortive effort to impeach President Premadasa. Although the chairman of the Weligama Urban Council was unseated some months ago after the UNP split into the Ranil and Sajith factions, no MP has lost his seat due to defection. Unsuccessful attempts to unseat them were aborted by complicated and time consuming processes prescribed by the Sarath Silva Supreme Court. Whether similar efforts will now follow as reported remains to be seen.

 The bottom line today is that the country must look to the future rather than the past. Can Ranil Wickremesinghe with no mandate whatever, but the backing of the Rajapaksa controlled Pohottuwa, at least set us on the right path to recovery? The economy, of course has to be the top priority, way over politics. If RW can in the short term overcome the fuel crisis – the gas problem appears to be on the mend – he’d have scored a six. This despite the many other problems, including galloping inflation and importantly education, confronting the country. Whether the iron fist waved on Friday can keep the protesters at bay and any attempted general strike down the road can be quelled the way JRJ did in July 1980 remains to be seen.