Monday, 6 October 2014

Sri Lanka Perspectives – September 2014

Col R Hariharan

Presidential poll

There is widespread speculation about a snap presidential election early next year around January 9. President Mahinda Rajapaksa who returned  after attending  the UN General Assembly session, is expected to  take a final call on this soon. He was said to be waiting to decide on the presidential poll after the Uva Provincial Council election which has concluded now. According to media reports the Government has already started the preparatory work for an election likely to be held early next year.

Already some of the coalition partners like the right wing the Jathika Hela Urumaya(JHU) have indicated that their partnership of the UPFA should not be taken for granted. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) which had been on a war path with President Rajapaksa,has sought legal opinion from foreign experts for advice on the Constitutional propriety of  Rajapaksa contesting for a third term before completing his full term of six years ending only in November 2016. 

Already allegations of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) misusing government servants for their electoral preparations have started coming. UNP leader Karu Jayasuriya alleged eight prominent government officials and 62 chairmen of government institutions had participated at the opening of the SLFP election propaganda office in Colombo on September 25 for the presidential election. He feared the presidential election would not be held in a free and fair manner because the UPFA Government had already decided to deploy the entire state machinery in its campaign for the election.

Uva Provincial Council elections

The opposition UNP staged a comeback in the Uva Provincial Council elections winning 13 seats as against 7  seats it won in the 2009 poll. Though the UPFA retained the majority, its winning tally came down to 19 (including two bonus seats for securing the highest number of votes) from 25 seats  in the last provincial election. The JVP managed to secure two seats while former Army Commander Fonseka’s Democratic Party drew a blank.  

Though Uva is the smallest province with a national vote share of about 7%, many consider the results as an indication of increasing disenchantment of voters with the UPFA alliance. The UNP leader Harin Fernando has emerged as the hero of UNP victory. The UNP’s improved performance was probably helped by the patching up between Ranil Wickremesinghe and the challenger for leadership mantle Sajith Premadasa at least for the time being. 

The media has alleged the ruling alliance of indulging in widespread violence and offer of cash to voters during the run up to the elections which appears to be an increasing factor in Sri Lanka elections. Some locals have attributed the ruling alliance’s failure to loss of confidence in the UPFA and to two senior cabinet ministers from the Province indulging in widespread corruption.

Though the UNP’s mood is upbeat after the election, the ruling SLFP party appears to be confident of Rajapaksa leading the UPFA to victory.

President Rajapaksa at the UN

Political parties in Tamil Nadu had vociferously taken up the litany of Tamil Diaspora activists calling upon the UN not to allow President Rajapaksa to address the UN General Assembly meeting held during the month. But Indian government chose to ignore it. Even in Tamil Nadu the mood was not upbeat on the subject.

President Rajapaksa addressed the UN General Assembly and explained his objections to the UNHRC initiated inquiry commission. He also had a cordial meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting. A day after that, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Flavia Pansier submitting a summary of the update urged the Sri Lankan Government to keep the channels open with regards to the UN investigation on Sri Lanka.

In the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) update, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein urged the Sri Lanka Government to end the climate of intimidation, threat and harassment against civil society actors advocating for justice and human rights, as well as incitement to hatred and violence against the country’s Muslim and Christian minorities, which would only undermine the prospects for peace and reconciliation.

Miscellaneous

Myanmar’s anti-Muslim monk in Sri Lanka: Myanmar’s controversial anti-Muslim Buddhist cleric  Ashin Wirathu, leader of the 969 Movement, visiting Sri Lanka at the invitation of Bodhu Bala Sena (BBS) known for its anti-Muslim activism has announced that his movement would join hands with the BBS “to protect Buddhists all round the world," against Islamic extremism. The Myanmar cleric was addressing a BBS convention held at Colombo. Sri Lanka had allowed the controversial Myanmar monk to attend the BBS convention despite objections from Muslims in Sri Lanka.

India’s assistance: India has set up a language lab in Kandy to improve Sri Lanka’s general level of proficiency in English language. The initiative aims to familiarise English teachers with recent trends in English language teaching to upgrade their skills.

Chinese submarine berths in Colombo: A Chinese diesel-electric Type 039 "Song-class" submarine berthed in Colombo for the first time.  The Chinese government said the submarine had made a replenishment stopover in Sri Lanka on way to the Gulf of Aden for escort and anti-piracy operations, as was the "common practice" for navies around the world. This is yet another indicator of the ever-increasing forays of the People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) after gaining a foothold in Sri Lanka.   
Written on September 30, 2014 
Courtesy: South Asia Security Trends, October 2014, Vol.8 No.9



No comments: