Col R Hariharan
Sri Lanka Perspectives May
2025 | South Asia Security Trends, June 2025 | https://www.security-risks.com
The month of May saw President
Anura Kumara Dissanayaka (also known as AKD) coming to terms with the pleasures
and pains of democracy in action. This was brought out starkly in two equally
important events during the month. The first was the local government (LG)
elections where the ruling National People's Power (NPP)’s vote share declined
to almost 43% from the whopping 62% of votes it had obtained at the
Parliamentary election. Though the President and Prime Minister had extensively
campaigned, decline in voter turnout in the LG election is probably due to lack
of enthusiasm among the younger voters in local issues. It also showed NPP has
a lot of work to do at the grassroot level to establish itself.
LG elections
The NPP won 265 local councils
– 23 municipal councils, 25 urban councils and 217 Pradeshiya sabhas. The
opposition SJB won 14 councils. Smaller parties and independent groups scored
in 23 councils. NPP came first in 120 councils where opposition parties
exceeded NPP’s numbers. The decline in votes secured by NPP should not
obfuscate the poor performance in the LG elections by the established
mainstream parties including the SLFP and SLPP. In the Northern Province, the
Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) won in 37 councils.it It
showed that NPP is yet to establish its roots at the local level, though it had
performed surprisingly well in the parliamentary poll. The LG poll also
showed that Tamil nationalism alone is not enough to impress the voters at the
local level.
Moment of truth at Heroes Day
The other event where AKD had
a moment of truth as President was his hesitant participation in the 16th
National War Heroes Day on May 19. The day marks the final victory over the
LTTE in the Eelam wars. As commander in chief of the armed forces and the minister
of defence, the President usually presides over the commemoration event.
Apparently AKD’s decision to attend the event was a last minute one as the
invitation for the occasion did not contain his name . His speech on
the occasion revealed how he views the commemoration event. The President’s
focus was the cost of the war, while honouring the sacrifice of soldiers and
civilians during the war. AKD pointed out “Not only in the South, but also in
the North, people hold up photographs of their husbands and children on the
streets and mourn their deaths. To every parent, their child is precious. So,
as a country that has faced such a massive tragedy, our responsibility today is
to prevent such a war from happening again in our country.” The speech signified
his belief in fostering a collective memory of the civil war in which every
community suffered.
By avoiding terms that could
alienate minority communities, AKD probably chose to emphasise the collective
memory of all victims of the civil war, regardless of their ethnicity. As civil
activist Jehan Perera wrote, perhaps it was an attempt to shift the national
discourse from one of division to one of unity and healing. In his speech, AKD
said “Many soldiers sacrificed their lives to bring this war to a conclusion.”
As Jehan Perera wrote, “the preference to use the neutral term ‘soldiers’
instead of the traditional ‘war heroes’ would be due to his recognition of the
great divide he presides over.”
AKD’s choice of words in his
speech may be beyond semantics to move “away from divisive rhetoric and towards
a more inclusive national identity.” Can he really do so in the face of Sinhala
nationalist and Tamil separatist rhetorics which had historically fanned ethnic
passions in the island nation? Only time will tell.
Coming to terms with
corruption
AKD seems to be overcoming the
democratic malady of past presidents ignoring politician-criminal nexus. Though
Sri Lanka enacted the Bribery Act as early as 1954, it was rarely enforced and
its provisions became outdated. The Presidential Task Force on Corruption was
launched in 2015 with a lot of fanfare but collapsed due to political
indifference. The Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) was initially
effective but became selective due to political interference.
AKD launched the National
Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) 2025-2029 on April 9, 2025. It is a
strategic initiative by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery
and Corruption (CIABOC) to reaffirm commitment to strengthening governance, enhancing
transparency, and combating corruption at all levels. It builds upon the
successes achieved by the Action Plan 2019-2023 and provides a more
comprehensive roadmap. The launch of this plan comes after the enactment of Sri
Lanka's Anti-Corruption Act No. 09 of 2023. This Act expanded the mandate of
CIABOC beyond just investigation and prosecution to include implementation and
oversight of national anti-corruption strategies.
The NACAP 2025-2029 is
structured around four core strategic pillars: preventive measures;
strengthening and enhancing the capacity of anti-corruption institutions and
the legal framework for enforcement; promoting integrity and ethical values
from early age; strengthening national legal and policy frameworks to combat
bribery and corruption.
More than all these, President
AKD has strongly endorsed the plan, determined to resolve the fight against
corruption within the current generation. Public officials have been given a
six-month grace period until May 2025 to align with the government’s zero
tolerance stance.
Several old cases
of former Sri Lankan ministers and MPs are being
dusted up and many are facing legal proceedings related to corruption and
financial misconduct. According to Ceylon Today quoting CIABOC sources
four former top cabinet ministers and two former state ministers are expected
to be indicted in Colombo High Court on bribery charges. These investigations
were initiated after 2015, the report added.
Those who voted for AKD are
probably heartened to see former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin
Fernando have been sentenced to 20 years and 25 years of rigorous imprisonment
respectively, by the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar. It relates to
the misappropriation of Rs. 53.1 million for the import of 14,000 carrom boards
and 11,000 draughts boards, intended for distribution to sports clubs between
September 1 and December 31, 2014.
The CIABOC has filed an
indictment before the Colombo High Court against former minister Chandrani
Bandara alleging abuse of power and corruption during her tenure as
Minister of Women and Child Affairs and Dry Zone (January 14 - 31, 2019).
According to the indictment, the former minister is accused of unlawfully
appointing HM Chandrawansa as the Project Director in the Ministry of Dry Zone
Development. She is also alleged to have influenced the appointment of several
associates to various positions in violation of legal protocols.
Former Minister of Agriculture
Duminda Dissanayake, arrested on May 23 in connection with the finding of a
gold-plated T-56 assault rifle at a house in Colombo, has been further remanded
until 05 June. He will be produced before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court
yesterday.
Former Minister Mervyn Silva
is facing bribery and corruption charges filed by the CIABOC. The case, presented
before the Colombo High Court, alleges that Silva amassed assets far exceeding
his declared lawful income during his tenure as Minister from March 31, 2010 to
March 31, 2012.
Former health minister
Keheliya Rambukwella has already been arrested for exploiting an Indian credit
line to buy inferior medicines while in office. His son Ramith has also been
arrested in connection with corruption charges.
Namal Rajapaksa is out on bail
for alleged misappropriation of funds the Krrish Hotel project funds LKR 70
million from an Indian firm. The CID launched an investigation in April 2025
into allegations of Namal cheating in a law examination to obtain his Attorney
at Law qualification in 2010. He was summoned by the CID in February
2025 for questioning related to an investigation into
corruption related to a Sri Lankan Airlines deal with Airbus in 2013.
Yoshitha Rajapaksa, former
Naval officer, faces several cases of money laundering and dubious deals. He
was arrested in January 2025 in a land-related case in Ratmalana valued at LKR
34 million under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He has been released
on a bail bond of LKR 100 million and barred from leaving the country. He also
faces allegations related to the purchase of a house in Dehiwala for LKR 50
million. There are allegations against his investments in the Carlton Sports
Network. Yositha was arrested in 2016 during the Sirisena government on a money
laundering charge related to the purchase of a television network.
It seems AKD is serious about
bringing to book all the political leaders tainted by corruption. It will be
interesting to see how AKD and the Rajapaksas handle when Namal and Yositha,
sons of former, are convicted in one of the cases now in the court. That
is probably the challenge both AKD and the Rajapaksas’ are awaiting.
[Col
R Hariharan VSM, a retired MI specialist on South Asia and terrorism, served as
the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka
1987-90. He is associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies.
Email: haridirect@gmail.com, Website: https://col.hariharan.info]
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