December 2018

President Sirisena Re-appoints Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and then Tells him and UNP that in his Opinion Ranil Should Not Have Been Appointed Premier Again. President Maithripala Sirisena, yesterday, told newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and other UNP MPs at a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat, that he was still of the view that Wickremesinghe should not have been appointed Prime Minister. A media statement issued by the President Secretariat, yesterday quoted President Sirisena as having said: “When I said that I would not appoint Wickremesinghe PM even if all 225 MPs supported him that was my personal opinion. That hasn’t changed. But as someone who respects parliamentary traditions and democracy I have decided to appoint him Prime Minister. Neither Parliament nor courts, to […]

The committee appointed to probe the violent incidents that had taken place during the recent parliamentary sessions, is currently scrutinizing the CCTV footages of the Chamber, stated the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ananda Kumarasiri. He said that the members of the committee have been paired up to inspect the CCTV footages separately. Accordingly, two members of the committee, Parliamentarians Bimal Rathnayake and Mavai S. Senathirajah will be scrutinizing CCTV footages tomorrow (18). More video footages pertaining to the tense situations in the Parliament would be obtained from private media companies, the Deputy Speaker Kumarasiri added. These video clips are slated to be inspected by a senior officer of Parliament and a special group of police personnel. The Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya appointed a committee to probe […]

Resigned Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that Ministers of the new regime had individually undertaken to monitor the affairs of each and every media institution in a bid to suppress media but the media had a responsibility to act without allowing the country being divided. “Each Minister is appointed to each newspaper for media control according to the information published recently. That is at the time of presenting 20th Amendment, That is their final decision. The media and we have a responsibility to prevent the country from being divided,” he said. Mahinda who came to power through the back door unconstitutionally with the help of president Maithiri on the 26th October and ruled Sri Lanka for 7 weeks even after several no confidence was passed in […]

My dear Mahinda maama, It was only three weeks ago that I wrote to you last, but I feel I must write to you again, especially as much has happened since then, and because of those events, you are likely to go down in history, in the midst of all your other achievements, as the nation’s shortest serving, fifty-day Prime Minister. Please don’t get me wrong, Mahinda maama, until the events of that Friday night in late October, you were by far the most popular and most marketable politician in the country, far ahead of the Green Man, Aiyo Sirisena and any of the ‘rathu sahodarayas’. Even now, you still remain quite popular. That is precisely why we were taken aback when we were told that Aiyo Sirisena had suddenly sacked […]

A new UNP-SLMC “national government” to be formed A Vote on Account to presented before yearend Mahinda Rajapaksa may be Leader of the Opposition Motion in Parliament on December 18 to expand Cabinet President Sirisena to swear in Ranil Wickremesinghe as Premier today Many are the untold stories during the days when President Maithripala Sirisena held secret talks with his predecessor and arch enemy Mahinda Rajapaksa paving the way for a new government. It ended the same way it began — in chaos. The final stages of such talks took place at the Battaramulla residence of S.B. Dissanayake, the juggler of words that he is. He first denied that such meetings took place. Two weeks ago, however, he was self-congratulatory and took pride that he […]

Ranil Wickremesinghe has to seek the help of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to pass the 2019 Budget, Parliamentarian Rohitha Abeygunewardena said, adding that therefore, the TNA has the power and control over the new government. He expressed these views at a Media briefing held yesterday (15) at Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) head office. “Ranil Wickremesinghe should give the post of ‘Chief Government Whip’ to the guardian of democracy, MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake, for his support to the United National Front (UNF) during the past 6 weeks,” he said. He added that all appointments which had been made in past six week by Mahinda are legal and therefore no changes will take place in the State sector.  He further stated that the SLFP and the […]

President Sirisena Offers Prime Minister Position to Karu Jayasuriya, Sajith Premadasa, John Amaratunga and Daya Gamage To Deprive Ranil Wickremesinghe But UNP Stalwarts Stand Firmly Behind Party Leader Who will be Taking Oaths for the Fifth time as Premier By the “Daily FT” Special Political Correspondent Lord Denning M. L., the 20th Century British Judge and Jurist, in his famous book ‘The Family Story’, remarked: “Every Judge, on his appointment, discards all politics and all prejudice. You need have no fear. The Judges of England have always in the past – and will – be vigilant in guarding our freedoms. Someone must be trusted. Let it be the Judges.” The principle duty of a Judge, especially of the apex court, is to suppress force and […]

Mahinda Rajapaksa Signs a “Resignation Letter” At His  Residence After Clinging On to Power For 7 Weeks As the First and Only Purported Prime Minister in Commonwealth History Sri Lanka’s disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has signed what was called a ‘resignation’ letter at his residence in the capital Colombo, ending an extraordinary saga in the country’s parliamentary history where he clung on to power despite suffering no-confidence motions. Rajapaksa was appointed Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena appointed Rajapaksa Prime Minister on October 26, triggering a constitutional crisis, banking on buying over corrupt or disgruntled members to build a parliamentary majority. However even members of his United National Party who opposed the unpopular actions of Wickremesinghe’s so-called ‘cronies’ as well as a section of the […]

CONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has signed what was called a ‘resignation’ letter at his residence in the capital Colombo, ending an extraordinary saga in the country’s parliamentary history where he clung on to power despite suffering no-confidence motions. Local televisions station interrupted normal programming in mid-morning Saturday, to bring visuals of what was said to be him signing a ‘resignation’ letter. Rajapaksa was appointed Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena on October 26, triggering a constitutional crisis, banking on buying over corrupt or disgruntled members of incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to build a parliamentary majority. Wickremesinghe famously lacks people skills, and has uneasy relations with the parliamentary group, other members of his party and the general public. Ranjan Ramanayake, […]

I have no intention of remaining as Prime Minister without a general election being held (I am saying this after 7 weeks, because the  Supreme Court has delivered a judgement against the holding of the general election) The TNA now holds the remote control in Parliament. Under the provisions of that draft constitution, this country will be divided into nine semi-independent federal units.  We appreciate the difficult and bold decision that the President made on October 26. We borrowed money to develop the country and that development is visible. But the UNP borrowed money only for consumption.  The most important thing that happened during this period was that the two thirds majority in Parliament that was available to the UNP to be used at will, is […]

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) should decide either to ally with the United National Party (UNP) or to sit in the opposition, SLFP MP Kanchana Wijesekera said. He told a news briefing the recent conduct of the TNA had been quite partial to the UNP in Parliament. “We witnessed the TNA voting in favour of the confidence motion in support of Ranil Wickremesinghe. They cannot continue to be like this. If they are to play the role of the opposition they should work against the government,” he said. In Sri Lanka the opposition parties must work against the government even if the government is doing  something right was the aim of the appeal and angry that they were unable to topple the government. The SLFP and Mahinda’s SLPP […]

SLFP or UPFA against sharing any power to Tamils. Mahinda to ‘resign’ today morning after making public statement  Ranil to take oath on Sunday morning UNP closes door on any SLFP group crossovers, but says individuals welcome Focused on forming UNP Govt. or contesting General elections Dayasiri says SLFP members keen on working with new Govt. as representatives of President No final decision by SLFP on future action but willing to act in accordance with President’s wishes By Chathuri Dissanayake and nuwan senarathna President Maithripala Sirisena-appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday decided to quit, ending seven weeks of political turmoil in the country, as ousted Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe readies to retake his oaths yet again tomorrow. Rajapaksa, whose appointment for the post was disputed from […]

The UNP led UNF, was in discussion with some SLFP MPs to form a new government, UNP MP Nalin Bandara said yesterday. He told a news conference in Colombo, that the proposed government would be formed on principles and polices aimed at strengthening democracy and developing the country. “We will select only MPs who are committed to fulfilling the good governance mandate given to us by the people and not those looking to make a fast buck.” The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, he stressed, would be strengthened further, to ensure that the President, whoever it may be, would have to work in consultation with Parliament and not according to his or her whims and fancies. JVP wants hunt for culprits The JVP demands that […]

The appeal filed against the quo warranto proceeded by the Court of Appeal suspending duties of Prime Ministry and Cabinet will be examined today (14). Mahinda Rajapakshe has decided to resign from the Prime Ministry regardless of the verdict of the Supreme Court regarding the appeal. Apparently, the Mahinda’s party has already decided to step back and sit in the opposition’s side allowing the rest to appoint a new Prime Minister and a Cabinet. Sources closely associated with Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) inform that Mr. Mahinda Rajapakshe will be acting as the true opposition leader in launching the battle against the United National Party (UNP). The meeting held with the members of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) yesterday was addressed by the President […]

Despite the Supreme Court Slap to The Head of State, Sirisena’s Opponents May Not Be Able to Write The President Off So Easily -The Economist NOT FOR the first time in recent weeks, Sri Lankans held a collective breath on the afternoon of December 13th, as citizens gathered outside the Supreme Court in Colombo, the capital. When seven judges eventually faced the packed crowd in Room 502, their decision was unanimous: President Maithripala Sirisena had breached the constitution last month, by decreeing parliament dissolved. Outside on the street, opponents of the president roared their approval of the ruling. As unusual as it was, the court’s slap to the country’s head of state came as no surprise. Mr Sirisena has been testing the limits of his powers […]