11 political parties led by the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP), a former coalition partner to the Rajapaksa regime, have boycotted negotiations after the appointment of Shantha Bandara as State Minister for organic fertilisers.
Former Energy Minister, Udaya Gammanpila, decried the appointment as an act of treachery as Bandara defected from his high-ranking posts within the SLFP to join the government. The leader of the SLFP former President Maithripala Sirisena has stripped Bandara of all posts within the party which included Propaganda Secretary and Chief Electoral Organiser.
The political chaos in Sri Lanka comes ahead of a scheduled meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday. Former Deputy Governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank W.A. Wijewardena has stressed that political stability and a simple majority were prerequisites for negotiations with the IMF.
Prior to the appointment of Bandara, the SLFP had agreed to accept an interim cabinet under the leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who holds the defence portfolio. This is despite demonstrations maintaining their demands for the removal of all Rajapaksas from their government posts.
The SLFP garnered the support of an 11-party coalition that would have approved Rajapaksa retaining his post but had also called for the restoration of the 19th Amendment. This would reintroduce limitations on the executive presidency that were removed by the implementation of the 20th amendment. They have since demanded that Bandara be removed from his post.
“We will not have any dealings with this Government. We will not send them any more letters or have anything to do with them. All our meetings and discussions with the Government are over,” claimed former Sri Lankan President and leader of the SLFP, Maithripala Sirisena.
He further lashed out at Bandara claiming that his decision was political suicide.
“Joining an unpopular Government like the present one is the end of his political career” he stated.
Responding to the appointment, Former Energy Minister and leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader claimed:
“We never expected the President to engineer a defection at a time we are engaged in discussions. In fact, we discussed a way out of the crisis and with the greatest difficulty managed to secure the support of all political parties, represented in Parliament except the JVP, to explore the possibility of an interim administration. We had no option but to pull out of talks”.
Read more here
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
