Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

‘There is no chance that he can bring stability’ – Sumanthiran slams Sri Lanka’s new president

Speaking with The Sunday Morning, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesperson MA Sumanthiran spoke out against the crackdown on protesters whilst defending the party’s support for Dullas Alahapperuma on the grounds of “political stability”.

Sumanthiran’s statement follows the storming of the protest site at Galle Face by Sri Lanka’s military during the early hours of the morning. During the unrest, over 50 people were injured, including a BBC journalist who had his phone snatched by a soldier and his videos deleted. The military also destroyed the settlement where less than a hundred protesters were camping.

“This action was totally unwarranted because they were going to give the Secretariat back to the authorities” Sumanthiran claimed. He further added:

“Going by what happened, if this is how he shows he is going to govern, there is no chance at all that he can bring stability to the country”.

 

Support of positive endeavours

When asked if the TNA would participate in an “all-party government” formed by Wickremesinghe, Sumanthiran maintained that the TNA “will support all positive endeavours, whoever is in office”, as they had whilst Gotabaya Rajapaksa was in office.

The TNA has received criticism for its willingness to meet with the Rajapaksa administration. In May 2020, senior TNA leadership met with then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at a meeting boycotted by the UNP, SJB and JVP. In a statement released before the meeting, TNA leaders said they would attend “to clearly indicate that we are prepared to extend our co-operation” with the government. At this time, the Rajapaksa administration had suspended parliament amidst the outbreak of COVID-19

Sumanthiran maintained that whilst he would support positive steps by the Wickremesinghe administration, given the crackdown, “it will be very difficult for us to even think of supporting this Government in that way”.

 

The SLPP used their ‘false majority to elect Ranil Wickremesinghe’

In the interview, Sumanthiran slammed the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), asserting that despite losing the support of the public, they abuse their “false majority to elect Ranil Wickremesinghe”. He further restated his calls to “dissolve Parliament and call General Elections”.

During the interview, Sumanthiran defended the TNA’s controversial decision to support Dullas Alahapperuma by asserting the need for a “consensual government”.

“The entire Opposition totals 65; in May itself, about 42 members left the Government and crossed over. Now, they supported a candidate [Dullas Alahapperuma] who may have been a member of the SLPP, but was supported by the Opposition. Without asserting their single majority, the SLPP could have ensured that a consensual government was formed. However, they defied it and exercised their singular majority” he told the interviewer.

He further added:

“Economic recovery was our primary concern. The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) was also supporting Dullas Alahapperuma. The SJB has economic experts in its ranks and it would have got involved in a government under Dullas. With political stability, they would have taken the right measures to address the economic crisis. We [TNA] would have extended our support even from the Opposition for constructive endeavours to stabilise the economy”.

During the election campaign, the SLPP was fractured on their preferred candidate with the general secretary asserting support for Ranil Wickremesinghe whilst the chairman, G.L. Peiris insisted on the need to support Alahapperuma. After the election, Mahinda Rajapaksa told reporters that he had put forward Alahapperuma.

Sumanthiran has denied reports that a deal was brokered between Premadasa, Alahapperuma and TNA leadership. However, claims of a deal have been supported by TNA MP Sivagnanam Shritharan.

The Tamil National People’s Front abstained from voting for either candidate, explaining that neither would meet the demands of the Tamil people.

 

IMF discussions

Commenting on ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund, Sumanthiran stated that debt restructring was a prerequisite but that “doesn’t seem to have started”.

Questioned on if IMF proposals, including tax increases, would hurt low-income families, Sumanthiran stated:

“No; on raising taxes, the taxes must be direct ones. We can easily work that out. As long as you avoid raising indirect taxes, it won’t affect the poor. The poor don’t pay direct taxes, so that can be worked out.

There are economic experts in the country who have already come out with how this can be done, so I don’t think that will be an issue. Of course, everyone feels and will face the effects of the economic crisis”.

He added that “economic restructuring will have the necessary structural changes in the Constitution as well”.

 

Constitutional Reform

Commenting on the need for structural reform, Sumanthiran emphasised that this could not be done “by tinkering with this failed Constitution” and emphasised the need for a new constitution.

He further stressed the need to “restore the 19th Amendment immediately and take steps to abolish the Executive Presidency in the earliest possible time frame”.

Questioned on calls for “citizen-councils”, he stated:

“Direct participation by citizens in affairs of governance of the country is a most welcome feature. Having said that, what form it should take and whether it should take the form of what the Aragalaya is proposing needs discussion”.

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.