By Charles.S.Perera

What a furore there is amoung UNP supporters in Sri Lanka, and Foreign Governments  supporting the puppet regime of Ranil Wickramasinghe ,  since a number of members from his Cabinet of Ministers refused  to work for him any more in a National Government,  resulting in  the Cabinet ceasing to exist?

That was not by all means the end of the world,  nor the end of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

But what we the Sri Lankans do not understand is why the so called  International Community- the USA, Norway, Switzerland , France, Germany, Italy ,Netherlands, Roumania and UK are interfering  demanding the President to show a majority in Parliament. That is not their business.

They say that it would damage Sri Lanka’s international reputation  and deter investors. But can these countries say how they helped Sri Lanka during the past three years and how many investors came from  amoung the countries of the West ?

Of course,  they of the International Community are always there to create trouble in developing countries , cast barriers, impose trade embargoes, stop GPS and purchase of fish, even kill political leaders as they did those day when the CIA was active,  but they are never there to help by making  investments  or providing technology.

It is surprising that Australia and Canada too jump into the band wagon to warn Sri Lanka of serious  consequences. But how about the neglected first Citizens of Canada and Maories of Australia. Why don’t they look after them instead of worrying about Sri Lanka ?

As for Canada tagging behind  its MP for Scarborough-RougePark which is far away from Sri Lanka and Thanigasalam MPP who is both physically and mentally far away from the Tamils of Sri Lanka, it is better that Thanigasalam is told that the Tamils in Sri Lanka  are left alone without mixing them up with the Canadian Tamils. Because Tamils here will not be  Tamils without Sri Lanka . Those Tamils  too Sri Lanka can manage without being interfered by far away Canada and still far away Thanigasalam and Scarborough.

Sri Lankans are well educated; they have a good Armed Force, they are  growing up in a very peaceful culture,  and they are a people of a generous heart. Sri Lankans-that include the Tamils have nothing to learn from Scarborough, Ontario or Canada least of all from Thanigasalam MP, nor from France, Germany, Italy, US, Roumania , Netherlands, Switzerland and all the rest as a matter of fact.

The so called International Community  are only interferers who do not want to help poor countries  develop and progress. Their World Bank and IMF give  loans  to condition our development  they  want it to be, and put us into their net of debt , to make us  remain poor,  and be  of  political and strategic importance to the International Community.

Therefore, International community if you can help us develop our country  you are welcome , but if you come to tell us what we should do and not do you are not welcome. In that case please keep away, as we both have nothing to gain or nothing to loose by being with one  another  in poverty or prosperity..

Now the International Community now lets turn to your problem about your interfering into Sri Lanka to defend  your puppet Ranil Wickramasinghe you raised into being the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. You are now  demanding the Parliament of Sri Lanka to have the sittings on the 14^th November to show a majority for the newly sworn in most popular Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, firstly please take note that it is not your business.  Secondly believe us  there is nothing for you to worry;  Sri Lanka can settle the matter without your demands, threats and warnings.

There was nothing un- Constitutional about  your puppet Ranil Wickramasinghe loosing the office of Prime Minister. Read on and you may understand if you cut your bias and try to understand what really happened.

What really happened was simple. In 2015 there was a Presidential election  in which many political parties opposing the  popular President of Sri Lanka  Mahinda Rajapakse formed a union called the UNF to put forward their Common Presidential Candidate Mr. Maithreepala Sirisena .

The Foreign Governments  the USA, UK, France, Germany, U.E and  our neighbour India-which has a problem since India has a tradition of Rajaas –Kings. Hence the political leaders of India have a complex  to  tread the soil of the rich and well to do, hence rather than be with the  Communist China, it prefers to be with the Capitalist America ! So all these foreign States  helped the common Candidate of the Opposition  Mr. Maithreepala Sirisena to defeat the President Mahinda Rajapakse and win the election.

Hence the Common Candidate  Maithripala Sirisena won the Presidential election and formed an initial Government of 100 days on the 8^th January,2015 until the next General Election in August,2015.  The General election  to elect Parliamentary candidates did not give a clear majority to any leading party to form a government of its own.

Hence the UNF the union of political parties who had put forward a common candidate for the Presidential election, and the members of the union of political parties the UPFA that had gathered around the new President Maithripala Sirisena  agreed to unite to form a National Government. In terms of the Constitution such a united National Government could have more than 30 members in the Cabinet. Therefore the National Government  the UNF and UPFA  which they called the Yahapalanaya Government had altogether a Cabinet of 45 Ministers.

From the beginning the  Yahapalanaya Government had conflicts within, many of the UPFA Ministers complaining  that the UNF Ministers are more priviledged  and those of the UPFA were neglected  when  taking Cabinet decisions. These differences came to a head  when the Joint Opposition brought a No Confidence Motion against the Prime Minister Ranil.Wickramasinghe.

16 members of the Yahapalanaya Government voted in favour of the NCM and  left the government to  join the Joint opposition.The Yahapalanaya yet managed to navigate as they still had a respectable numbers of Minister from both ranks-UNF and UPFA.  But the situation changed on the 26 October, 2018 when the remaining members of the UPFA wrote a letter to the Speaker of the Parliament stating that they are withdrawing from the Yahapalanaya National Government.

Therefore in terms of the relevant article of the Constitution the Cabinet of the Yahapalanaya National Government  could not exist with the other UPFA members of the Cabinet leaving it.

Therefore the  Cabinet of the Yahapalanaya Government ceasing to exist as a whole became dissolved and the Prime Minister became redundant or no longer needed  as the Office of Prime Minister became dissolved in the absence of a UNF and UPFA joint Cabinet.

But Ranil Wickramasinghe who did not interpret the Constitution correctly and knowing that,  that was the only chance he would have  to lead  a UNP Government,  holed himself in the Temple Trees the Official Residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka along with his politically blinded  supporters and  appealed to the Western Countries  to come and help him as he is  still the Prime Minister with a majority in the Parliament, and that the President of Sri Lanka had undemocratically appointed another as the new Prime Minister.

That was the SOS on which the International Community  jumped into Sri Lanka like  a bull in a glass shop” and make all sorts of undiplomatic demands from a President elected by the People of Sri  Lanka a Sovereign State., which is blatant interference into the internal affairs of  Sri Labnka a Sovereign State.

The President did not have to dismiss Ranil  Wickramasinghe from the Office of Prime Minister  as he got automatically dismissed with the breaking up of the Cabinet. The President subsequently  appointed a new Prime Minister.

The President’s appointment of the new Prime Minister  is within the powers vested in him in the Constitution of Sri Lanka and that cannot be contested by any one,  least of all by the Speaker who is expected to be politically independent and the International Community  which has no right what so ever to interfere into internal affaires of the Sovereign State of Sri Lanka.