More than a month after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked the general secretaries of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Susil Premajayanth respectively, no action has been taken with respect to issuance of charges and inquiry into the same as per usual practice.
The two were sacked unceremoniously on the 14th of August 2015. The President, who is also the Leader of the SLFP, simultaneously appointed Duminda Dissanayake and Prof Wiswa Warnapala to the posts thus made vacant. Dissanayake and Warnapala immediately obtained an interim injunction from the Colombo District Court to stop their predecessors from obstructing them.
The move was seen as an attempt to stymie the UPFA’s election campaign which was being led by Sirisena’s arch rival and former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Premajayanth and Yapa were subsequently inducted into the new cabinet following elections and a pact between the SLFP and the United National Party (UNP).
On August 28, the petition filed by Dissanayake and Warnapala were dismissed after the plaintiffs informed court that their work as General Secretaries of the SLFP and UPFA respectively were not obstructed.
Regardless of agreements that may have been reached by the above parties, with or without the mediation of Sirisena, the scant regard for established procedure is reprehensible, a long time advocate of due process in all matters pertaining to disciplinary action as well as judicial processes, one of the Kurunegala SLFP members Chanaka Herath told Colombo Telegraph.
‘If people can be removed from office on the whims and fancies of an individual without formal charges being issued and without an inquiry to follow suspension, it sets a dangerous precedent,’ he said. He added that agreements reached, whether amicably or under duress, does not automatically remove the requirement that proper procedures should be followed.
‘The membership of the party need to know the reasons why Yapa and Premajayanth were suspended in the first place and secondly the circumstances under which these two outcastes were considered suitable for cabinet posts,’ he said.
Navin / September 9, 2015
Anyone who is not blind can see that Honorable Sirisena is travelling the same highway paved by J.R.Jayawardene and taken by Mahinda Rajapakse. The portents were there when his brother (a known thief) walked in and seized SLT (a kind of Royal Mint). the honorable has absolutely no intention to honor his promise to abolish the ‘Executionary’ Presidency.
It is time Colombo Telegraph, her readers, and general public resolve to put this weakling and pretender in his place, before he gets too big for his shoes.
Compliments to CT for this write up. Thanks.
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John / September 9, 2015
“There are no Permanent Enemies or Permanent Friends in Politics but Permanent Interests”
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Amarasiri / September 9, 2015
President Maithripala Sirisena
RE: No Charge-Sheet, No Show-Cause Letter, No Inquiry Into Anura Yapa And Susil Premajayanth
Why didn’t you send him to Medamulana and fish in the Hambantota Harbor with the Meerarakas?
Very Disappointing, Indeed!
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Pygmalion / September 9, 2015
Chanaka Herath is quite right.Yapa and Premajayanth are outcastes in more ways than one.
Public Servants are charge sheeted,inquiries held and at the end either interdicted or Transferred to distant places.
Politicians get sacked Today and then rewarded with Cabinet Portfolios literally the next day.
SriLankan Governance needs a thorough over haul.There should be a Brand New vehicle of Governance,not a Reconditioned one.
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PhD / September 9, 2015
All these problems arise due to MISFITS becoming Executive presidents and not because the Executive presidential system is bad. To solve this major problem either (i)the way the executive president is elected should be changed or(ii) the executive presidential system should be abolished totally. Executive president should be a broadminded person who does not have an inferiority complex. Unfortunately, most of our executive presidents had and have this weakness. A highly qualified person will be ideal for such a position. How can we get a highly qualified person elected. Introduce a minimum qualification such as a postgraduate degree(M.Sc.,M.A.,Ph.D., etc). Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Dr Harsha De Silva, and other highly qualified MPs if there are any would be possible candidates for 2020 presidential elections. Sri Lankans will be able to breathe a sigh of relief if a highly qualified person is elected to that important position.
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Estate Labourer / September 10, 2015
What if a person like G.L. Peiris, Rajiva Wijesinghe or Dayan Jayatilleke, who all have PhDs gets elected as Executive President?
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mike / September 11, 2015
Estate Labourer
“What if a person like G.L.Peiris, Rajiva Wijesinghe or Dayan Jayatilleke, who all have PhDs gets elected as Executive President?”
Elementary my dear friend, elementary. They can call themselves President Curly, Moe or Larry, The Three Stooges!
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Lankan / September 9, 2015
Sirisena is not exactly acting on principles, as evidenced by his actions, be they against crooked characters or not. So it’s an example of the ever-present malaise that afflicts Sri Lankan governance. He is happy to make alliances and deals, on the pretext of doing good. Maybe the ends don’t justify the means, specially in the Sri Lankan context, where one should not hold one’s breath, expecting promises to be delivered.Because they rarely are. The abolition of the executive presidency is a case in point..
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Jayasingha / September 9, 2015
People named by the president who are eligible for PM are sacked from their posts without formal charges and later accommodated as cabinet ministers. Still no reason or explanation as to why they were removed. This is third grade wickedness which is inherent in narrow minded individuals who are placed in powerful positions.
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Pot Shot / September 9, 2015
Wheels within Wheels and Deals within Wheels.
All are the same playing the same game.
People are right but are taken as a bite.
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Douglas / September 9, 2015
PhD: What if Law Professor G.L.Peiris is appointed the President? Cheers.
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Navin / September 9, 2015
You want a [Edited out]President?
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PhD / September 10, 2015
You are smart. You have chosen the ideal example to disprove my point. However, my point is that the probability of a MISFIT becoming the President is extremely low when selected from a bunch of highly educated persons.
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Harry Hatton / September 9, 2015
This whole thing is a joke by village yokels.
Sirisena left the SLFP and joined up with the UNP( and ranil) to defeat a SLFP led government.( forget the MR factor-the truth is the SLFP was in power)
Now Sirisena is trying to discipline those who were faithful to the SLFP and remained with the SLFP!
SL is not the miracle of Asia but the joke of Asia !
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K.A Sumanasekera / September 9, 2015
Real SLFP MPs hate Sirisena more than they hate Ranil Wickremasinghe.
Sirisena knows it too.
Sira’s agenda is to keep the SLFP weak and allow Ranil to implement the promises which Sira made to the UNP as well as the Western Powers and the Diaspora who helped and financed Sira to become the President.
Ranil’s promise to make it a new country in 60 months is nothing but the federation of Srilanka into 3 different parts.
That is partition of the country in to North for the Srilankan Tamils, East for the Muslims and non Vellala and non Srilankan Tamils and the rest for the Sinhala Buddhists.Anglicans,and Christians.
Sira will try to convince the Sinhala Buddhists that the only way he can protect the War Heroes is by going Federal .
But Ranil and the UNP will be in a win win situation.
Ranil can fulfil his wish to give Sambandan his Eelaam under the guise of a Federal state.
And most importantly , it will ensure that no Sinhala Buddhist Political party can ever get a majority of seats .
Because the Federal North and the Federal East will always vote for UNP.
And the Elite, Anglicans and the Catholics will ensure that the UNP sores well even in the other Federal State.
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Sim / September 9, 2015
Once elected President of the country he should be neutral
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Plato. / September 9, 2015
S
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Plato. / September 9, 2015
K.A Sumane.
The Tamils in the East,I am sure,would prefer to be with the Sinhalese rather than the Muslims.
The Muslims were settled by King Senarath-King of Kandy only in the 16th century.Tamils were there historically several centuries before the colonisation of the Muslims.
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Mohamed / September 10, 2015
Hi,Plato
The Sinhalese were there in the East well before the Muslims. The Muslims traders (sailors) went to the East before king Senarath settled the Muslims who were expelled by the Portuguese in the South.
Mulsims also helped mukkuvar (tamils) in the East and were welcome there as well. The LTTE (Tamils) expelled the Mulsims in thousands in the North.
The Tamils would not prefer to live with anyone in the world because of their belief that they were “created” or “emerged” before any other human beings appered on the earth and the world belong to them only.
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Mohamed / September 10, 2015
Sirisena has ben crafty since he left Mahinda. Mahinda is a kind of innocent despite being not perfect. Thats why Sirisena was with him until the last minute like Judas with Jesus. May be Mahinda is not like Jesus but Sirisena is out and out a Judas.
“Colombotelegraph” was very much appreciated by those who wanted regime change, when it appeared to have supported Sirisena but now an Anathema for Sirisena lovers .
Sirisena has been doing a lot against what he praeched and seems more arraogant than Mahinda.
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BBS Rep / September 10, 2015
The next thing to expect from this phoney Yahapalanaya is to close down internet access to CT just like MR did. Other than that doing deals with the devil contrary to the interest of the people is just the same as it was under MARA.
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