2018 coup a cautionary tale of promises gone wrong

This week marks the sixth anniversary of one of the most shameful episodes in Sri Lanka’s 90-year democratic history. President Maithripala Sirisena, elected on an unprecedented platform for democratic reform, betrayed all those entrusted with the task, and illegally appointed former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa as “prime minister” on 26 October 2018. The constitutional coup which was President Sirisena’s desperate attempt to hold on to the presidency he had pledged to abolish was defeated by an unprecedented movement of civil action. 

As the new administration of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake embarks to fulfil a mandate for system change, addressing corruption and delivering on better governance structure, it is prudent to remember how a once in a generation mandate for a similar change in 2015 was squandered by our leaders. 

President Sirisena’s unceremonious removal of a Prime Minister who enjoyed the confidence of Parliament led to 52 days of turmoil and State sector paralysis. MPs were bought and sold like commodities, while others oscillated between loyalty and principle – and often made the wrong choice. In the end, a series of historic events, including crucial interventions by Chief Justice Nalin Perera and his Judiciary, and the extraordinary courage of then-Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, reversed the trajectory of the illegal power grab and delivered a people’s victory.

The coup’s defeat could have been a turning point in Sri Lanka’s contemporary history. It was a moment for jubilation for the triumph of democracy and the rule of law over unconstitutional power grabs, corrupt horse trading of people’s mandate and individual political agendas. This was not to be. Those who fought for the preservation of democracy were forgotten and the country reverted to the same broken political client system.

The recent Presidential election suggests that the desire for change for a more equitable and fair governance had not died within the electorate. The election of President Dissanayake is a vote for a system change that was desired in 2015 but betrayed by the elected leaders. It is also an extension of the struggles waged on the streets in 2022 by the masses. This struggle for a more democratic, free and just Sri Lanka was kept alive in 2018 by a handful of individuals who didn’t cave into the power grab by Sirisena. They must be remembered and celebrated as Sri Lanka once again embarks on a perilous journey to achieve those goals.   Top of this list is undoubtedly former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, who showed the country the soldier he was during three crucial days in Parliament in November 2018 that stripped the de facto prime minister of his legitimacy to govern. The image of the octogenarian Speaker, marching into Parliament beside a human wall of unarmed policemen to protect him from chairs, books and chilli powder being hurled at his head, and huddled in a corner bringing the House to order to hold a vote of no confidence is an enduring testament to Jayasuriya’s courage under fire and unswerving commitment to uphold democracy.

The other battle against the attempted coup was waged in the courts of law, as a legion of senior counsel petitioned the country’s highest courts against the President’s unconstitutional actions. Chief Justice Nalin Silva delivered a historic judgment ending the constitutional coup on 14 December 2018 after stopping it in its tracks a month earlier in what senior lawyers called the most consequential Supreme Court order in their lifetimes.

As a new President and his administration take on a mandate for change, the events of October 2018 should not be forgotten for good measure. They are a stark reminder of what can go wrong with a wonderful promise. It is also a reminder for the current leaders that history will judge them on the deliverance of their promises. May they be remembered better than those who betrayed the people in 2018.