Government set to probe attempted ‘coup’ on election night

Monday, 12 January 2015 01:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Defeated President tried to stay in power illegally, claims Mangala
Inquiry into alleged coup attempt to take priority after Cabinet appointments
Govt. hails police, military and AG for ‘standing by the people’

By Dharisha Bastians President Maithripala Sirisena’s new Government will launch an immediate investigation into an alleged attempt by the previous administration to stage a coup d’état on election night. An investigation into the alleged attempt to cling to power illegally would commence soon after the new cabinet is sworn in, a spokesman said. Sirisena Campaign Spokesman Mangala Samaraweera said ousted President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had attempted to “perverse the process of democracy” while results were still being counted around the country. “Sri Lanka should be proud that public officials and the military came to the rescue of democracy on election night and refused to take part in this conspiracy,” Samaraweera asserted. The UNP MP said that the transition of power on Friday had been anything but peaceful. “A bloodless transition was only possible because of the courage and integrity of the Elections Commissioner and the IGP,” he explained. Samaraweera alleged that top officials of the ousted regime had summoned the army chief, the IGP and the Attorney General in order to inquire about the possibility of stopping the count. The IGP had insisted that he could not be party to a coup, Samaraweera revealed. “The IGP clearly stated that he did not want to be part of a coup and even the Army Commander Daya Ratnayake - we have found fault with him for his election work for the former President, but he has also stood by the people,” the MP explained. He said the Attorney General had also warned President Rajapaksa that there would be dangerous repercussions if he goes through with his plan. It was only after he realised public officials and security personnel would not support his plans that Rajapaksa called Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Samaraweera charged. “We have a duty on our part to ensure the truth is revealed to the people about what happened that night. So the first thing is to inquire about it,” he said. Samaraweera said the Government had no hard evidence yet, which was why an investigation was required. “We need to get a fuller picture of what really took place,” he said. The 2015 presidential election had been one of the most corrupt in the history of the country, the UNP legislator explained, even though polling day had been largely peaceful.

New administration pledges restitutionPresident Maithripala Sirisena’s administration would strive to do justice to all those who had suffered under nine years of Rajapaksa rule, UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera said. “Justice will be served to all those who have suffered the injustices of impunity under the previous regime,” he said, referring to the murders of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunga and Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra. Former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, who was ousted by the Rajapaksa regime unconstitutionally, would be restored to office, Samaraweera vowed. The new administration has also pledged immediate reform, unblocking dozens of websites illegally censored by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, which has consistently denied implementing the ban. “All websites, whether pro-government or anti-government will be allowed to function,” Samaraweera explained. By midnight on Friday (9), the censorship on the Colombo Telegraph website imposed by private mobile telecommuniations provider Dialog was lifted. Yesterday, most previously censored websites were accessible once more on local internet service providers.Samaraweera acknowledged that the website censorship had taken place outside the legal framework and said the new Government would seek ways to hold officials accountable for the bans. He said former TRC Director General Anusha Palpita had been responsible for censoring dissenting websites and making them unavailable locally without the use of proxy sites.

Ranjan slams Maithripala, Ranil

United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake has slammed President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for being “diplomatic” and saying that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had gracefully stepped down after losing the presidential election. On the contrary, Ramanayake claims Rajapaksa had reportedly attempted to retain his power and not allow Sirisena to be elected President. “It is a blatant lie to say Rajapaksa stepped down gracefully. He had to be chased out. Why tell lies. I may lose the post I was to get by making this statement but the public expects the truth from me,” he said. Ramanayake said that President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe may have made a diplomatic comment in order to avert a bloodbath but he feels the public should know the truth. He also questioned as to how a “major thief” managed to leave Sri Lanka despite Sirisena saying, during his election campaign, that such people will not be allowed to leave and will be held accountable. “That man has fled with public money. There are reports another thief is to flee tonight. This Government came to eradicate corruption. But how can you do that by playing with thieves? If you do not do what you promised you will face the same fate as Mahinda Rajapaksa in six years,” he added. Ramanayake also slammed the comments made by the previous Government that Sirisena won the election using votes from the LTTE. He said that Rajapaksa had earlier said that there was no LTTE in Sri Lanka anymore but now they are saying Sirisena won with votes from the LTTE. (Colombo Gazette)