Mahinda's 'Baiya Budget'

aimed at winning
elections!
October 26, 2014
The stage was set for a Presidential Election in January next year by President
Mahinda Rajapaksa, who presented a budget full of goodies to the public sector, with
a 'sall carrot' to the pri!ate sector eployees who were gi!en an increase of Rs
"##$The pri!ate sector !iews this o!e as an additional burden at a crisis%ridden tie
when they were called upon to pay a two per cent increase in the eployers'
contribution to the Eployees' Pro!ident &und 'EP&($ The proposal will copel the
pri!ate sector to undergo financial difficulties starting January )#*"$ +n a bid to win the
hearts of the garent sector eployees, Rajapaksa ooted the idea of a pension
schee to the$ ,ut, nothing concrete was spelt out$ -ll proposals starting fro
nuber one to the end looked packed with 'bonan.as' to target the January
Presidential Election$

Econoists held the !iew that the current financial trend in the country was not
conduci!e for ass%scale concessions of that nature$ They warned that if the declared
budget proposals were put in place, the country's econoy was likely to struggle by
March next year with inflation shooting up o!ernight$
They said the pri!ate sector ay apply stringent easures to curtail recruitent of
new eployees as the increased /uantu in salaries and EP& would affect the pri!ate
sector with annual increents falling in -pril this year in ajority of the copanies$
,udgets in the past, which had 'soe' concessions to eet election targets, plunged
successi!e go!ernents into crises as inflation and the cost of li!ing shot up in a
gradual process$

0oe what ay, the 1tate eployees looked uch happy last &riday with the
iniu wage liit raised to Rs *",### and extended to a ceiling of Rs )", ### with
all the allowances$ Rajapaksa could now bank on the public ser!ants' !ote at a future
Presidential Election$ The 2pposition was wondering in Parliaent last &riday as
Rajapaksa went announcing a spree of concessions in an uniaginable style, ne!er
e!er perfored by any &inance Minister in this country since +ndependence$
-t the conclusion of his ,udget 1peech, Rajapaksa /uipped to the 2pposition3
45ohoada 6ae ,aiyage ,udget Eka4 '7ow's the !illage bupkin's budget8($ -s the
2pposition wondered, Rajapaksa knew how to play his cards targeting the January
elections$ The 2pposition will now onitor how Rajapaksa would ipleent his
proposals as he has to start fro January$

- Presidential Election is likely to be held within the first *# days of January$ The
budget 'goodies' will only start flowing fro the third week of January with the usual
public sector salaries$ 1oeties, Rajapaksa ay decide to pay the January salaries
before a Presidential Election is held$ That would be to the ad!antage of Rajapaksa as
public sector !oters would look happy with the increase$
9espite the relief and concessions granted in the budget, 2pposition trade unions are
up in ars for the failure of the go!ernent to grant an Rs *#, ### salary hike as
deanded by the$ The :;P 2pposition defined the public sector wage increase
granted by Rajapaksa to be Rs <=# in real ters$ The 2pposition parties described
Rajapaksa's budget perforance as a 'song and dance' to fool the asses$

The :;P claied that the iniu wage of the public sector eployee stood at Rs
**,<># and with the existing cost of li!ing allowances it ade up to Rs *?,)?#$ The
2pposition :;P and the J@P are planning to intensify trade union action in the coing
days to pressuri.e the go!ernent to increase public sector wages by
Rs *#, ###$
The J@P protest action is to be led by their trade union leader, 5$9$ Aalkantha billed to
eet other trade union leaders this week$ Meanwhile, the +nter%:ni!ersity 1tudents'
&ederation '+:1&(, which walked to the Parliaent area last week and clashed with
the police, is ready to return to a siilar protest this week claiing that their
grie!ances ha!e not been reedies in ,udget )#*"$

Presidential Poll and J7:
Bith all o!es afoot to go for a Presidential Poll, Rajapaksa last week anaged to
keep his coalition partners in fold except for the stubborn Jathika 7ela :ruaya 'J7:(
which wants a *Cth -endent drafted by the included in the 0onstitution before
the proclaation is issued calling a Presidential Election$ The aendent seeks to
reduce the powers of the Executi!e, pruning the 0abinet of Ministers to )" and the
recognition of the independent coissions on police, elections, judiciary and public
ser!ice$ They et Rajapaksa last week for discussions as in!ited by the latter$ ,ut, the
talks ended in a staleate with Rajapaksa stating he cannot eet the deands before
the elections are called, but would consider it later$ -t the J7:'s annual con!ention last
1unday at Maharagaa, Minister Patali 0hapika Ranawaka and :daya
6aanpila warned that if the J7: aendent was not accepted and incorporated
before calling an election, they would definitely /uit the go!ernent$

They accused the go!ernent of trying to earn oney all the tie$ @en$ Rathana
Thera, who spoke in a hard tone, warned the go!ernent not to take the J7: lightly
as it would work towards electing a President who could work for the country and the
people at the next general election, with the blessings of the Maha 1angha$
Bhen the J7: delegation, led by @en$ 2alpe 1obhitha et the President at Teple
Trees last Tuesday, the Thera said Rajapaksa was the only leader in this country and
urged the latter to ipleent the se!en%point plan gi!en by the J7:$ The President
replied3 47ow can we do that in a hurry 7auduruwane, + ha!e to present the budget
to Parliaent on &riday$ Then the budget debates will begin$ -fter that + ha!e decided
to go for a general election$

1o, the tie we ha!e is !ery liited$ + cannot gi!e false proises to you$ + cannot do it$
Aet's see after the elections are o!er$4 6aanpila, pointed out that fro *C<<,
aendents had been o!ed to the 0onstitution on an urgent basis$ '1o, why can't
you follow that pattern4, he asked$ 4Be are going for elections in the coing onths
and ha!e no tie,4 stressed Rajapaksa$ @en$ Rathana Thera reiterated that it ust be
done as deanded or else it was futile to talk about that deand$ The President's
ood looked altered at that point$ -n angry Rajapaksa shot back, 4+ think you ha!e
already decided on your stand before coing here$ ,efore you subitted this proposal
to e, you ga!e it to the :;P and the ;62s$ Dou also told your annual con!ention
that you will oust e fro y Presidency$ + don't know what you all are doing$ + ha!e
decided to go for a Presidential Election and that is all$4
Rajapaksa left the eeting stating he had another engageent and re/uested the
J7: to discuss the issue with ,asil, 1usil and 9ullas$ @en$ Rathana Thera too left the
eeting stating he had to attend another religious e!ent$ Those who reained
discussed the issue for a further one hour and ,asil said he would respond in fi!e
days$ The deadline ends today$

:;P crisis
- crisis brewed in the :;P o!er the issue of a presidential candidate, in the e!ent a
Presidential Election was called$ -lready Ranil Bickreesinghe has hinted that he
would be the candidate though it is not officially announced$ Earlier, there was
speculation that the party achinery would back Ranil at a future Presidential Poll$
7owe!er, now there sees to be a different trend of thought within the rank and file$
Many are of the opinion that Ranil should not be the party candidate to contest
Mahinda$ They clai Ranil cannot win against Mahinda as the T;- will not support a
candidate who they feel would be defeated$

The essage was directly con!eyed to Ranil at the Aeadership 0ouncil eet by
Aakshan 5iriella and Ra!i 5arunanayake$ The duo pointed out that if Ranil was to be
the candidate it was andatory for Ranil to uster the support of all other political
parties$
5iriella said that after the Aeadership 0ouncil was ade inoperati!e, Ranil had lost the
faith of the Maha 1angha$ 5iriella further said3 4Bhen you appointed 1ajith Preadasa
as the 9eputy Aeader, the edia stopped attacking you$ ,ut still, you ha!e not gi!en
powers for 1ajith to perfor$ 1ajith is yet to recei!e his letter of appointent$ 1o, the
edia has started attacking you again$ &irst, you ust settle these issues$ -fter Tissa
-ttanayake left the Aeadership 0ouncil, it becae inoperati!e$
The Aeadership 0ouncil was ooted by the ,hikkshu Perauna$ ;ow the Perauna
has lost confidence in you$ 7ow can we capaign for the next Presidential Election in
such a background84
E!en before Ranil could reply, Ra!i took the floor$ 7e claied Ranil will not get the
support of any entity$ 0ontinuing Ra!i said3 4Be cannot afford to lose this Presidential
Election$ +f that happens we will ha!e to linger in the 2pposition for any ore years$
+f you are contesting you ust engage the Maha 1angha$ Be also need the support of
@en$ Maduluwawe 1obhitha Thera$ 7e has a strong following$ Be need the support of
the diploatic corps as well$

-lready +ndia has said if Ranil contests, they would not support$ 7ow can we arch
forward in this scenario8 Aet us think of a coon candidate$4 Ranil replied in brief to
say he would announce his decision at the next eeting of the Aeadership 0ouncil$
Ranil%1ajith crisis erupts
+n a crisis ridden :;P, another ugly de!elopent has erupted with Ranil and 1ajith
distancing thesel!es again$ The di!ision appears to be the failure by Ranil to honour
the proises gi!en to 1ajith who was ade the 9eputy Aeader though Ranil is yet to
ake that appointent !alid by letter$
The first proise was to unconditionally bring back those who left the party o!er
differences with Ranil and others who were expelled$ Ranil e!en proised to scrap the
disciplinary in/uiries initiated against soe who were expelled by the party$ The
second proise was to offer a work%plan within the party for 1ajith to perfor his
duties$
Though Ranil had agreed to outline such responsibilities to 1ajith in writing, so far he
had not done it$ The third was to encourage young MPs in the party and enrol the to
the party Borking 0oittee$ &ollowing Ranil's return fro 1ingapore last Thursday,
an eergency eet between hi and 1ajith took place$
Party sources said a dialogue o!er these conditions had taken place between the
duos though no details were ade known$ 1ajith has decided to skip the 6roup )#
eet fixed for next week to discuss plans for the Presidential Election$
Regional security
Bhile 1ri Aanka is focusing on an election year in )#*", +ndia sees deeply interested
in ensuring the regional security in the region with 0hinese expansion in the island
nation neighbour$ +t was in such a backdrop, the +ndian 9efence 1ecretary ade a
hurried brief !isit to 0olobo a fortnight ago to hold talks with President Rajapaksa$
&ollowing those talks, the 1ri Aankan 9efence 1ecretary, 6otabhaya Rajapaksa ade
a !isit to ;ew 9elhi last week$ -t those talks, +ndia agreed to further step up defence
cooperation with 1ri Aanka and the Maldi!es, that included assistance in 'capacity%
building' of respecti!e ared forces offering both training and supply of e/uipent, to
boost ilitary ties with countries in +ndian 2cean to counter 0hina's strategic inroads
in the region, reports fro ;ew 9elhi said$

+ndian 9efence Minister, -run Jaitley, held a eeting last Monday with 1ri Aankan
9efence 1ecretary 6otabhaya Rajapaksa, to discuss plans to expand the bilateral
ilitary relationship between the two countries$ The next day Jaitley held discussions
with Maldi!ian 9efence and ;ational 1ecurity Minister, Mohaed ;a.i, who was on
a three%day trip to +ndia$ ;ew 9elhi has ade elaborate plans with regards to the
regional security bordering her country in -sia and 1outh -sia$ The +ndian 6o!ernent
sent -ir 0hief Marshal, -rup Raha, to Japan the sae day, to brief Japanese Prie
Minister 1hin.o -be and 9efence Minister -kinori Eto$ +ndian Preier ;arendra Modi
!isited Japan in his first bilateral !isit outside the subcontinent upon assuing office$
,oth +ndia and Japan are concerned about 0hina's increasingly asserti!e conduct in
the -sia%Pacific region, under the guise of in!estent and arket trade econoic
policies with saller nations in the region$

+ndia will supply 1ri Aanka two na!al offshore patrol !essels and other ilitary
e/uipent$ +ndia earlier pro!ided )? A%<# guns, )? battle%field sur!eillance radars, **
:1&M radars, four +ndra%++ radars and *# ine%protected !ehicles to the 1ri Aankan
defence establishent$ -t present, nearly E## to C## 1ri Aankan ilitary personnel are
trained in +ndian ilitary establishents annually, despite pressure ounted by the
politicians in the 1outhern +ndian 1tate of Tail ;adu$ +n the bid to stabili.e +ndian
power in the 1outh -sian region, +ndia is supplying 9hru! ad!anced light helicopters
'-A7( and other hardware to the Maldi!es, in addition to regular warships and 9ornier
reconnaissance aircraft to undertake aritie patrols and sur!eillance operations$

0hina in recent years has forged close links with both 1ri Aanka and Maldi!es, to
proote passage for Maritie 1ilk Route co!ering countries like Myanar,
,angladesh, Mauritius and 1eychelles$ Aast week +ndia expressed concern to
0olobo o!er a 0hinese Type #>C '1ong%class' subarine docked at the 0olobo
+nternational 0ontainer Terinal, which is funded by 0hina, ahead of 0hinese
President Fi Jingping's !isit to 1ri Aanka$ +ndia !iews that the 0hinese na!y is fast
growing into a potent 'blue%water' force capable of long%range deployents aking its
presence in close range to 1outh -sian countries$
5shenuka and 6ene!a
-fter her presence in the contro!ersial episode in!ol!ing 1ajin de @ass 6unawardena
and 0hris ;onis in ;ew Dork, External -ffairs Ministry 1ecretary, 5shenuka
1ene!iratne, was in the lielight again last week when the edia highlighted her
alleged in!ol!eent in the award of a contract to reno!ate the official residence of 1ri
Aanka's peranent representati!e to 6ene!a in )##C$

The electronic edia went to town last week on this issue, which claied, that the
contract had been awarded to a person who had links with the ATTE$ +t claied the
1wiss Police had arrested the owner of that contracted copany for alleged ATTE
acti!ities$
&ollowing the exposure of this contract o!er the electronic edia, the following
inforation was released to the edia, which cleared 5shenuka of any in!ol!eent in
the episode as the contract had been awarded on " ;o!eber )##C, whereas
5shenuka had arri!ed in 6ene!a only on *" ;o!eber )##C$ The details are as
follows3 4Extensi!e publicity has been gi!en during the last few days to a series of
allegations that Ms$ 5shenuka 1ene!iratne, 1ecretary to the Ministry of External
-ffairs, has been guilty of ipropriety in connection with the award of a contract for the
reno!ation of the official residence of the peranent representati!e of 1ri Aanka in
6ene!a in )##C$The attept has also been ade to heighten the gra!ity of the
allegation by the assertion that the contract was awarded to a copany, the owner of
which was arrested by the 1wiss Police for ATTE%connected acti!ities$ Bhile wrong%
doing should certainly not go unpunished, it is iportant to ensure that officials
perforing their public duty in good faith are accorded legitiate protection$ This is so,
especially when they ha!e liited opportunity to defend thesel!es$ :nfounded and
reckless allegations are bound to ha!e an ad!erse effect on orale$ The clearest
exaple of this is the reference, in connection with the award of the contract, to a
personality in!ol!ed in acti!ities of the ATTE$

The facts are /uite different$ Mr$ :$ Jauhar, 7ead of 0hancery of the 1ri Aanka Mission
in 6ene!a at the tie, addressed a letter on *) -pril )#*) to Mr$ Pierre%D!es
7uguenin, of the 1wiss &ederal +ntelligence 1er!ice, in the following tersG 4+ a
writing to you seeking your assistance to find inforation about a 1ri Aankan
expatriate of Tail origin with regard to his alleged affiliation to the Aiberation Tigers of
Tail Eela ;etwork$ The 1ri Aanka Mission in 6ene!a obtained the ser!ices of the
1hei!a Hug of Hurich, owned by Mr$ P$T$ Thurairajah in ;o!eber )##C to reno!ate the
official residence of the -bassador of 1ri Aanka to the :;$

Be ha!e seen an internet posting alleging that Mr$ Thurairajah is an ATTE eber,
and he was aong those who were arrested by the 1wiss Police during a crackdown
on oney laundering by the ATTE$+ would appreciate !ery uch if you could assist e
to find this inforation before y departure to 1ri Aanka after copletion of y tour of
duty in 6ene!a, by 1aturday *? -pri*)#*)$4
7uguenin, on )< -pril )#*), responded to Jauhar as followsG 4&ollowing your re/uest, +
can infor you that there is no indication that the indi!idual entioned in your
essage would ha!e been arrested by the 1wiss Police, or that he would be linked to
the organi.ation entioned in your eail$4+t would see, then, those three years after
the contract was perfored, the 1wiss &ederal +ntelligence 1er!ice had no inforation
that the owner of the copany was arrested or e!en that he had any link to the ATTE$
-s for the alleged role of Mrs$ 1ene!iratne in this atter, the se/uence of e!ents,
ascertained fro docuents in the possession of this Ministry, is conclusi!e$

The Procureent 0oittee appro!ed the award of the contract on " ;o!eber
)##C$ Mrs$ 1ene!iratne, howe!er, arri!ed in 6ene!a and assued duties only on *"
;o!eber$ -ll atters pertaining to the contract had been finali.ed prior to her arri!al
in 6ene!a, and it is absolutely clear that she had no in!ol!eent in the atter at all$ +t
is a atter for deep regret that the gra!est of allegations should ha!e been hurled
against a senior public official with such blatant irresponsibility and with so little regard
for the truth4$

6o!t$ hires another PR fir
-n international report last week re!ealed the 6o!ernent of 1ri Aanka has hired its
eighth Bashington fir this year as it awaits the results of a :nited ;ations huan
rights in!estigation into alleged war cries$ +t naed a fir identified as Ae!icka sub
contractor through Aiberty +nternational 6roup, a go!ernent affairs fir owned by
forer Rep$ 0onnie Mack 'R%&la$(, to represent the sei%autonoous 0entral ,ank of
1ri Aanka$

The report noted3 4Ae!ick's ission is to utili.e counications supported ad!ocacy to
tell 1ri Aanka's aa.ing story of reco!ery after a decades'%long ci!il war against a
brutal terrorist organi.ation, as well as to assist the 0entral ,ank in counicating
opportunities for trade and in!estent between our two nations,4 Mark +rion, President
of Ae!ick, said in a stateent$

-ccording to the report, the work by Ae!ick will include 4outreach to :1 edia, opinion
leaders and possibly :1 officials concerning issues of iportance to the client,
including assisting in establishing additional relations between the 0entral ,ank of 1ri
Aanka and the :nited 1tates 6o!ernent,4 according to disclosure docuents posted
on Thursday$ Mack, who now also works at Ae!ick, originally signed up the 0entral
,ank as a client in -ugust$ 0ontract docuents say the representation is needed
because, 4the current international edia focus on 1ri Aanka is unbalanced,4
according to disclosures by Aiberty +nternational 6roup to the Justice 9epartent
under the &oreign -gent Registration -ct '&-R-($ The contract with Aiberty
+nternational 6roup I set to last fro -ugust )#*? to the end of next July I is worth
:1J <=#,###$ Ae!ick is charging a onthly retainer of :1J =#,###, according to the
subcontract$

The 9eocratic 1ocialist Republic of 1ri Aanka has hired six Bashington firs since
May, including RKap3R Partners, Madison 6roup and ,eltway 6o!ernent
1trategies$ The :nited ;ations 7uan Rights 0ouncil !oted in March to in!estigate
the 1ri Aankan go!ernent and the opposing rebel group, the Tail Tigers, for
allegations of coitting war cries during a ci!il war that ended in )##C$

Aeaders in 1ri Aanka had strongly opposed the :; resolution, saying that it was
4politically oti!ated$4 The :nited 1tates had been a leading proponent of the
resolutions, calling for accountability in the wake of the ci!il war that waged for nearly
three decades, in which at least *##,### people died and both sides are alleged to
ha!e coitted atrocities$ 9uring the final onths of the conflict, the go!ernent
allegedly killed thousands of ci!ilians I a charge it disputes$ 4+t is necessary to ha!e a
re%calibration of :1 policy, based on a wider and fairer inforation base, leading to a
ulti%diensional and ore balanced engageent with 1ri Aanka,4 according to &-R-
docuents filed by Aiberty +nternational 6roup in -ugust, the stateent added$