- written by AFP
- Thursday, 17 January 2013 00:00
COLOMBO — His sacking of Sri Lanka’s chief
justice may have prompted new international condemnation, but analysts say
President Mahinda Rajapakse is not merely impervious to foreign criticism — he
thrives off it.
Already cold-shouldered by the
West after the bloody end to an ethnic conflict, Rajapakse drew further flak
this weekend by sealing the impeachment of Shirani Bandaranayake and then
installing a government adviser in her place as the country’s most senior
judge.
The US State Department said
the impeachment “raises serious questions about the separation of powers in Sri
Lanka, which is a fundamental tenet of a healthy democracy.”
The Commonwealth, the European Union and former colonial power Britain have also weighed in against Colombo.
The Commonwealth, the European Union and former colonial power Britain have also weighed in against Colombo.
But according to Gareth Price,
a senior research fellow at the London-based Chatham House think-tank, Sri
Lanka pays little heed to the chorus of disapproval from Western capitals as it
continues to receive crucial support from China.
“Given that Western criticism
of the army’s actions at the end of the civil war had little impact on the
government, it is unlikely to worry about the response to the impeachment,”
Price told AFP.
Tamil politician Dharmalingam
Sithadthan said that far from weakening him, the president was strengthened by
such criticism.
“He projects foreign powers as
the new enemy of the state and he is fighting them,” Sithadthan told AFP. “All
this international criticism helps him in a big way to increase his support
locally.”
Colombo has rejected allegations
that up to 40,000 civilians were killed by security forces in the final months
of a no-holds-barred offensive that ended a 37-year Tamil separatist war that
had claimed about 100,000 lives.
Despite being censured by the
UN Human Rights Council, Rajapakse’s electoral showing has gone from strength
to strength and his United People’s Freedom Alliance now has more than
two-thirds of the seats in parliament.
It also runs more than 80
percent of the municipal and urban councils while even one-time opponents have
struck coalition deals or crossed over to the UPFA.
With the political opposition
now so weak, Rajapakse has been able to brush aside criticism from other
institutions such as the clergy and judiciary.
Buddhist and Catholic leaders
had pleaded with Rajapakse not to go ahead with Bandaranayake’s impeachment and
a succession of court rulings deemed the whole process unconstitutional.
Rajapakse however insisted he
was acting in line with the constitution.
Even the army, once one of the most powerful institutions in the country, has been effectively silenced since its former chief Sarath Fonseka landed himself behind bars after mounting a 2010 presidential challenge to Rajapakse.
Even the army, once one of the most powerful institutions in the country, has been effectively silenced since its former chief Sarath Fonseka landed himself behind bars after mounting a 2010 presidential challenge to Rajapakse.
“President Rajapakse and his
government is like a bulldozer without brakes,” the author and political
commentator Victor Ivan told AFP.
“It demolishes everything in
its path.”
The president’s dominance of
the political scene is so absolute that he has installed three of his brothers
in key posts.
His eldest brother Chamal is
parliament speaker, Gotabhaya is defense secretary and his younger brother
Basil is the economy minister.
The drive to impeach
Bandaranayake began shortly after she ruled against transferring more powers to
Basil’s ministry.
The president’s eldest son Namal
is also a political player, serving as a lawmaker and heading up a government
youth organization.
Price said while there was a
danger of public opinion turning against the government, the opposition was
deeply divided and unable to mount any credible challenge.
The government had also
calculated that “Western governments have much higher priorities elsewhere at
the moment,” Price added.
So far no government has
suggested imposing sanctions on Sri Lanka or warning off its citizens from
travelling to its sun-kissed beaches.
The number of tourists heading
to Sri Lanka exceeded a million in 2012 and while the economy saw a slight
slowdown, it still recorded an annual growth rate of 7.2 percent.
