“The Argalaya must win for the system to change” -Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka

• The President is under pressure because he has to look into the needs of the MPs who voted in his favour
• He (Wickremesinghe) has been seated there thanks to the millions of people who forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and resign
• His (Wickremesinghe’s) only interest is safeguarding the Rajapaksas; which is why the Rajapaksas gave him the seat to ensure their security
• Many educated people and professionals suggest that an APG should be formed and the Argalaya must be ended. But I oppose that view
• Going with my conscience I cannot say that everybody has clean slates in my Party

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka recently said in Parliament that he and his party would join a final battle to remove corrupt rulers from power on August 9. However Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) disassociated itself from Fonseka’s stance.

Having played a pivotal role in defeating the LTTE 13 years ago, Fonseka entered active politics by contesting the 2010 Presidential Election, in which he lost to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.  Later he join the United National Party (UNP) but leaving it he became the Chairman of the SJB,  the breakaway party of the UNP.

He was a leading proponent in the recent Aragalaya (struggle), which saw the downfall of the disgraceful Rajapaksa Dynasty from Sri Lankan politics, and was perhaps the only politician who was received warmly by the Aragalaya youth whenever he visited the protest sites to encourage them. Now he wants Sri Lankans from all parts of the country to converge in Colombo on August 9 to continue the ‘Aragalaya’ campaign until the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government is toppled. However, this has put Fonseka on a collision course with his own Party; which has distanced itself from his call for a mass gathering in Colombo on August 9. The party has indicated that it is ready to offer support to President Wickremesinghe.

The Daily Mirror caught up with Field Marshal Fonseka to discuss his plans for August 9 and other topics of interest. 

Excerpts:

QYou had allegedly opposed the SJB supporting Dullas Alahapperuma at the Parliamentary Presidential Election. In hindsight, do you think that you or Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa would have stood a better chance?

On principle, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa is my leader. The government, anyway, fielded their candidate. We, as the opposition, had 51 members. So we could have fielded our own candidate. Instead, another person with a group of 30 came to our side and became the candidate. Earlier, our members said he would be coming with 60 members, but I never believed it. If a group comes from the other side, they can support us as we are the opposition. The type of result I anticipated was the final result. Dullas Alahapperuma had only 12 members with him. Why should we support a candidate coming from the side of the government? Practically, my stance was correct; it is not that I have anything against Dullas Alahapperuma, but we are the leading opposition. Even to lose, we should have contested, in my opinion. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka had only three votes, but he contested. So, I do not think that we made the right move.  

QYou were the first to be invited by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to become the Premier. Why didn’t you accept it at that time, and do you regret that decision now?

I do not regret it. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa must be regretting what had happened. Had he accepted what I recommended at that time, he would have been the President today. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wanted me to take up the position immediately. But my first question was, why not Sajith Premadasa? But Gotabaya declined it as Sajith Premadasa’s main condition was Gotabaya’s resignation.

So, I accepted the offer, but I laid down my conditions. First, as per the original 19th amendment, the President shouldn’t have any ministry under him. But he wanted to keep the defence ministry under him; I opposed it as people were demanding his resignation, and he needed to take steps to relinquish power. Had it been the case, I could have convinced people and made the changes we all needed. 

As per my word, he announced in the evening, but before that, he said he would send me a draft before the announcement. However, that draft never surfced. When I called him back, he said that Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chamal Rajapaksa feared the offer when he had told them about the arrangement. Later, jokingly, he said, “Sarath, I was also scared when you proposed the 19th amendment, and to hand over the defence and public security ministries.”

After about two hours of my meeting with him, current president Wickremesinghe met with Gotabaya. Had he gone on with the proposed arrangement and Gotabaya would be the President today and the country would have also emerged with favourable arrangements. I would have pleaded and appealed to the people. 

QIn the alternative, do you think Sajith Premadasa should have accepted the Premier Post? Perhaps he would have been President by now?

He did not accept the post of premier because he was adamant that Gotabaya should leave. His stance was different to the stance and the proposals I made. But I told Sajith Premadasa to inform the country that, whether it be the Presidency, Premiership or the cabinet, we were ready to accept responsibility with a minority for at least one year. We have had minority governments in the past. After the 2015 presidential election, there was a minority government of 44 MPs for one year. We could have done it, but Sajith did not like it; they said they wanted the majority. So there was a clash of opinions. 

QWhat is your perception of new President Ranil Wickremesinghe? Do you subscribe to the view that he is a proxy of the Rajapaksas and is doing their bidding by suppressing the Aragalaya?

To start with, Ranil Wickremesinghe never had the mandate of the people. He was defeated in the General Elections and entered the parliament via the national list. And now, he has become the Head of State; which is highly unethical. Although 134 MPs- half of them being rogues-voted for him it is unethical for him to be seated there. So, naturally, the President is under pressure because he has to look into the needs of the MPs who voted in his favour.

Apart from that, within twelve hours of his swearing-in as President, he started suppressing the people.  He (Wickremesinghe) has been seated there thanks to the millions of people who forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and resign, and now it is visible the manner in which he pays gratitude to the people. We cannot accept the Head of State behaving in such a manner, suppressing the people of the Aragalaya by issuing warrants and arresting them. He cannot treat and brand people like terrorists. It is obvious that he does not work for the people’s interests.
In addition, he was the Prime Minister six times, but the country did not progress in any way; the rupee never appreciated. His (Wickremesinghe’s) only interest is safeguarding the Rajapaksas; which is why the Rajapaksas gave him the seat to ensure their security. 

QThe President has called for an All-Party Government (APG), but also wants his Party to become an ally of the SLPP. Is an APG the solution to the present crisis?

Many educated people and professionals suggest that an APG should be formed and the Argalaya must be ended. But I oppose that view. When we look at what an APG will be like, there are 11 parties, including Wimal Weerawansa’s Party. Moreover, there are three-wheel parties with only two to three members affiliated with the SLPP. All these parties will have to be included while formulating an APG. 

With that, Maithripala Sirisena, Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Johnston Fernando, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, and Rohitha Abeygunawardena will all be powerful Ministers. These are the very politicians that the people are rejecting.

On the other side, going with my conscience, I cannot say that everybody has clean slates in my Party. So, can these people bring the most needed change which people are yearning for? So, an APG is not a solution. 

QYou have called on the people to begin a ceaseless struggle from August 9 against the present government until it is toppled. Is this your opinion, or do you have the backing of the SJB and other opposition parties for this campaign? Aren’t people tired of protests now?

I am neither the leader nor the strategist of the Aragalaya. I do not conduct operations in the Aragalaya. But my blessings are with the Aragalaya; I have great appreciation and respect for all that they have done up to now. At the same time, I feel that there is some more to be done by the Aragalaya; the mission has not yet ended. Even the IUSF convener, Wasantha Mudalige, said that people should flock again on August 9 to continue the struggle. Not only him, but many prominent figures who are non-political called on for the Aragalaya to continue because ousting Ranil Wickremesinghe was also a central component in the Aragalaya. With all these in mind, I said that the ceaseless struggle must be carried out again starting on August 9. There is no hard and fast rule that this must be done on August 9 because many of the leading figures in the Aragalaya have been arrested. 

The SJB was officially supporting the Argalaya. So, I believe that the SJB will continue to do so as parties shouldn’t change their policies at a whim. I believe that this is the parties’ intention, and that they would back this. I am ready to take the initiative.  

QWill people come on Aug 9 in the face of a Government crackdown on protests?

President Ranil Wickremesinghe will learn a lesson for his life if he keeps suppressing the people. I want to give a message to the people. Even if Ranil Wickremesinghe can provide fuel, gas, milk powder, and electricity, the life pattern of the citizens will never improve. It is implausible to bring down the electricity bills as well. Even when the queues disappear, lives will never return to normalcy with the soaring cost of living. 

It is disappointing to hear that some upper-class people believe that if the queues disappear and the Aragalaya stops, the country will be back to normal. That is an unfortunate situation. I aspire to see the per capita income of this country be $15,000 – $20,000, and this is not an unattainable income like in Singapore and USA, where the per capita income exceeds $60,000. This is because I aspire to see people living comfortable lives. Around 25% of schools lack sanitary facilities. In such a background, if we have people who think that the President’s house is untouchable, the PM’S office must be safe, and that their antiques must be secure, how can the country move forward with this set of ideologies? With all those being safe, the country is not safe. 

Movements that have won victories have made millions of sacrifices. Unfortunately, we cannot have the cake and eat it, too. So, if people think that the Aragalaya must stop and the President’s house must be safe, we will face grave consequences for generations to come.  

QYou have also called on the Security Forces and Police not to act against unarmed protestors. But will they do so?

According to the law, it is unethical to shoot unarmed protesters. It is also unethical to assault unarmed protesters with batons and poles. On top of it all, the government is being unethical by pushing the military forces into a difficult situation. These are the duties of the police, but the government has deployed the army for their duties. If the police and the military are incapable of controlling the situation, that means the people have recorded the victory. It means that the current government should step down. 

The Army must also be vigilant on what is right and wrong; nowhere in the world do troops protect corrupt politicians by attacking unarmed people who are crying for the sake of their country. The Army must know where to draw the line; they get paid from taxpayers’ money, so their first priority must be safeguarding the people.    

Q What, in your opinion is the best solution now? Is it a General Election?

There are a lot of issues with regard to going for a general election. If the cost for a general election last year was Rs. 25 million, the cost for one this year would at least rise to Rs. 100 million. The Election Commissioner has said that if we are to have an election we would have to distribute ballot papers in fuel queues. It is easy for some to propose a general election, but that is impractical at the ground level right now. 

QSo, what do you propose?

We as a country are going down the drain. Just because we must adhere to and safeguard the constitution, we cannot let the same political culture and system be carried forward. The last President was ousted not per the constitution, so the government can and will be ousted similarly. We will be in a kettle of fish. The Aragalaya must win for the system to change. These politicians have been rejected. Even if we send all of them home, another set would come from the national list per the constitution. Then again, per my previous argument, the last President wasn’t forced to go home as per the constitution. Thus we have to find workable solutions to meet people’s aspirations.  

QWhat are the international ramifications of the government’s crackdown on protesters? Will this jeopardise our chances of obtaining IMF and other foreign aid at this crucial juncture?

The IMF requires political stability from us, so political stability must come with what we have discussed above. Sending one man out and bringing in another man from the same lot cannot help us in any way to move forward as a country. The lasting stability that we and the IMF seek cannot be achieved in this manner.

There are two ways to change the system. The first is the Aragalaya, although the Colombo upper class is more worried about people having a bath in the President’s pool. And as for the second one, as per my experience in the Army, we can change things easily if the right man sits on the top. I made the Army victorious not from a bottom-up approach, but a top-down approach.