by Our Correspondent in Colombo
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called on the President to immediately remove all state authority allegedly being exercised from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) headquarters in Pelawatta and restore power to Parliament. Speaking on December 3 in Colombo during a meeting with political party leaders and representatives, Wickremesinghe said the President must summon party leaders without delay and take corrective action.
He claimed that the JVP’s political committee in Pelawatta is currently functioning as a parallel center of state authority. According to Wickremesinghe, both the President’s Office and the Prime Minister’s Office lack disaster operations facilities, while the JVP headquarters has effectively become the main hub for national disaster response. The discussion was held at his Mal Road political office to address the country’s worsening disaster situation.
Wickremesinghe said that although workshops and seminars were held in 2025 to educate government institutions on the National Disaster Management Plan 2023–2030, the Disaster Management Act was not implemented on November 27, the day before Cyclone Ditwah’s catastrophic impact. He said the decision to declare Friday, November 28, a public holiday paralyzed all departments assigned to the disaster plan. He accused the government of politicizing aid distribution and creating a parallel disaster fund outside Parliament, the Cabinet, and the Disaster Management Center.
He said there had been no strategy to respond to the disaster, no plans for rehabilitation, and no emergency measures such as regulating the sale of meat, fish, and eggs. Due to what he described as government inexperience, he recommended that Parliament immediately appoint an oversight committee on disaster management and reconstruction, chaired by an experienced MP such as Kabir Hashim, with equal representation from government and opposition members.
According to Wickremesinghe, responsibility for post-disaster normalization and reconstruction must be assigned to Parliament, the Cabinet, and the Disaster Management Center, in line with constitutional provisions. He proposed that the oversight committee establish an economic unit to assess short- and long-term economic consequences. He also called for a parliamentary select committee, headed by an opposition MP, to investigate failures in disaster management related to November 28 and deliver a report within six months.
Wickremesinghe said relief and reconstruction at district level should be entrusted to district secretaries, who must report directly to the Disaster Management Center. He insisted political actors and JVP cadres be removed from disaster operations. He urged the government to suspend the national budget temporarily and present a new one in January 2026 after assessing the full extent of damage.
He warned that foreign assistance for reconstruction is unlikely in the short or medium term, citing economic crises in the UK and EU, U.S. refusal to provide reconstruction aid, and the diversion of funds toward the war in Ukraine. He said Sri Lanka, alongside Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, had been severely affected by the weather pattern and should seek long-term concessional loans from ADB, AIIB, JBIC, and KOICA, while India could support railway reconstruction. He emphasized the need to revive Sri Lanka’s climate change policy with a strong focus on landslides.
Referring to recent Supreme Court rulings, Wickremesinghe said negligence, constitutional violations, and breaches of public trust had been clearly established. He warned that economic losses and reconstruction costs could exceed 15% of GDP and that IMF conditions would reduce the primary balance from 2.3% to 2%, leaving the country without sufficient resources for full recovery unless GDP growth reaches at least 7% annually.
He proposed a national meeting of religious and political leaders, chaired initially by the four Mahanayake Theros, to guide reforms of social and institutional structures. He suggested involving archbishops and cardinals, with Karu Jayasuriya serving as a convener alongside a government-appointed counterpart. He said Articles 9 and 10 of the Constitution should be reaffirmed and that individuals acceptable to the Mahanayake Theros be appointed to lead the Ministry of Buddhasasana, its secretariat, and the Department of Buddhist Affairs. He said the affairs of temples and shrines must remain free from interference and recommended that white attire be worn at state ceremonies held in major Buddhist temples.
He also proposed appointing a Minister for Hindu Affairs, a ministry secretary, and a director following consultations with Hindu leaders. Concluding his remarks, Wickremesinghe said the ultimate cause of the disaster was the violation of the Constitution, which he argued had allowed the erosion of lawful authority and the breakdown of national governance.
