Coup d’etat III, aborted on January 9, 2015? | Daily News

Coup d’etat III, aborted on January 9, 2015?

The January 8 revolution was sparked by a remarkably provoked electorate that effectively challenged the Rajapaksa’s repressive regime.

There had been a holdup in the release of the election results in the wee hours of January 9 morning. Unconfirmed reports stated that announcement of results had been suspended until further notice. Rumours doing rounds said that there had been some STF men rounding the D.S. Senanayake College counting centre. Did they hatch a conspiracy to subvert the declaration of the presidential election results if President Mahinda Rajapaksa was losing? Was there a plan to seize power after creating an emergency situation on the pretext of that there had been violence in the country.

However, later it was revealed that everything was normal there and that there had been no order from the Commissioner to postpone the announcement of election results, but only a short break was allowed to the staff. Unofficial information confirmed that Maithripala Sirisena was winning the elections; and when the official election results were announced finally, Maithripala Sirisena had won comfortably by over 400,000 votes.

The alleged coup attempt by Mahinda Rajapaksa was the talk of the town. People were curious, rumour mongers had a field day and gave different interpretations questioning as to why the outgoing Rajapaksa had summoned the Chief Justice Mohan Peiris, the IGP and the three Service Commanders and the Attorney General to Temple Trees. What were they doing at Temple Trees while the results were being announced? The perception of the majority was that President Rajapaksa had conspired to disrespect the verdict of the voter and continue to run the state under a military junta headed by him. In the meantime, social media websites went to town highlighting various stories about the suspected coup attempt. Details of the entire plan of the government; names of high-ranking officers in important places, military officers, who had been given orders to surround strategic locations in the city with their armed guards were divulged through these websites.

Final outcome

Three-fourths of the results are already released, and half of the balance unofficially leaked out and picked up by his agents, the President was certain about the final outcome when he decided to speak to Ranil Wickremesinghe around 3.00 am. With confidential reports receiving, especially that of Nuwara-Eliya where the government had lost by such a massive majority, it became obvious that Rajapaksa was heading for a rout.

President Rajapaksa had told Wickremesinghe that he wished to ‘abdicate’ even before the final result was issued, as it was quite evident that informal declaration of results proved that the margin was too big to match. MR wanted Wickremesinghe to rush to Temple Trees and take over responsibilities until official oath taking by the Winner, and also arrange a helicopter for him to fly to his hometown in Tangalle. According to social media, the government had decided to put into action an alternative plan which it devised well ahead of Election so that they could continue to stay in power. Commandos had been sent to the office of Election Commissioner to throw them out and take over the office, but the Army Commander and Attorney General had refused to carry out illegal orders in spite of CJ Mohan Peiris who had been backing the President had stated the order was legal.

Then, according to other rumour mongers, the opposition had got into action and dispatched Ranil Wicremesinghe to Temple Trees thus averting a conspiracy to set up an undemocratic form of a junta. After the new president was sworn in, the state media made a big hue and cry about the ‘conspiracy by the Rajapaksas’. Lies and half-truths, evidence full of gossip and hearsay went down well with the public as the truth. Minister, Mangala Samaraweera made a complaint to the IGP, which was forwarded to the CID for investigation. Allegations were levelled mainly against Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the former Defence Secretary. The police commenced investigations by interrogating most of the politicians present at Temple Trees on that ‘fateful’ morning when the alleged coup was hatched. CID sleuths recording statements from witnesses that were present at TT, that included the Chief Justice and Attorney General, they found everybody just denying any knowledge of a conspiracy.

The Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Elections had in fact totally denied allegations of an attempted coup d’e’tat that had been spread by numerous social media websites along with some electronic and print media. No arrests were made, as the independent team of investigators could not find an iota of evidence to implicate any of the Rajapaksa brothers or their close alleys in the former regime. CID closed the case.

Real coup and Fax Pas in the past

56 years ago on January 27, 1962, the IGP was relaxing at the Orient Club, Colombo, when the director, CID, S. A. Dissanayake called him with the disturbing news that a Coup d’e’tat had been designed to overthrow the SLFP government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike exactly that night. Dissanayake further informed the IGP that the conspirators included certain senior police and military officers. The operation was codenamed ‘Holdfast.’

The IGP immediately called the Superintendent of Police Stanley Senanayake to the Orient Club. During this emergency meeting, Senanayake confirmed information that such a coup was being planned.

Democratically elected govt.

Abeykoon and Senanayake decided the matter had to be brought to the immediate notice of Deputy Defence Minister Felix Dias Bandaranaike; thus averted the only recorded Coup against a democratically elected government. 11 conspirators were found guilty and sentenced, to be rescued by Privy Council.

The other Coup can be described as a wretched attempt by J R Jayewardene in 1966, the State Minister in the Dudley Senanayake government of 1965. The objective of this exercise presumably was either to block the rapid transformation of religious power within the Army in favour of Buddhist officers or the suspicion that was growing over the politically backed recruitments and promotions initiated through the commander, Richard Udugama who was a relative of Bandaranaike’s.

The well-known Buddhist monk, Ven Henpitagedara Gnanaseeha Maha Nayaka Thera had been a staunch supporter of the Bandaranaikes. He was accused as number one conspirator along with a team of lower ranked petty army men the highest being a captain. ‘Bathroom coup’ was the name coined by the scribes of the day to denote the alleged ‘coup’ in 1966.

The UNP government made maximum to fix a few officers, who, they believed were antagonistic towards them. The Army Commander Major General Richard Udugama, a relative of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the Leader of Opposition and ex-CCS officer, N Q Dias, who served as Secretary to Ministry of Defence were the only men of some standing that were taken in for questioning.

In the absence of Prime Minister, Dudley Senanayake, the acting head of Cabinet and State Minister J R Jayewardene handled the matter by appointing a team of hand-picked Policemen with instructions to fabricate evidence ‘by hook or by crook’. “…These unsatisfactory features in the evidence of each of the officers of the interrogating team do not enable us to accept with confidence their evidence as to the reasons for the somersault of the 7th accused who had on more than one earlier occasion been unsuccessfully interrogated.”- [excerpts from judgement]

The whole episode proved to be a faux pas; all accused were acquitted by the Trial at Bar, as the jury unanimously declared them not guilty. 


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