The recent anti-immigration protests in London yet again displayed the power of social media. Organisers mustered as many as 150,000 people to demand that the UK take tangible measures to curb illegal immigration. Such a massive gathering wouldn’t have been possible without vigorous social media campaigns. It would be pertinent to mention that American social media platforms can be used to promote anti-American agendas as well.
The recent unprecedented events in Nepal underscored the need for a reappraisal of developments in Pakistan (2020), Sri Lanka (2022) as well as Bangladesh (2024). The change of governments in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal revealed intensification of external interventions under various pretexts. Some have pointed the finger at the US for causing regime change. Of the four instances, the overthrowing of Nepal government is the first since the last presidential election that brought back Donald Trump into power for a second term last January.
The collapse of Premier K.P. Sharma Oli’s government, within 48 hours, as the Army turned a blind eye to unprecedented developments, and the election of Nepal’s former Chief Justice, Sushila Karki, highlighted the overall failure of those responsible for the law and order situation. Oli’s administration appeared to have totally ignored the Pakistani and Sri Lanka crises in 2020 and 2022 hence the absence of any strategy, whatsoever, to meet the challenge.
The media credited Generation Z with the operation that caused the downfall of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). Interested parties justified the high profile and utterly violent operation on the banning of 26 major social media platforms, citing non-compliance with registration requirements.
The way well-organised Nepali protesters overwhelmed the lightly armed police, guarding Parliament, and set it ablaze, exposed the lie that people took to the streets, spontaneously, against the ban on social media platforms. The destruction of Parliament took place in spite of Premier Oli having given up office, after having lifted the ban on social media. They also attacked the Supreme Court and Prime Minister’s office complex. Obviously, there was a hand working, not so mysteriously, from behind the scene, as we saw in Sri Lanka. For example, in our case someone even paid for train tickets for a packed train load of protesters to come to Colombo from Kandy to storm the Presidential palace, with others who were already here, on May 22, 2022.
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In Nepal, the protesters also set fire to politicians’ homes and freed prisoners from jails, including arrested politician and ex-Minister Rabi Lamichhane of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). Such an operation couldn’t have been launched over a sudden social media ban. Instead, they must have planned that action over a period of time, taking into consideration various factors, including the reaction of the Nepali military.
The common denominator was that in all such successful turmoil, in all four countries, the protesters behaved in a deranged manner, so what was the drug that was administered for usually peaceful people to behave as if they were out of their minds, so spontaneously?
Bravo Ranil
Former President and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, obviously at the tail end of his career, with nothing to lose, except for his life, had no hesitation in directly alleging US social media platforms of overthrowing governments. Wickremesinghe’s statement, issued close on the heels of Premier Oli’s resignation and the destruction of the Nepali Parliament, on 09 September, made direct reference to a couple of US social media platforms. Wickremesinghe, no stranger to controversy, explained how American-owned media companies, such as Google, Facebook and YouTube, caused and exploited political turmoil to overthrow governments. But no other Sri Lankan political party commented on the overthrowing of the Nepali government.
The failure on the part of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to, at least ,draw parallels between Nepal and Sri Lanka, is a mystery. That party, having suffered debilitating setbacks at presidential and parliamentary polls in September and November, 2024, respectively, seems to be still struggling to cope up with the developing situations, both here and abroad.
The SLPP parliamentary group leader Namal Rajapaksa owed a dwindling support base, at least a plausible explanation as to the continuing deterioration of the party.
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The former ruling party has been overwhelmed by the recent Supreme Court determination pertaining to petitions filed against the Presidents’ Entitlements (Repeal Bill) that compelled twice President Mahinda Rajapaksa to give up his official bungalow at Wijerama Mawatha.
In spite of repeatedly alleging that the National People’s Power (NPP) government enacted that particular Bill at the behest of the Tamil Diaspora and the LTTE rump, the SLPP refrained from voting against it. The Namal Rajapaksa-led three-member parliamentary group skipped the vote on the Presidents’ Entitlements (Repeal Bill) though the party is on record as having alleged that the Tamil Diaspora and the LTTE-rump had a hand in the 2022 protest campaign that forced wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of President’s Office.
Here in Colombo, well-organised protesters, with meticulous intelligence, hit back hard at the government, the same night following the Temple Trees leadership possibly ordering a foolish attack on those camping at Galle Face, whereas in Kathmandu, Nepalese violently reacted to the killing of nearly two dozen of their own on the first day of the protest. But setting ablaze Parliament and causing serious damages to the country’s Supreme Court and Prime Minister’s Office complex seem to have been meticulously planned.
Sri Lankan protesters, too, acted in military-style as they torched properties belonging to politicians, killed one SLPP lawmaker, along with his police bodyguard, on 09 May, 2022, and destroyed the then acting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private residence at Kollupitiya, in Jyly, 2922.
Wickremesinghe has pointed fingers at a section of the media, and social media, for making him a target. Referring to the overthrowing of the Nepali government, Wickremesinghe emphasised that the role social media platforms played shouldn’t be underestimated.
Wickremesinghe is on record as having said that he was asked to give up the premiership the day after protesters set his house ablaze on 09 July, 2022. The UNP leader said so at an event to mark the 40th anniversary of the International Democrats Union (IDU) in London. Wickremesinghe made his revelation against the backdrop of an investigative books published by National Freedom Front (NFF) leader MP Wimal Weerawansa and distinguished writer Sena Thoradeniya. They directly accused the US of spearheading the regime change operation here. They discussed the role played by US Ambassador Julie Chung in the overall project. Interestingly she is still here directing operations even though her term expired many moons ago, in 2023. In the following year, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena inadvertently confirmed claims of external intervention but he conveniently stopped short of making direct reference to the US.
Imran Khan’s predicament
Recently, RT reported how Russian pranksters tricked former USAID Chief Samantha Power to disclose clandestine funding operations in the former Soviet Republic Moldova.
Power, during a conversation with Russian pranksters, admitted that USAID provided tens of millions of dollars in support of its pro-EU President Maia Sandu.
Speaking to the notorious duo Vovan and Lexus, who deceived Power, the former US official recalled how, under her leadership, USAID made “unprecedented investments” in Moldova and “massively” expanded its presence in the country.
Power recalled that in the USAID supplementals designated for Ukraine, there was always “tens of millions of dollars” earmarked for Moldova and noted that these funds “went much more further in Moldova than in Ukraine” given the country’s small size.
Such disclosures made it easier for the public to understand US operations here. Let us examine the circumstances leading to popular Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s removal in 2020. Khan earned the wrath of the US for visiting Moscow in February 2020 in the immediate aftermath of the massive eruption of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Obviously the US believed Khan should have called off his previously arranged visit to Moscow in the wake of the Russian declaration of war. It would be pertinent to mention what Khan said in April 2020 about the US targeting him. The then Pakistani leader is the first to question rationale in US policy vis-a-vis India and Pakistan in relation to their relations with Moscow.
Premier Khan alleged a powerful country that supported India was angry over his recent visit to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin. Khan made the declaration as Pakistan summoned a senior US diplomat in Islamabad and lodged a strong protest over America’s alleged interference in its internal affairs.
Addressing the Islamabad Security Dialogue, on 01 April, 2020, Khan emphasised the importance of an independent foreign policy and Pakistan could so far never reach its true potential because of its dependent syndrome on other powerful nations. “A country without an independent foreign policy remains unable to secure the interests of its people,” the media quoted Khan as having said. But, the Premier couldn’t thwart the conspiracy. The Parliament, notorious for buying corrupt politicians, voted in favour of a no-confidence motion moved against him. The Pakistani Army, ever tilted towards the US, threw its weight behind the Opposition move against Khan and finally they got him behind bars. Although Khan made an attempt to reach some sort of consensus with the US after having accused the Biden administration of meddling in Pakistan’s internal affairs, the US obviously by that time had made its mind to go with Pakistan’s powerful Army.
Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir visits to the US, in the wake of the short Indo-Pakistan war over Pahalgam terrorist attack, underscored new direction Donald Trump administration is taking. US-India relations have been undermined by the latter’s refusal to halt Russian crude oil purchases. New Delhi has been also deeply upset by Trump’s repeated claims that he arranged a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, a claim denied by New Delhi but gleefully appreciated by Islamabad.
Indian stand that it wouldn’t end its longstanding partnership with Moscow, regardless of US threats, appears to have placed the Trump administration in an extremely embarrassing position. Modi most probably wouldn’t have attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, near Beijing, if India had not felt betrayed by the utterly irresponsible US action over the past couple of months. The appearance of Putin, Modi and Chinese Leader Xi on one platform meant that the US has compelled India to take a stand. Modi skipped the annual Victory Day military parade in May this year.
Kim Jong Un joined Putin and Xi to view a massive Chinese military parade that coincided with the SCO summit. The bottom line is unpredictable Trump strategies have forced major countries to review their policies and explore the possibility of firming up consensus with others affected by the US actions. There cannot be a better example than India and China seeking to improve relations against the backdrop of US threats.
Sri Lanka will find itself in an unenviable situation. Sri Lanka has already skipped the SCO summit. SJB lawmaker Mujibur Rahuman strongly criticised the NPP government decision not to attend the event. Sri Lanka also skipped the BRICS summit, held in Kazan, in the Russian Federation, last October. Both President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath were too busy to accept the invitation from President Putin.
Sri Lanka is obviously under tremendous pressure to toe the US line. The situation has changed a bit over the developing differences between the US and India but the latter is very much unlikely to give a free hand to Sri Lanka. Let us wait and see how the NPP government responds to the next Chinese request to berth one of its modern scientific research ships here.
During the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa administration, India, backed by the US, caused significant turmoil over Chinese ship visits. Unbearable pressure compelled the then President Wickremesinghe to declare a ban on foreign scientific research vessels during 2024. That ban was meant for Chinese vessels only. The NPP is yet to disclose its position on ship visits though Wickremesinghe’s ban lapsed on 31 December, 2024.
Bangladesh crisis
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, too, accused the US of engineering her ouster. While taking refuge in India, Hasina was quoted as having said: “I resigned so that I did not have to see the procession of dead bodies. They wanted to come to power over the dead bodies of students, but I did not allow it, I resigned from the premiership. I could have remained in power if I had surrendered the sovereignty of Saint Martin Island and allowed America to hold sway over the Bay of Bengal. I beseech to the people of my land, ‘Please do not be manipulated by radicals’.”
Bangladesh obviously didn’t bother to examine the clandestine external interventions in Sri Lanka. Plethora of NGOs pursue foreign agenda at Sri Lanka’s expense in a post-war setup that thrived on failure on the part of successive governments to curb waste, corruption, irregularities and mismanagement, sometimes blown out of proportion with the help of these same NGOs . Those who steadfastly stood by separatist Tamil project propagated campaigns on the basis of promoting good governance and accountability.
Sri Lanka experienced major US intervention at the 2010 presidential election when the superpower threw its weight behind General Sarath Fonseka. Having categorised Fonseka a war criminal, along with the Rajapaksa brothers Mahinda, Basil and Gotabaya, the US engineered a coalition, involving the UNP, JVP, TNA and SLMC, to back Fonseka. That project failed, pathetically, with Fonseka losing the contest by a staggering 1.8 mn votes but a similar operation succeeded at the 2015 presidential poll.
Although their plans went awry due to the collapse of the Wickremesinghe-Sirisena arrangement, and the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, the 2022 Aragalaya reiterated US commitment to regime change here. If the NPP government is genuinely interested in establishing the truth, an explanation can be sought from former Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena who went public with the allegation that external interference was the cause of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster from power. In addition to that Wickremesinghe, too, can help the investigation as his role in Aragalaya is undisputed, though Gotabaya Rajapaksa offered him the premiership in May, 2022, and a few months later made him the President.
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Not Daya
Nirmala
Reference was made to one-time SLBC announcer and lyricist Daya, the first wife of Premakeerthi de Alwis, in last week’s midweek article, headlined ‘Killing of Premakeerthi amidst govt., JVP onslaught on media.’ The writer apologises for inadvertently and wrongly naming Daya as the person who cleared the JVP of Premakeerthi’s assassination, whereas ‘Premakeerthi Ghathanaye Sulamula,’ authored by Dharman Wickremaratne, clearly found fault with the SLBC staffer’s second wife Nirmala as the offender. Nirmala, who accused Hudson Samarasinghe of Premakeerthi assassination, and was embroiled in a defamation case filed by the controversial media personality, passed away recently. The former Divaina journalist Wickremaratne told the writer that there is absolutely no ambiguity in respect of the perpetrators of Premakeerthi’s killing. The JVP carried out that killing in line with its overall strategy at that time meant to neutralise the state-run media, the author of four books on the JVP told The Island, adding that the late Nirmala authored book, titled ‘Premakeerthini,’ probably on the advice of the JVP, in the run-up to 2015 presidential election, for obvious reasons. Nirmala reiterated her support for the JVP-led NPP, again, at the 2019 presidential election when she appeared on stage with NPP candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
