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| Sunday, 12 September 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Ranil, changed man after anusasana? Weekend Politics by Suraj & Viraj The anusasana delivered by the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera at the
58th UNP anniversary celebrations that took place on a religious note has
alerted the party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to move into The Ven. Thera recalled the party history from the time D. S. Senanayake was the leader and commended the services of the Senanayakas to the nation. He then recalled how the late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike rallied round the then leaders irrespective of party politics to bring independence to the nation. "No one treated race as a barrier, they all fought as Sri Lankans for the cause", Ven. Sobhita stressed. He also commended several leftist leaders who played a key role in the country's battle for independence. He recalled the services of Sir John Kotelawala, Wijayananda Dahanayake, Dudley Senanayake, J. R. Jayewardene, Ranasinghe Premadasa and Dingiri Banda Wijetunga who led the party before Wickremesinghe took over. Coming to Ranil Wickremesinghe, the monk left it open for the UNP leader to prove what he would do the people, party and the country. Wickremesinghe was seen attentively listening to the long anusasana of the monk. The touching anusasana seemed to have changed Wickremesinghe instantly when the crowd listened to his speech on the occasion. Wickremesinghe, identifying the UNP as the only revolutionary party admitted that he had made mistakes during the two-year UNP rule. "I asked the people to tighten their belts for two years. Now I know it was a wrong decision as the majority of people live below the poverty line and they cannot tighten their belts further. Do not worry, I will strike a balance in the future", the UNP leader promised. As Ven. Sobhita commended the past UNP leaders, Wickremesinghe thought of commending several colleagues in the UNP of his period. He commended Lalith Athulathmudali for the development rendered to the Colombo Port, but forgot Lalith's bright concept of Mahapola that helped many university students. Wickremesinghe then praised Gamini Dissanayake for his commitment to the gigantic task of Mahaweli development in five years, but Dissanayake's role in the famous Indo-Lanka Accord looked forgotten. It was JRJ, Gamini and Ronnie de Mel who pioneered the Accord on the pretext of finding a lasting solution to the ethnic problem while Lalith and Premadasa opposed the idea. But JRJ shrewdly brought them into the fold by asking Premadasa to present the 13th amendment in Parliament with Lalith being asked to open the debate. Gamini Athukorale forotten The disheartening feature of Wickremesinghe's address at the celebration was the exclusion of his dear friend late Gamini Athukorale who braved many a threat to make Ranil the Prime Minister for a second time, in 2002, Athukorale stood by Ranil through thick and thin facing all odds. The exclusion of Athukorale in the address was the talking point at the gathering afterwards. Be that as it may, the anusasana of Ven. Sobhita seems to have convinced Wickremesinghe that he too ought to do something as a UNP leader. On Wednesday he correctly accepted the invitation of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to hold talks on the peace initiative of the government. The move to set up such a committee is timely with Arumugam Thondaman extending support to strengthen the Government. Thondaman's entry to strengthen the hands of Kumaratunga will also help to draw the TNA parliamentarians into a compromising stand sooner or later. Neither the government nor the opposition are keen to resume war. The LTTE cannot afford to go to war with the Tamil people already engaged in rehabilitation and reconstruction of their houses and other properties after a twenty-year bloody war. Discussing the Interim Self Governing Authority is not an acceptance of the proposal. Only through dialogue could necessary changes be effected to safeguard the rights of all communities. Cabinet meeting ends on cordial note After a lapse of two weeks, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. She displayed a charming smile as she entered the Cabinet room and many Ministers seated close to her inquired about her overseas trip. The Cabinet meeting ended on a cordial note with no verbal barrage on any issue. However, when a proposal was put forward for a mini power project, Environment Minister A.H.M. Fowzie objected to the release of land belonging to his Ministry for 30 years for the project. He said that if the project failed, the bank will take over his land. Therefore, he proposed that his Ministry should be a partner of the project. Disregarding his objections, the proposal was passed as power shortage was a national issue in the country. Thereafter, the Cabinet also appointed a Cabinet Sub-Committee on Fertilizer. Meanwhile, the President appointed a National Council for Administration to solve salary anomalies. Tissa Devendra has been appointed as the Chairman of the Council. This Council has been appointed to handle the incessantly increasing trade union actions of `interested' parties to put the Government in difficulty. Now all Government institutions are prevented from granting ad hoc pay hikes under pressure from unions. All salary anomalies will hereafter be studied by the Council and recommended to the Treasury. Many quarters in political circles appreciated the President's move as Unions hold people to ransom to win salary hikes. The Government last week increased the fertilizer subsidy by another Rs. 3000 million as the world fertilizer prices had increased. The Government subsidy on fertilizer accordingly has been increased from Rs. 5000 million to Rs. 8000 million. Meanwhile, two Ministers have gone abroad to obtain foreign assistance to mitigate the financial problems encountered by the Government. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar who was in Japan met top officials of the Japanese Government and requested their assistance to face the present crisis. Japan has pledged US$ 250 million assistance. Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama also left the country to Austria to meet the top officials of the OPEC to examine the possibility of obtaining urgent assistance. UNP MP Myown Mustapa formed a new political party. The party has been named "United Muslim Ummah". He had called upon the SLMC leadership to dissolve the party and join the new party for the benefit of the Muslim community. UNP MP, and former Speaker Joseph Michael Perera had proposed at a Party Leaders' meeting that MPs' and Ministers' salaries should be increased when the Government members proposed to solve the salary anomalies of judges. But UNP-backed reporters had planted the story in newspapers that the Government was going to increase the salaries of the MPs and Ministers. Minister Jeyeraj Fernandopulle, who was worked up on the issue, made a statement in Parliament on Wednesday, exposing what really happened at the party leaders' meeting. He told the House that the Government will not increase the salaries of MPs and Ministers at this juncture as proposed at the party leaders meeting by UNP MP Joseph Michael Perera. |
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action. The UNP
leader attentively listening to the anusasana at the celebrations brought
back memories of the days Ranil at Dhamma School. Ven. Sobhita, a fiery
speaker on the political stage, looked different in his anusasana to the
UNP gathering.
