With favourable political climate:

UNP will make headway irrespective of leader

By Jaliya Wijeyekoon

The United National Party, founded by the first Prime Minister of Ceylon D.S. Senanayake in 1946, had ruled the country for over three decades under a number of leaders.

Its previous leaders ensured that the UNP didn’t remain in the Opposition for more than one parliamentary term. However, since 1994 the United National Party has been experiencing a steady decline suffering defeat after defeat at successive elections.

However, when scrutinising and analysing the election results, it is quite evident that the party’s vote base, by and large, remains in tact while the floating vote has gone to the ruling party mainly due to the eradication of terrorism.

The current political atmosphere in the country is not very favourable to the main Opposition party due to a number of reasons, in addition to the unending inner party conflicts which had been brewing between two fractions over the party leadership.

Those negative developments have disheartened and demoralised the grass roots level membership of the party which have invariably led to the downfall of some electorates which had been considered UNP bastions since independence.

In the backdrop of these negative developments, the Sunday Observer had an exclusive interview with a senior member of the party John Amaratunga who had adopted a neutral stand in the leadership tussle, to ascertain the present position of the UNP and the future course of action. The following are excerpts of the interview:

Q: You had been a promising lawyer with a lucrative practice at the Negombo High Court. Can you briefly explain what made you take to politics under the green banner?

A: Well, my parents were strong UNP supporters and as a young lawyer, I felt that I should work for the betterment of the Wattala people irrespective of any differences.

I was the first person to be appointed as a Member of Parliament under the new Constitution in 1978 by President J.R. Jayewardene with the demise of Shelton Jayasinghe. Since then, I have been continuously representing the Wattala electorate in Gampaha district holding a number of Ministerial portfolios under J.R. Jayewardene, R. Premadasa, D.B. Wijethunga and Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Q: It is an open secret that the present conflict is not in the interest of the party which suffered defeat after defeat at a number of successive elections. As a very senior member of the party and an ‘Old guard’, why don’t you intervene and rescue the party from further disaster?

A: Yes, the leadership tussle cropped up with the repeated defeats suffered by the party. But it is not correct to put the blame entirely on the leader. There are a number of reasons for this debacle for which many others are responsible.

I have been talking to everybody asking them to settle matters amicably and come to a compromise. There is no doubt that Sajith Premadasa is a promising young politician who could muster the support of the people and become a good leader in the future. At the same time, it is an accepted fact even by ruling party stalwarts that Ranil Wickremesinghe is an experienced politician who has amassed an ocean of knowledge in almost all spheres in ruling a country. It should be stated clearly that if two parties worked hand-in-hand, it will not be difficult for the UNP to bounce back to power at a future election. That was what Jayewardene did in 1973 when he became the leader of the party with the demise of Dudley Senanayake. He delegated all organisational work to Premadasa and made use of his talent to revive the party while maintaining discipline in the party and taking appropriate and timely decisions.

Q: It is quite evident that Sajith Premadasa has given up the battle for the leadership and is now promoting Karu Jayasuriya as the leader. Your comments?

A: Yes, Sajith Premadasa and some others of the reformist group are trying to bring in Karu Jayasuriya to the helm. We have our party constitution in which the selection process of the leader is clearly spelt out. If he can muster the support of the majority, he could be the leader.

When a formidable party remains in the Opposition for a long time, it is a common problem in any democratic society that divisions and leadership problems arise. When the SLFP was in the Opposition from 1977-1993, what a lot of problems did they have? They had a number of groups - Sirima group, Maithripala group, Anura group, Kobbekaduwa group and so on. They even close their party headquarters; the SLFP was in the political doldrums for some time.

When the political atmosphere is favourable for the Opposition and the party is strengthened and well organised it could bounce back to power regardless of who the leader is.

Q: When the leadership issue drags on with no end in sight, don’t you think that the poor membership gets disheartened and demoralised?

A: I fully agree with you - our grass roots level membership is demoralised over this problem. The leaders will have to realise this and reach an acceptable decision without further jeopardising the party strength.

Q: Was your party leadership conflict the main reason for the recent debacle at the Local Government polls?

A: I don’t think the leadership conflict affected the Local Government election results. Local Government Election results are almost entirely favourable to the government in power. During the two years that we were in power, the UNP won all local bodies except for two or three. That is the trend in Local Elections.

Q: A deep analysis of the past election results reveals that the party vote base by and large remains intact except for the floating vote. Why not adopt the J.R. formula of taking the bull by the horns and resurrect the party? Are there any insurmountable obstacles?

A: Yes, our party vote base remains intact although we have lost the past elections; it is an encouraging point. You can’t apply certain formulae when a party is weak and the membership is demoralised. First of all, inter-party unity has to be stabilised among the party higher-ups. The grass roots level membership should be motivated and encouraged to take up challenges and the assurance of a future victory should be inculcated in their minds. Then only we can apply J.R. Jayewardene’s formula of taking the bull by the horn.

Q: It has been observed that the party stalwarts have been in a kind of slumber during the past few years when the opportunity is there to debunk some unsuitable government policies. Your comments?

A: I do not agree with you that we were in any kind of slumber during the past few years. We have done our part as a responsible political party in all vital issues of national importance and never hesitated to agitate against unacceptable moves of the government.

Q: However much you oppose or stand against certain decisions, the ruling party has the required two-third majority to pass any Bill in Parliament. Your comments?

A: Although the Opposition heads are inadequate in the House, we have voiced our opinion and stood against the Government on certain issues. Then, they think twice before approving such decisions. Just because they have an absolute majority, they can’t take arbitrary decisions in a democratic framework.

They have to follow the norms of democracy. Too much power for any political party is not a good thing under the democratic process since it leads to all kinds of vices.

That is why they say in Political Science, “Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.”

Q: The Government’s trump card is the eradication of terrorism and priority to development which is a reality. Your comments?

A: There is no argument that the fullest credit should go to the Government, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the valiant forces for the eradication of terrorism which had been a cancer to the country for over two-and-a-half decades.

People now enjoy peace irrespective of any differences.

But there is a lot more work to be done in the war-ravaged areas in the Northern and Eastern Provinces in the island.

Yes, we have to appreciate the fact that some development activities are taking place in the country. But the question is whether the government has identified the priorities in pumping vast amounts of funds on these projects, most of which are funded by lending agencies on massive interest rates.

Q: There are allegations with regard to corruption in financial dealings, severe indiscipline on the part of some parliamentarians and mismanagement by certain heads of corporations.

Would you like to comment on these issues?

A: Yes, corruption is rampant. When development activities are in progress, corruption automatically comes in. What the authorities should do is to minimise corruption by properly imposing checks and balances.

Yes, a code of ethics is there for Parliamentarians to follow and it is unfortunate that some members act like brutes under the umbrella of parliamentary privileges.

It is quite evident that some corporation heads are involved in fraudulent activities which affect the coffers. But there is no proper machinery to punish them since there are several loopholes in the administrative system.

Q: The Darusman Report on human rights violations and the Channel-4 documentary series have taken centre stage in current politics nationally and internationally. What is your party’s stand on these vital issues which affect the sovereignty of the country?

A: We, as a responsible political party, fully support the Government in its efforts to dispel the wrong image caused by this documentary among the international community.

Unfortunately, the attitude of some higher-ups in the Government is not acceptable in terms of international affairs and standards.

The recent counter-documentary presented by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was of immense importance to clear the image of our valiant Security Forces which had been tarnished by Channel-4.