Behind Closed Doors

Kunuharupa, DPL ripples, wiggles up North and foot-in-mouth

by Rasputin

Kunuharupa!

UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha had a hectic schedule last week as he had various “front door” and “back door” discussions with various factions in the UPFA.

One such discussion was held at his personal residence in Udahamulla, Nugegoda and it was attended by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.

It was after this meeting that Premajayantha decided to send out a controversial press communiqué announcing Rajapaksa’s candidacy from the UPFA.

On Friday, when Pemajayantha arrived at the party headquarters to attend discussions on the UPFA nominations, two TV journalists asked the General Secretary whether there was any meeting at his residence on the previous day.

Premajayantha answered in the affirmative and said it was a “private meeting.” When asked whether Basil Rajapaksa too attended the meeting, Premajayantha went into a frenzy.

“Kunuharupa ahanna epa” (Don’t ask obscenities from me) the UPFA General Secretary slammed the journalist, without thinking that a TV camera was also directed at him.

“I will not give you any story hereafter. We hold press conferences and send press releases. That’s enough!” Premajayantha said while walking away from the journalist who only asked him a very simple, yes-or-no question.

While walking into the elevator in the same agitated mood, Premajayantha ordered security officers of the party headquarters not to allow any journalist to come upstairs.

Soon after the incident, he issued a highly controversial press release saying his erstwhile boss would receive nomination from the party to contest the election.

It is still not clear whether the journalist’s question bothered his mind when he prepared the statement as it did not have the signature of the UPFA Chairman, Sirisena.

DPL ripples

The UPFA’s announcement on former President Rajapaksa’s candidacy has sent ripples across some influential foreign diplomatic missions in Colombo. The development came against a backdrop where some missions were working hard to rescue Sri Lanka from the report which is to be tabled in the UNHRC session in September.

They believe any attempt made by the former President to come back to power will turn the tables on the new government’s activities on the reconciliation front. In the face of such a development, they will certainly think twice about their efforts to rescue Sri Lanka from the ‘Geneva trouble’.

An Ambassador representing a powerful western nation in Colombo has sought an appointment with President Maithripala Sirisena to discuss recent developments including the UPFA’s nomination of the former President. Although the meeting was initially fixed for tomorrow (Monday), it had to be postponed as the President has to attend a religious ceremony out of Colombo

Wiggies’ wiggles

The TNA’s recent history is characterised with internecine power struggles and it took a new turn after the party secured an overwhelming majority in the Northern Provincial Council election.

After the party won the election, Chief Minister Wigneswaran created a separate ‘power bloc’ for himself in the party, in addition to the two rival power blocs already existing in the party, one around Sampanthan and the other around ex-militants such as Premachandran and Senathirajah.

Wigneswaran was fielded as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council mainly due to the influence of the Sampanthan-Sumanthiran duo, but after becoming the Chief Minister, Wigneswaran gradually distanced himself from the two MPs considered by party members as ‘moderates’.

A tug-of-war has now come into play between the Sampanthan bloc and the Wiggie block. As a result, the Chief Minister has left for the US to discuss matters with leading Tamil Diaspora organisations, the main benefactors of all blocs within the TNA. However, due to the Chief Minister’s charisma, a sizable proportion of activists who worked closely with the ex-militants bloc have now aligned themselves with Wigneswaran. With this new development, dynamics are shifting within the country’s main Tamil main party just one and a half months away from a crucial Parliamentary election.

Muthuhetti’s foot in mouth

Nishantha Muthuhettigama, a constant headline-maker during the previous regime, had lain low following the election defeat of the former President. Now, he has positioned himself as a front-line member of the pro-Rajapaksa campaign and he was seen at the rally held at Rajapaksa’s residence in Medamulana to mark his political comeback.

During the rally however, Muthuhettigama cheered Rajapaksa in a strange way.

“Apey Janadhipathithuma agamathi karamu” (Let’s make our President the Prime Minister) Muthhettigama cheered madly after Rajapaksa ended his speech. At one point, Muthuhettigama even said “Apey janadhipathi Mahinda Rajapaksa agamethithuma” (Our Prime Minister President Rajapaksa). Some, who were present at the event, expressed doubts over the condition of his mental health, especially after the election defeat of the Rajapaksas.

Mer-vyn unwinds

It has already been speculated that Mer-vyn of Kelaniya will not receive nomination from any faction of the SLFP as there were serious charges against him under the pevious regime. Apparently, he has now embarked on a feverish mission to get into the good books of CBK. When CBK attended several events in the Gampaha district last week, Mer-vyn was also seen hovering around the area, waiting for an opportunity to meet the former President. CBK, being the astute politician that she is, totally ignored him.

Although Mer-vyn was not too happy about this, many party activists in the area commended the conduct of the former President saying she did the “right thing”.