Chanaka, the spirit of liberalism

Fourteen years ago, on August 1, 1996 to be precise, Dr. Chanaka Amaratunga, Leader of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka, died in a car accident on the road towards Kalutara. He was only 38 years of age then having being born on April 19, 1958.

Chanaka, as his friends knew him, was an alumnus of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, the Universities of Oxford and the London School of Economics who was also a visiting lecturer in the Journalism Unit at the University of Colombo. He was the founder of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka (LPSL) in April 1987 and before that, was the initiator of the Council for Liberal Democracy in April 1981.

Chanaka was elected the Secretary of the Oxford Union in 1978, a rare honour enjoyed previously by few of our citizens like S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Lalith Athulathmudali. Lakshman Kadirgarmar became President of the Oxford Union, though not the Secretary of this prestigious association.

Having been a student at S. Thomas’ for 13 years I remember Chanaka from his school days at Mount Lavinia. My encounters with him were sporadic and very political though lasting until his untimely demise.

In 1976 I became an MP in his Liberal Democratic Party at STC. This was the period of the UNP’s “Long March” under J.R. Jayewardene and the approaching general elections of July 1977 which had generated a lot of excitement at college, among the junior and upper school boys.

In 1976 they formed the Parliamentary Council at STC Mount Lavinia with Chanaka Amaratunga, Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), as the first Prime Minister.

Other parties were the Conservative Democratic Union (CDU) led by Rohan Edrisinghe and the National Democratic Party (NDP) led by L.N.D. Fernando.

At the age of 13, I was in the Fifth Form or Grade Eight as it was called in other schools, I joined Chanaka’s LDP as an MP. Just a year later, at the age 14, I was made the Minister of Social Services in Chanaka’s Cabinet, a portfolio I continued to hold under the LDP Prime Minister Asitha Perera, after Chanaka left college to read for his PPE at University College in Oxford.

Chanaka was an accomplished debater, actor and writer. He won the best actor’s prize at the Inter-Schools Shakespeare Drama Competition, when he was the leader of the College English and Sinhala debating teams; was a Co-Editor of the College magazine and a College Prefect. Thomian schoolboys were spellbound by his thespian talents and public speaking abilities. His writings too had a sonorous Churchillian quality in them with sharp analyses, insightful discussion and plenty of pungent humour.

Not surprisingly Chanaka later became the Secretary of the Oxford Union a year after he went there to read for his B.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE).

He returned during the summer holiday and, in June 1978 I think, was invited by The Warden of S. Thomas’, the legendary Lyn Illangakoon, to address the School Assembly. This was a unique distinction for a 20 year old young old boy of STC.

In his own inimitable style Chanaka heldforth for half an hour and was given a standing ovation at the end.

All of us thought that like D.S., Dudley, Dahanayake and Bandaranaike, here was another Thomian Prime Minister in the making. Sadly that was not to be.

Our association continued and my late father Dr. Felix Fernando of Wennappuwa was instrumental in getting Hugh Fernando, former Speaker of Parliament and later a Minister in the UNP government of Dudley Senanayake, to accept the Chairmanship of the Council for Liberal Democracy (CLD) that Chanaka and other young liberals like Rohan Edrisinghe, Asitha Perera, Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Richard de Zoysa and Tissa Jayatilaka founded in 1981. After Hugh Fernando’s demise Chanaka invited Desmond Fernando to become the Chairman of the CLD.

The CLD was the means by which Chanaka disseminated liberal democratic values in Sri Lanka. This is where his real contribution to Sri Lankan politics became manifest. Many years later the LPSL edited a volume titled “Liberal Ideas for Political Reform in Sri Lanka” which were essentially a summary of the discussions and conclusions reached at the CLD meetings which were attended by people from all parties and all ethnic groups.

Chanaka was a political thinker much ahead of his time in Sri Lanka. He may be gone but his liberal democratic ideas have been widely accepted and are now seen as the solution to many complex issues in contemporary politics.

Chanaka is gone but spirit of liberalism is well and alive in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the world over today.

May he watch over us from the heavenly realms with wisdom and benevolence.

- Mahanama