Capturing power at any cost, aim of the Opposition

By K.M.H.C.B. Kulatunga

The Opposition coalition which supports New Democratic Front candidate Maithripala Sirisena has now sealed its position as an alliance which could rob Sri Lanka of its hard-earned peace.

Chandrika’s leadership had pushed the country to its lowest level. LTTE terrorism was at its worst and over 12,000 had been killed during her tenure. Here a destroyed plane at the BIA, Katunayake following an attack by the Tigers. (File photo)

Taking a close look at the stakeholders of the so-called joint Opposition, it’s evident that they have only one thing in common while they are far apart in all other issues. Their common aim is to beat President Mahinda Rajapaksa at any cost and capture power.

They know that the masses are strongly behind President Rajapaksa who could not be easily beaten at a Presidential election or his UPFA at any other election.

The UNP which has tried anything and everything for an election win but lost 29 elections under the tottering leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe, knows that it could not win a Presidential election even if they bring rice from the moon.

Being acutely aware of that situation, Opposition leader Wickremesinghe foregoes his opportunities to contest Presidential elections. In 2010, he found Sarath Fonseka to contest under the UNP’s support.

Lowest level

Five years later, Wickremesinghe is still searching for the winning mentality. Hence, he has now given that ‘opportunity’ to former SLFP General Secretary Sirisena under the blessings of the UNP. In short, the UNP has failed to find a suitable candidate to contest a Presidential election since 1999.

The UNP supporters know that their party does not stand any chance as long as the UPFA is under the political sagacity of President Rajapaksa. Hence, they did not mind getting even the devil to represent them and beat President Rajapaksa and the UPFA.Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga had a score to settle from the day President Rajapaksa was named the SLFP-led coalition’s candidate for the 2005 Presidential election. Though she now boasts of her ‘kindness’ to appoint President Rajapaksa, she was compelled to do that as the majority of the UPFA wanted him in one voice.

Moreover, Chandrika even in her wildest dreams did not think that the UPFA would win the 2005 Presidential election. She thought that the then Prime Minister Rajapaksa would lose and his political career would come to an end. Chandrika had plenty of reasons to assume that the UPFA would lose.

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe

After being at the helm for 11 long years since 1994, Chandrika’s leadership had pushed the country to its lowest level. LTTE terrorism was at its worst and over 12,000 had been killed during her tenure. The country’s economy was in a near state of collapse after the LTTE had attacked strategic locations such as the Katunayake International Airport, Colombo Port, Kolonnawa Oil refinery and the Central Bank, killing hundreds of civilians.

The Chandrika regime ruined the country to the maximum and people had no faith in her leadership. But things changed from the day Prime Minister Rajapaksa was named the UPFA’s Presidential election candidate, much to the surprise of Chandrika who had thought only a person from Horagolla Walawwa could become an SLFP Head of State.

Slave

But President Rajapaksa beat all overwhelming odds and won the election in 2005 at a time he did not even have the support of the SLFP leadership. Hence, Chandrika wants to take revenge and settle a political score due to the immense popularity the President commands.

On the other hand, Mangala Samaraweera blindly works for Chandrika and appears to be a slave of the Horagolla Walauwa.

His sole intention is to bring Chandrika back to power, although he now represents Ranil’s UNP.

External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris

But the most dangerous part is other parties and leaders in the Opposition’s unholy alliance. Maithripala has already got the blessings of the TNA after a secret pact with its leader R. Sampanthan. But the TNA’s announcement to the Tamils in the North and the East, requesting them to vote for Maithripala would only come just two days prior to the Election Day.The Opposition has pleaded with the TNA to delay the announcement as it would hamper getting the votes Maithripala expects from the Sinhalese in the South.

LTTE sympathisers

In short, Maithripala wants to take not only the Tamils but also the Sinhalese and Muslims for a good ride. The presence of extremist Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala leaders such as Mano Ganeshan, Rishad Badurdeen and Champika Ranawaka makes the Opposition an alliance that would rob the ethnic unity we now enjoy, overnight. JHU leaders such as Champika Ranawaka and Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera could never sit together with people such as Sampanthan, Mano Ganeshan and Badurdeen, unless the JHU had deviated from its original principles.

Strong LTTE sympathisers such as Sampanthan and Ganeshan would never have extended their support to Maithripala for nothing. It is crystal clear that Maithripala, in his lust for power, had promised the sun and the moon to achieve his vicious political goals. The TNA would never have settled for anything less than a separate self-governing body, a virtual separate state, in the North.

In addition, they had demanded that President Rajapaksa be produced in the international courts in Hague for alleged war crimes during the humanitarian operation.

Hence, it is obvious that Maithripala and his cohorts in the so-called common Opposition have promised all those to the TNA and other extremist Tamil leaders, assuming that they could win the votes of the near 700,000 Tamils in the North and the East.

Maithripala has been quoted in the media overseas as announcing his intention to appoint a judicial tribunal to investigate war crimes charges against personnel belonging to the Armed Forces.External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris had stated that it is a matter having far-reaching consequences.

“A clear statement is, therefore, certainly needed from the Opposition candidate with regard to the nature of the investigation which he proposes to undertake, the powers and scope of the tribunal he will appoint, and the findings of the tribunal,” he said.

Different approach

He also needs to clarify issues relating to the authority of the proposed tribunal to summon and interrogate members of the Armed Forces, Prof. Peiris said. The release said, “More broadly, statements have been made by the Opposition to the effect that they will adopt a totally different approach to the international investigation against Sri Lanka.

Here, again, they owe an explanation to the country as to the extent to which the Opposition candidate will capitulate to the demands made in the Resolutions against Sri Lanka. “These are demands which proved unacceptable to a significant swath of the globe,” he said.

China, India, Russia, Japan, the Arab world and the overwhelming majority of countries in Asia and Africa declined to support crucial elements in the Resolutions. The country has a right to know whether, for narrow political gain, Sirisena is prepared to make compromises on this vital issue. Maithripala seems to be under the mistaken impression that because Sri Lanka has not signed the Rome Statute, we are in no danger.

This is obviously not the case. Recent experience shows that countries which are not signatories can be vulnerable. “The Opposition candidate, to please forces which are continually exerting pressure on Sri Lanka, appears willing to sacrifice the country’s vital interests and the safety of the Armed Forces, to help himself at the election. While this has been a regular feature of the Opposition campaign, the pledge to institute a judicial tribunal hits a new high. This is clearly a matter which calls for clarification,” the External Affairs Minister said.

Unworkable

The Presidency operates as a source of significant protection for minority communities, because the whole country represents the electoral unit at the Presidential election. The reform of the Presidency, and its structure and role in the overall constitutional framework, cannot be undertaken in isolation but as part of a comprehensive exercise which also addresses other aspects like the electoral system and Provincial Councils. These are closely interrelated.

Prof. Peiris, commenting on the recent suggestion by the Opposition that the Executive Presidency should be refashioned to make the President an umpire among different political factions within the government, described this idea as totally unworkable.

This cannot be compared even with the ceremonial role of the Presidency, as it was conceived in the Constitution of 1972. The President can hardy serve the country and perform functions vital to effective governance and protection of society as a whole, including the minorities, if his energies are frittered away in an attempt to function as arbiter among warring factions committed to different and inconsistent policies on core issues.

This is the inevitable result of conflicting agreements with different parties, some pledging to preserve and others promising to abolish the Executive Presidency. How could those who demand powers beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution such as Sampanthan and Ganeshan work in the same alliance which has Champika Ranawaka and Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera who are not even ready to grant what is already there in the 13th Amendment.

There is no doubt whatsoever that they have teamed up purely to capture power and settle their political differences which will thereafter push the country to a point of no return.

This is indicative of the obvious lack of clarity in the Opposition's thinking on major reforms. Such a situation would certainly harm the national interest seriously.

Hence, the masses have to be extra careful when deciding for whom to vote at the forthcoming Presidential election. It should not be a mere opportunity for a change which the Opposition dreams of. We all will have to decide on one thing – whether we want to protect this hard-earned peace or not.