Wijeyadasa - Rajitha feud widens

Amarasinghe makes u-turn :

Pro-MR alliance to contest LG polls:

It is common knowledge that politics leaves one with strange bedfellows. Former JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe, a seasoned campaigner who has been in the ‘business’ for over 45 years, is no exception.

In April 2008, Amarasinghe made a bold decision to expel his firebrand Propaganda Secretary, Wimal Weerawansa, from all positions the latter held in the party. The main accusation levelled against Weerawansa was the ‘strategic blunders’ he made by aligning himself with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. They alleged that as a result of Weerawansa’s conduct the party was branded as an ‘ultra-nationalist’ political movement, moving away from its socialist and internationalist principles. This was the key ideological difference occurred between the JVP leadership and Weerawansa, finally resulting in the latter’s removal from the party.

Following this unexpected development, the JVP leadership and Weerawansa fired cannons at each other over various personal and political matters. Somawansa Amarasinghe, at one point, charged that Weerawansa did not even own a bicycle when he defected from the JVP. Amarasinghe, the brother in law of former UNP General Secretary Sirisena Cooray, alleged that Weerawansa amassed wealth after he broke away from the party and joined hands with the Rajapaksa administration.

Weerawansa, in response, ridiculed the JVP leadership over strategic decisions it made after 2008. When the party decided to support the Opposition’s ‘common candidate’ Sarath Fonseka at the Presidential election in 2010, Weerawansa dubbed it as an affiliation with forces who “brutally suppressed” the JVP during the 88-89 insurrection.

The former JVP Propaganda Secretary who later formed the National Freedom Front, claimed the JVP had turned into a non-entity in national politics under Amarasinghe’s leadership. He also alleged that Amarasinghe had lost control over the party and that the party was run by a small clique that had links with the UNP. It was no secret that he was alluding to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a staunch backer of the JVP leadership during the Somawansa-Weerawansa clash.

In mid 2014, Somawansa Amarasinghe retired from the party leadership, making way for Dissanayake to ascend to the top post in the party hierarchy. After his retirement from leadership, Amarasinghe took a back seat as the JVP’s International Affairs Secretary. Under Dissanayake’s leadership, the JVP showed remarkable progress at the Southern, Western and Uva Provincial Council elections, rapidly increasing its voter-base. In the recent past, the only disappointment for the party was its mediocre performance at the Parliamentary election 2015, where the party managed to secure only 06 seats in Parliament.

Following the Presidential election early this year, an important development occurred in the party with its former Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe breaking away from the JVP at an unexpected moment. He publicly criticized the new JVP leader calling him rathu ali patiya alluding to alleged links with the UNP. Amarasinghe asserted that the JVP did not take solid action to protect the outcome of what he termed as the ‘January 8’ revolution’ which brought Maithripala Sirisena into power. The crux of his argument was that the JVP was not serious enough about protecting the ‘January 08 victory’ – of which the Leftist party too was a stakeholder.

180-degree turn

Amarasinghe, on May 1 this year, began a one-man fast at the Independence Square premises, demanding that the authorities to release details of the alleged election night power grab conspiracy at Temple Trees in the wee hours of January 9. He urged the law enforcement authorities to bring the culprits behind the alleged election night conspiracy to book.

It seemed obvious to all that Amarasinghe, at that point, was firmly protective of President Maithripala Sirisena and his government. At the same, he was strongly attacking former President Rajapaksa and his allies for hatching conspiracies to topple the new President’s government. In other words, his loyalty and support completely lay with President Sirisena and the government.

After the Parliamentary elections however, Amarasinghe took a 180-degree turn. He started negotiations with his erstwhile colleague Wimal Weerawansa who was strongly backing former President Rajapaksa. The culmination of this patching-up was Amarasinghe agreeing to celebrate ‘November Heroes Day’ with Weerawansa’s party.

Interestingly, Weerawansa remains a staunch backer of the former President and Amarasinghe has no qualms about extending his support to this pro-Rajapaksa campaigner. This 180 degree turn taken by Amarasinghe, over a period of four months, is a move that has already perplexed the Sri Lankan electorate.

Amarasinghe ‘syndrome’

“It is a common scenario in a country such as Sri Lanka,” said social and political analyst Upul Shantha Sannasgala, commenting on the former JVP Leader’s ‘unpredictable’ policy-changes.

“Even in a family conflict, there are times when aging fathers walk out of their houses and start doing all kinds of obnoxious things in public to insult their grown-up children.

They think that is a way of taking revenge from children who do not treat them properly,” he said.

Somawansa Amarasinghe too had the same issue when he stepped down from the party leadership.

He was the ‘aging father’ and he thought the children were not treating him well after the new leader’s ascension to power.

He walked out of the party and started doing various things in public, such as the one-man fast campaign, just to annoy the JVP’s new leaders, Sannasgala opined.

Amarasinghe’s alliance with Weerawansa too shows that ‘policy differences’ or matters related to political principles do not nag his mind. What it shows is that Amarasinghe, who rendered a great service to the JVP to resurrect it after 1988-89 suppression, is now ready to join hands with any alliance against his previous party and its new leadership.

Pro-MR campaign

The Amarasinghe–Weerawansa alliance was formed amidst speculation that parties supporting the former President would contest as a separate alliance at the forthcoming Local Government election. The emerging new alliance is likely to include the National Freedom Front, Mahajana Eksath Peremuna, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya and Democratic Left Front. A section of the SLFP is also expected to support this pro-Rajapaksa front. The newest member of this alliance would be the ‘Janatha Sewaka Party’ led by Somawansa Amarasinghe.

So we may expect to see Amarasinghe sitting alongside Weerawansa, Dinesh Gunawardena, Udaya Gammanpila and Vasudeva Nanayakkara at the pro-Rajapaksa front’s political rallies.

Former President Rajapaksa, who went into a ‘silent mode’ of some sort immediately after his defeat at the Parliamentary election in August, is now doing the spade-work to re-launch his political campaign ahead of the Local Government elections. Strongly resembling his behavior after the defeat at the Presidential election early this year, the former President is now attending public events on a daily basis and giving brief voice-cuts to journalists.

There are strong indications that the former President’s group will form a third force at the Local Government polls, positioning itself as an alternative to the SLFP which is currently working within the framework of a national unity government with the UNP.

President warns SLFP

President Maithripala Sirisena held a meeting of Local Government representatives of the SLFP at his residence at Paget Road, last week. The main objective of the meeting was to discuss the party’s plans for the forthcoming Local Government election fixed for March, next year. The meeting took place amidst speculation that a section of the party’s Local Government members were holding discussions with some parties of the UPFA to form a separate front targeting the LG polls.

In his speech at the meeting, President Sirisena indicated that he was fully ware of such ‘clandestine’ activities.

“I know some members are trying to teach me a lesson by defeating the party at the Local Government election. But they should know that they too will lose their seats if the party suffers defeat at the polls. Finally, those who try to teach lessons to the party and its leader will learn bitter lessons,” the President said, as he chaired the discussion.

He also made it clear that the Local Government elections would be held without any delay, under the new electoral system.

“Different political parties can make different remarks. But I have already decided to hold the Local Government election under the new electoral system. As the village level leaders of the party, you have a bigger role to play,” President Sirisena explained. With the President’s assurance on the new electoral system, the majority of Local Government representatives of the party who were present at the meeting heaved a sigh of relief.

After the President’s speech, former chairman of the Attanagalle PS, Priyantha Pushpakumara, PS member Ranjith Gunawardena and former chairman of Peliygoda UC, Nihal Ananda stressed the importance of drawing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s support for the local government campaign.

Ananda even invited President Sirisena to take part in the birthday celebration of former President Rajapaksa due to take place in front of the Sri Maha Bodhi, in Anuradhapura, on November 18. The President turned down the request saying he did not receive a formal invitation to attend the event.

“You don’t need to worry about invitations. We are inviting you now.” Ananda said, in a desperate attempt to get President Sirisena’s consent on the matter.

“I heard that some parties are planning to take a united opposition oath at the function. So how can I attend the event?” the President asked, leaving Ananda and other Local Government members of the party in a difficult situation.

It is clear that there are three groups within the SLFP at present. While one group strongly backs President Maithripala Sirisena another group pushes for unity and reconciliation between the President and former President Rajapaksa.

Meanwhile, another group solely backs Rajapaksa and they are even ready to defect from the party to support the former President’s political campaign. It is against this backdrop that the SLFP is preparing for the Local Government election.

Some seniors of the party have aligned themselves with the minor constituent parties of the UPFA without any approval from the party’s Central Committee. For instance, party seniors such as Kumara Welgama and Dullas Alahapperuma play key roles in the united opposition and even chair its meetings, while keeping the party in the dark about their initiatives.

This has raised serious concern among some Central Committee members of the party who claim party discipline should be safeguarded at any cost.

Confusion in State corporations

New appointments in certain State-run businesses by the national unity government has already plunged the government into an uneasy situation.

After the Parliamentary election in August, the 100-day cabinet was re-shuffled and a large number of ministers got new responsibilities. One Cabinet member who received several key responsibilities was UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim who was appointed as the State Enterprise Development Minister. Some important State-run enterprises that came under Hashim’s ministry previously belonged to the Finance Ministry headed by Ravi Karunanayake.

After the appointment of the new Cabinet, ministers who received new responsibilities decided to re-structure enterprises coming under them by appointing new heads and new boards of directors. This attempt, however, was hampered by a technical problem concerning the administrative structure of the country’s State-run companies.

Heads and boards of directors of State-run companies consider the Treasury Secretary as their ‘appointing authority’. The Treasury comes under the Finance Ministry and the Treasury Secretary reports to the Finance Minister. Some members serving in the director boards of State-run enterprises did not want to resign from their positions as there was no such instruction from the Treasury Secretary or the Finance Minister. They were of the belief that no one – except Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake – could remove them from their positions.

This problem was apparent when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe appointed a new chairman to Hotel Developers Lanka, the owning company of Colombo Hilton. The sitting chairperson and the board of directors did not allow the new management to step in as they thought they could remain in office as there was no instruction from the Finance Ministry. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake had appointed them after the Presidential election in January.

As a result of this standoff, the Prime Minister had to convene a meeting with the senior management of Hilton. At the meeting, the Prime Minister advised the chairperson and the board of directors to resign from their posts with immediate effect without citing ‘technical problems’ as excuses.

This development, however, has created a rift between the Finance Minister and the top brass of the party. It was in the grapevine among party circles that the Finance Minister has advised them not to resign. This move, according to informed UNP sources, has earned the ire of the party’s top leaders.

The Prime Minister had already appointed Krishantha Prasad Cooray as the new Chairman of Hotel Developers Lanka. A Working Committee member of the UNP, Cooray is vastly experienced in the field of media as he also functioned as the head of the party’s media arm. Apart from that, Cooray was the founding CEO of Rivira Media Corporation and a consultant at Capital Maharaja Organization.

The new coalition government has already seen several internal conflicts after it came to power in September. Interestingly, certain internal fights were not between members of the two main parties of the unity government, but among members of the same party.

The controversy surrounding the Avant Garde private security firm and arms operation has already sent ripples across the ruling coalition. Although the President has ordered the revoking of all government agreements with Avant Garde and the hand over of armouries to the Navy, the internal debate within the government over the conduct of the security company is still in full swing.

Former Law and Order Minister Thilak Marapana and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe defended the conduct of Avant Garde saying there was no legal basis to take action against the security firm. As a result, Marapana had to bid adieu to his ministerial portfolio as the government came under severe pressure from its own members who pushed for the Minister’s removal.

Before tendering his letter of resignation, Marapana, on Sunday afternoon, had a special discussion with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. At the meeting, Marapana conveyed to the Prime Minister that he wished to resign from his portfolio to make way for a fresh inquiry into the matter. After listening to the Minister’s explanation, the Prime Minister allowed him to proceed with his decision.

On Monday morning, Marapana telephoned President Maithripala Sirisena and informed him that he had decided to step down from his position. The minister said he did not want to place the government in an embarrassing position by clinging to the ministerial portfolio. The President too gave him the green light and appreciated his courage. Soon after the telephone conversation, Marapana sent his letter of resignation to the President.

Vajira’s tactical moves

Marapana’s cabinet colleague Vajira Abeywardena walked the extra mile to defend Marapana when it came to the Avant Garde issue. Abeywardena took part in discussions on Sobhitha Thera’s funeral arrangements, chaired by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Monday morning. At these meetings Abeywardena raised the issue of Marapana’s resignation with the Prime Minister but the minister did not elicit a positive response.

At that point, Marapana had already concluded his discussions with the Prime Minister on the matter. It is widely known among political circles that Abeywardena too came under heavy fire from various sections due to his alleged involvement in the Avant Garde issue.

An interesting development took place during the funeral of Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera on Thursday at the Parliament grounds. Abeywardena, who played an important role in organizing the funeral, took measures to change the seating arrangements at the last moment. Abeywardena made sure that he sat next to the Prime Minister at the funeral and he was fully aware of the fact that photographers covering the event would capture this ‘moment’.

Some Cabinet ministers, during their inner circle discussions, dubbed Abeywardena’s move as an attempt to show that he was still close to the Prime Minister, despite various allegations levelled against him with regard to the Avant Garde controversy.

On the other hand, Cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne and Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe are openly at war with each other on the Avant Garde issue. Although Senaratne and Rajapakshe serve in the same Cabinet representing the same party, the relationship between the two politicians have a long, but bitter history.

In April, 1999, Senaratne was unseated after a two-judge Court of Appeal bench disqualified him for doing business with the State while being an MP.

Justice Hector Yapa and Justice Asoka de Silva had relied on the Soulbury Constitution in the absence of provisions relating to such matters in the present Constitution in deciding on the petition filed by Dilan Perera, a Deputy Minister at the time.

Dr. Senaratne’s counsel, K. N. Choksy, argued that the member concerned is not debarred from sitting and voting since all the laws relating to such matters have lapsed following the enactment of Parliamentary Elections Act (I) of 1999.

However, counsel for the petitioner, Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, argued that Article 168 of the Constitution dealing with transitional provisions activated all previous relationships in instances where the law was silent. The court upheld Rajapakse’s position.

It doesn’t require a lot of wisdom to know that the Court case left a bitter taste in Senaratne’s mouth. The current intra-party battle between Rajapakshe and Senaratne cannot be understood without taking this ‘history’ into consideration.

Rajapakshe openly challenged the media statement made by Senaratne on Thursday, after a meeting on the Avant Garde issue chaired by the President. While responding to Rajapakshe’s claims, Senaratne called the latter a goda perakadoruwa indicating the Justice Minister was not ‘fit enough’ to be a lawyer.

Son’s Facebook war

Senaratne’s remark provoked Rakitha Rajapakshe, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s son, who went on to claim that Senaratne was a ‘third class’ media spokesman. Posting a statement on his Facebook profile, Rakitha said: “The third class media spokesman of the Governmnet of Sri Lanka has officially made a split of the Government. If he calls my father a goda perakodoruwa he is a bloody … (edited out)… who was sacked from the parliament for selling expired medicine to Sri Lanka Army. That was the first and only time an MP was sacked from Parliament by Courts of Sri Lanka.”

Meanwhile, there was speculation over the past few days that the Justice Minister too had come under pressure from various circles within the government to resign. Among those pushing for his resignation are Ministers Patali Champika Ranawaka, Rajitha Senaratne and Arjuna Ranatunga who claim that stern action should be taken against Avant Garde.

In addition to the ministers of the national unity government, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, another party leader who supported President Sirisena’s election campaign in January, has opened a new battlefront against Wijedasa.

Lanka’s Tutu who couldn’t find a Mandela

Although Sri Lanka is yet to find it Mandela, the country found its ‘Desmond Tutu’ in Ven Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera who bade farewell to the nation on Thursday evening.

Tutu, the first black Archbishop of Cape Town and Bishop of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, was a staunch supporter of Mandela’s long walk to freedom and the battle against apartheid.

Tutu often compared Apartheid to Nazism and, as a result, the white South African regime twice revoked his passport, and he was jailed briefly in 1980 after a protest march.

It was thought by many that Tutu’s increasing international reputation and his rigorous advocacy of non-violence protected him from harsher penalties.

Tutu was also harsh in his criticism of the violent tactics of some anti-apartheid groups such as the African National Congress and denounced terrorism.

After victory in the battle against apartheid, Tutu served as the head of the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, positioning himself as South Africa’s “moral conscience”. Tutu is widely hailed as a symbol of peace for his pivotal role in bringing about lasting reconciliation to South Africa, a divided nation a few decades back.

Sobhitha Thera’s long struggle always focused on strengthening freedom and democracy in the island nation he was born and grew up in. In this he followed the footsteps of erudite Buddhist monks such as Bambarande Siriseevali, Yakkaduwe Pagnarama and Walpola Rahula who preached and acted with great social and political consciousness. In his socio-political engagements, Sobhitha Thera always appeared for the best interests of the common man and as a result, he earned the wrath of successive rulers over the past 40 years.

When voices of the common masses were stifled during the last five years of the Rajapaksa administration, Sobitha Thera was one of the first prominent activists to fire salvos at the former first family and their tyrannical rule. He even offered to be the common candidate of the opposition at the Presidential election, if no one wanted to challenge the Rajapaksa regime, which was moving in the direction of a dictatorship, especially after the victory of war.

He was the main figure who brought forward the slogan ‘abolition of Executive Presidency’ in the run up to the last Presidential election and it was the main driving force behind the 19th Amendment to the constitution, which curtailed the powers of the Executive President – at least to some extent.

Sobhitha Thera’s civil society initiative, the National Movement for a Just Society, was the main rallying point around which political parties of the opposition gathered at the last Presidential election.

The culmination of that process was accepting Maithripala Sirisena, the longest serving General Secretary of the SLFP, as the Presidential candidate of the common opposition, challenging Rajapaksa’s third term presidential bid.

Hopes were extremely high when the common opposition won the Presidential election, bringing the 10-year Rajapaksa rule to an end. That was, needless to say, the Desmond Tutu moment of Sobhitha Thera, who was the ‘moral conscience’ in the battle against an autocratic regime.

However, when the reform process was hampered due to opportunistic motives of certain politicians, Sobhitha Thera was utterly disappointed. He was livid at the manner in which the 19th amendment to the constitution was ‘diluted’ by opportunistic politicians of both sides. The disappointment worsened when those who faced bribery and corruption allegations were gifted with ministerial and deputy ministerial portfolios.

He never hid his emotions when he spoke to media about the state of affairs in the country, where political and social reforms were concerned. It needs to be understood that Sobhitha Thera died with distress and disappointment. As much as the government took measures to give the Thera due respect after his demise, it also has to fulfill Sobhitha Thera’s wishes by fast-tracking social and political reforms – a key purpose for which the present government was brought into power by 6.2 million Lankan voters.

In hindsight, Sobhitha Thera died as the Desmond Tutu of Sri Lanka who failed to find his ‘Mandela’.