ISSN: 1391 - 0531
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Vol. 41 - No 37
News

Crossover not for personal gain

  • Mahinda Wijesekera on reasons behind the crossover

By Rohan Abeywardena

The United National Party rebels who joined the government recently have a lot to answer, especially whether they did it for the country, as claimed by them or for personal gain as seen by their insistence on portfolios. One of the most vociferous rebels Mahinda Wijesekera who crossed over at the eleventh hour gave his explanation to the queries we raised in this regard.

Mahinda Wijesekera

He says the recent spate of abductions of Tamils especially in Colombo may be arrests and promised to get the matter clarified by President Rajapaksa

  • Less than three months ago in Parliament you said it was better to stay at home than to go over to the Government and accept portfolios. What have you to say now, having done just the opposite?

I started my politics in the 1970s. We tried to take political power when we were very young, in the university, through armed struggle. We failed. We went to jail as a result. We also tried to take power again through left forces, the United Left Front in the 1977 general election. In fact I contested from Dondra. We all fought under the left banner against the UNP and the SLFP. All of us lost with not a single left candidate entering parliament. That was another experience. Then people told me to do something realistic to be of some service to them. I then helped bring the SLFP to power in 1994. We then had problems and crossed over to the UNP in 2001 and I was elected on the UNP ticket.

But the UNP leader failed to capitalize on the mandate given by the people and ended up losing. It is true I did not want to cross over to a party that I opposed at the general election as well as at the presidential election.

But Mahinda has been a popular person since 1970. I worked in his election campaign in Beliatte that year and helped him to enter parliament.

As we opposed him at the presidential election, I felt embarrassed at joining him as we had not helped bring his party to power. We actually opposed him.

Before I took this decision, I learned that 17 UNP reformists like myself who were fighting to bring about reforms within the party, were going to crossover.

I surveyed the opinion of most members of the UNP Balamandalaya in Matara on January 25. We invited around 500 members.
The people wanted me to either join the government or bring the UNP into power and work for their benefit. They did not want me to go home.

I feel I have the strength to work for another ten to 15 years. Once we failed in our efforts to reform the structure of the party we realised that as things stood we would not be able to come to power.

It was in these circumstances Karu Jayasuriya and the others put forward the proposal to crossover. Initially I was reluctant. I took my decision at the last moment only after consulting my people in Matara.

  • You are the Minister of Special Projects. According to the Gazette Notification its functions are reduced to helping out other ministers. In these circumstances how are you going to serve your people?

True there is no particular ministry as such, only unspecified special projects, it is up to the President. He can select projects from other ministries and hand them over to me to look after. I also can come up with project proposals and get them endorsed by donors for funding. Then I can do something.

My functions are not limited to one ministry. People could say I am subservient to ministries, but in every ministry I can do something with the support of the president. It is up to the President to give me a due place if he wants to make use of my services. At the beginning you can’t get everything. He can’t antagonize other Ministers. If he feels I will be a very useful man and he wants me to do a particular job, I am willing to do it.

  • What is the background to the bitter rivalry between you and Minister Mangala Samaraweera?

Mangala Samaraweera began his political career in 1988, whereas my involvement in politics dates back to 1970. His father was a politician, who started in the Communist Party, then went to the SLFP and later to the UNP. Mangala Samaraweera was a political non entity when he entered the field in 1988 through Anura Bandaranaike.

At the time we were looking for candidates to contest the 1989 election. We were facing a big problem with the JVP demanding no one contest, in addition to many other demands.

Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike, the party leader at the time asked me, as the district leader, whether I would agree to him contesting from there. I had no objection since his father’s name was already known in the area.

He contested in 1989 under my leadership. He came second and I came first. We were in opposition from 1989 to 1994.
When Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga took over the leadership of the SLFP, he did not support me in the Matara district nor did he recognize the role of Mahinda Rajapakse in the district. Chandrika nursed this man. Yet in the 1994 elections he was unable to poll as many votes as Dallas, Gajaweera or myself. He came fourth.

Dallas came first, I was second and Gajaweera was third. Unfortunately Chandrika appointed him as the district leader at the time. While I was not given my due place, he was nurtured by Chandrika.

So he played this political game and did the same thing to Mahinda Rajapaksa. Fortunately however Mahinda Rajapaksa after much struggle came to this position.

So, ours is only a personal dispute. It is not a political one.

  • Now there are more than a hundred Ministers, Project Ministers and Deputy Ministers. Under the circumstances with these people already fighting over what they have got, what other possible special projects can the President offer you?

I know there are too many Ministers. But if you do your best to cut out waste and corruption, you can still do some service to the country. We are not receiving Ministers’ salaries. We receive the salary of an ordinary Member of Parliament.

At one point of time during Chandrika’s time we had between 45 to 48 Ministers. Now we have 52 Ministers, not a big difference. During the last regime too there were around a hundred Ministers. Large Cabinets are therefore nothing new. Yet, I agree it is a very heavy burden.

  • With such a large number of heavyweights crossing over to the Government from the main Opposition on top of those who crossed over earlier, have you all not abdicated your duty to the electorate to be a responsible opposition to watch over their interests?

The Opposition is still a strong one. There are still 48 UNP members remaining in the opposition, the TNA has 22 members and the JVP has 38 members.

There were reasons for us to cross over. When we were in the Opposition what were we doing? We signed an MOU to co-operate with the government.

  • The crossover was it for the country’s sake and not for personal gain?

It was definitely for the sake of the country. I’m a man who gave up his portfolio to join the Opposition. Even now I’m not worried about not having a portfolio. It is the choice of the people.

  • When in the Opposition you cried yourselves hoarse about good governance, greater devolution of power, state terror, high cost of living etc. Now increasing numbers of abductions are taking place even in Colombo. This is driving fear into the hearts of many Tamils in particular. Do you now condone such actions?

As regards terrorism these things are happening. I do not know whether they were abducted or arrested.

  • As partners in the Government now why haven’t any of you verified this?

This is only the first week. I have still not gone to my Ministry. Give me little time. There are two sides. The other side is threatening and killing people. When terrorism is prevalent the government cannot be expected to keep quiet. To maintain law and order the government has to act. I do not endorse abduction and killing of people. We will speak to the President and see how these things are happening.

  • You were quoted in one of the newspapers as stating that you might go to Courts to get control of the UNP. Are you seriously thinking on those lines?

They are now trying to remove us from the party. So it will be finally decided in Court. Similar things happened to those who crossed over earlier. The decisions of the UNP Working Committee against Keheliya Rambukwella and Mahinda Samarasinghe, however failed in the Courts of law. We have to work according to our conscience and the right to crossover is a universal right. We thought this was a good way of serving the people. We will work in accordance with the MOU signed between the UNP and the SLFP.

  • Someone said that you all might be able to get on well with the President, but it may not be true of one of his brothers, who has a powerful personality. What will you do if things turn sour?

An Indian astrologer has even predicted that Milinda Moragoda will not last in Government for more than eight months for this reason.

We hope things will get better. I know this family since 1970. True I did not work for them in 2005, but the President remembers me working for his victory as far back as in 1970. That is why he wanted me to on his side.

 
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Copyright 2007 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka.