With three weeks to go for the National New Year, if there is one word that would encapsulate the preoccupation of Sri Lankans in the past many months, it is 'war'.
In the battlefields of the north-east, Tiger guerrillas, holed up in some 25 square kilometers of land, are continuing to offer resistance. Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, told Parliament the war would "be over within days." Military leaders are up against another new deadline, to finish it before Avurudhu. Though on their last legs, the guerrillas are not only offering resistance but also attempting to trigger more incidents outside the bloody battle zone.
One such instance was the recent attack by the suicide bomber on a religious event at a mosque at Godapitiya in Akuressa. The fact that guerrilla cadres had infiltrated the deep-south has not only embarrassed the defence establishment but also spurred them into action. Senior Police officers in the Matara district have been transferred out. One Gazetted officer, who was moved out to Jaffna, became the talking point at a high-level conference. Police Chief Jayantha Wickremaratne, known for being candid and forthright, remarked that the officer concerned would be happy. The reason - he would receive almost double pay. He was alluding to the allowances police officers receive when they are posted to "operational areas." There also seemed another underlying message - the futility of transferring police officers from one station to another. If they were perceived to have erred in their original station, the question is how they would perform better in a 'punishment station'.
More importantly, the Godapitiya incident has prompted the defence establishment to activate a series of 'counter terrorism' measures. That it came at a time when the guerrillas have lost almost all ground they once dominated barring a smaller area, is significant enough. The measures include hurriedly enhancing intelligence gathering capabilities at police stations to reach out to grassroots levels.
The plight of thousands of civilians trapped in the battle zone, the result of the 'war', has also continued to a focal point for the Government. Coming under heavy international pressure, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, telephoned President Mahinda Rajapaksa this week to voice his concern. His focus was on the trapped civilians and their well-being.
 |
| Wickremesinghe arriving for the Sirikotha meeting pic by Berty Mendis |
Rajapaksa, the Presidential Secretariat said in a news release, explained that there was new evidence, including photographs which would be supplied, of the LTTE having built bunkers for its armed cadres in the midst of the civilians it was holding. "However, despite the threats of harm by the LTTE there were increasing numbers coming over to the Government-held areas. This was seen as a positive sign, as the continued moving of civilians away from the shrinking LTTE held area would help ease the confinement of the civilians," the media release said.
However, the pro-LTTE Tamilnet website had a different story. It quoted a report in the Inner City Press at the UN in New York to say there were food shortages. The report from Maththew Lee, who is said to only run a web site, quoted from a purported UN document (text was posted on the website) to say that with several "weeks of food shortages, it's highly predicted that mortality could set in on a significant number of IDP population….…."
There are two concerns arising for the Government over these developments. It has learnt that at least one country is strongly spearheading the move to put pressure on the United Nations. The activities of the Colombo based envoy of this country have come under close watch in this regard. Though he has postured himself as very friendly before some senior leaders of the Government, some reports, particularly about his contacts with some groups have given cause for concern.
The other is the Inner City Press, a veritable one-man show run by a hitherto unknown Maththew Lee. Operating from the UN lobby, he has successfully buttonholed important UN envoys and posed questions on civilian sufferings and related issues around the world. The Government was embarrassed by the repeatedly pro-guerrilla reportage and instructions were sent to the country's UN ambassador Shantha Palihakkara to confer with his counterparts, especially those in the Security Council.
If that was not bad enough, such reports had also prompted the international community and non-state players to take up cudgels against the Government. At the highest levels of the Government, serious concerns are being expressed about the effectiveness of the Foreign Ministry to deal with the growing situation, especially at the UN.
In the US capital, Washington, the Government has hired a leading US public relations firm Patton Boggs. Needless to say such expertise costs a lot of dollars. In this instance, it has also transformed Sri Lanka diplomacy leaps and bounds. Recently, a delegation from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) led by its Executive Director Joel Simon met Sri Lanka's US Ambassador Jaliya Wickremasuriya. Seated at the discussion were representatives of the PR firm. Usually, they are hired to promote the brief given by their clients. But, in this instance, they even joined embassy officials in the conduct of Sri Lankan diplomacy.
"Time is not far off when Sri Lanka's diplomacy abroad could be outsourced," said an irate senior Foreign Ministry official. He added "our ability to reach out to the foreign media and through them to the people at large is virtually non-existent. Untrained hands appointed for considerations other than the requirements for the job are doing more damage."
All these developments, in a democracy, would have been ideal opportunities for an Opposition. They could effectively bring them to light before the public and ensure there are checks and balances. Naturally that would be to their advantage. Alas, there is a bigger 'war' in the main opposition, the United National Party (UNP)
UNP heavyweight boxing meet
Round four of the Ranil Wickremesinghe & Loyalists vs. The Rest, the intra-party boxing meet, took place on Tuesday at the Parliamentary Complex, when the never-say-die Mahiyangana pugilist, Lakshman Seneviratne, backed by a horde of others insisted on the ouster of Wickremesinghe as UNP leader with immediate effect.
Wickremesinghe's troubles are well documented, and the party's poor showing at recent provincial elections has only added to his woes. That the party front-liners opted to take up this issue in the midst of a campaign for the Western Provincial Council election showed how insensitive they were to the chances of party candidates from this province. Their argument, however, was that they were on a much bigger task.
Over last weekend, this group that had been long demanding Wickremesinghe's ouster had met and decided to call for a vote of confidence on their party leader. The setting this time was the parliamentary group, not exactly the place to depose him as party leader, but that was nevertheless picked as their launching pad.
Usually, the parliamentary group meeting is held twice a month, on the first and third Mondays, the days before Parliament meets. The business on the agenda is almost always, parliamentary business - not party matters. But this group within the UNP has been so besotted by the need to remove their leader, their fundamental duties as legislators have been ignored. None of the group members is known for any scintillating speeches or worthwhile contributions in Parliament. It is not just that they have been preoccupied by fighting for positions in the party, it has also got a lot to do with their sheer incompetence and bankruptcy of ideas.
In any event, the parliamentary group meeting usually scheduled for Monday had been put off for Tuesday. The anti-Wickremesinghe group cried "foul", accusing the party leader of buying time and avoiding a confrontation. A meeting of Western Province candidates had been called for by Wickremesinghe instead, to launch a fund raiser campaign. The party's exchequer is as badly off as the party itself, and candidates have been complaining that they are facing an uphill challenge to the free-spending ruling party candidates and the Government machinery arraigned against them.
Come Tuesday, the Parliamentary group eventually met just before Parliament itself was convened. Lakshman Seneviratne fired the first salvo saying that a certain number of MPs were desirous of calling for a vote of confidence (it was more appropriate to call it a vote of no-confidence) on the party leader. Wickremesinghe said the matter was not on the agenda for the day, and they must finish what was on the agenda first, but Seneviratne and some other MPs were not going to take 'No' for an answer. They insisted their matter be taken up for discussion.
Who says Wickremesinghe is not a democrat? Instead of ruling Seneviratne out-of-order, as he clearly was, Wickremesinghe permitted the matter to be raised notwithstanding the venue. The quorum bell in Parliament started ringing calling legislators to the Chamber, but some of these UNP MPs were in no mood for Parliamentary business. Within no time Seneviratne launched into Wickremesinghe saying that they meant no personal disrespect, but that it was time for him to go. He called for a vote of confidence - by secret ballot.
Wickremesinghe was to ask why any vote should be taken by secret ballot rather than an open show of hands. There was more than just a nuance to it. The Wickremesinghe loyalists felt he still commanded the majority of the 42-member (sans the Speaker) Parliamentary group, and a party leader always had the advantage of an open show of hands, while on the other hand, so to say, a secret ballot could turn out to be a tricky affair.
Ranjit Maddumabandara from Moneragala seconded the Seneviratne (Mahiyangana) proposal. The modern version of the 'Uva rebellion' had been set in motion. In rapid succession, there were several MPs who began supporting the proposal. There was Assistant Leader Rukman Senanayake who was very critical of Wickremesinghe. He said there was a Sunday newspaper that was being used for vicious attacks on those in the party who did not follow the dictates of the leader, or was a threat, and that he was one of those victims. As an analogy he said that in Australia there were sheep-dogs who were used by farmers to herd sheep into place. Similarly, he said, one newspaper was being used to do such 'balu vada' . Senanayake was probably making the additional point that he is no sheep either.
Johnston Fernando and Jayalath Jayawardene, one-time Wickremesinghe loyalists were the next to support the proposal calling for his blood. Fernando said that Wickremesinghe played little ploys and tricks on partymen. Then came Ravi Samaraweera, Dayasiri Jayasekera, and Sajith Premadasa to join the party.
Vajira Abeywardene from Galle was the lone sentinel that stood up to defend Wickremesinghe at this stage. He raised a legal point of order. He pointed out that the party constitution does not provide for any of the things they were discussing. He said that there is no provision for a vote of confidence.
Abeywardene was shouted down by the proponents of the Seneviratne motion. They accused him of carrying a brief for President Mahinda Rajapaksa. At one point Samaraweera told him in the only language he knew, to stick the party constitution up his backside. Premadasa accused him of
once saying that Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya's sarong must be removed for his cross-over, and subsequent return to the party-fold.
Seeing the verbal artillery fire that Abeywardene had to face, those wishing to speak against the Seneviratne motion, if any, or to support Wickremesinghe would have thought twice.
Wickremesinghe made no intervention, only interruptions to clarify some of the issues raised. For instance, when the question of Karu Jayasuriya been given his former post as Deputy Leader -- despite his cross-over was raised, Wickremesinghe said that he had consulted party members before offering the post again to Jayasuriya.
Party seniors, John Amaratunga and Gamini Jayawickrama Perera then stepped into the fray striking a conciliatory tone into the rather heated debate within the Committee room of the House. They suggested that a committee go into the party constitution with a view to amending it. Party General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said that his party position prevented him from taking sides, but he said, these were matters that had to be ironed out in a calmer atmosphere.
By now it was 11 am, and news reaching the media was that Wickremesinghe was almost being held hostage by his own MPs. No doubt, some of this information was fed by Government MPs reveling in the crisis within the main Opposition party - known in British parliamentary tradition as the Alternate Government.
Inside the Chambers of Parliament, Government MPs were wondering if the UNP MPs were indulging in any boycott of proceedings, only to be informed by a reliable leaker that Wickremesinghe was under siege from some of his own MPs. Never the type to miss an opportunity at taking a jibe at the Opposition, some of the Government MPs volunteered to save Wickremesinghe from the clutches of his own MPs.
With no finality being reached, it was then decided that the meeting be adjourned for 5 pm the same day - at 'Sri Kotha', the party headquarters built in Pita-Kotte during the halcyon days of the party (1977-1994) because the parliamentary minor staff leave by then and the parliament doors are shut.
The meeting was to be a continuation of the parliamentary group session, but by mid-afternoon party secretary Attanayake called the Opposition Leader's Secretary Naufel Abdul Rahuman and told him that this was not going to be a formal meeting of the Group, and therefore, that his presence was not required.
Senior leader
Twenty three of the 42 MPs turned up for the 5 O'clock meeting at 'Sri Kotha'. There was no show by Wickremesinghe. But between 11 am and 5 pm, party elders had met informally.
Amaratunga then came and told the Seneviratne group that the party leader was willing to accept a compromise - to consider the appointment of a new post called Senior Leader (Pradana nayaka), but wished to know what powers would be given to such a position.
They were told that the party constitution will now have to be amended for this purpose, and that the matter could be raised at the Working Committee meeting scheduled for the following day.
That same evening, around 7.30, Karu Jayasuriya, Renuka Herath, Gamini Jayawickrama Perera and Tissa Attanayake came to see Wickremesinghe. They were to decide on a way to break the impasse, without breaking the already fractured party. One of the agreements was that an eight-member committee would be set up to draft amendments to the UNP constitution that would enable the appointment of a senior leader, who is expected to be Wickremesinghe. What powers and responsibilities he will have will be the all-important question.
The committee was to comprise Jayawickrama Perera as Chairman, Amaratunga, Attanayaka, Herath, S.B. Dissanayake, Lakshman Kiriella, Lakshman Seneviratne and Sajith Premadasa.
On Wednesday morning, the eight-member committee met at the General Secretary Attanayake's room to formulate a note (it was specifically not meant to be a resolution) that would be presented to that afternoon's Working Committee meeting.
All member's of the Working Committee, the party's so-called highest decision-making body are appointed by the party leader, and for years it has been considered a rubber stamp of the party leader.
That situation has now changed to some extent, but Wickremesinghe's loyal supporters within the party, confident as they were of a majority in the Parliamentary Group, were equally confident of a majority in the Working Committee. Wickremesinghe himself had telephoned some of his sure bets and asked them to be present at the meeting should there have been a vote sprung on him. On the other hand, Wickremesinghe clearly did not seem to want to take his chances and go for a vote of confidence either, which could have put the 'Uva rebellion' to rest.
The meeting began with Attanayake reading out the minutes of the previous meeting, and an unexpected intervention from the former MP for Beliatte and one-time Health Minister Dr. Ranjit Atapattu. He started criticising Sajith Premadasa, the party's chief organizer for the Hambantota district. Atapattu started berating Premadasa saying that not a single Bala Mandalaya (branch) meeting had been held in Hambantota for the past 15 months. At which point Premadasa began shouting back "Methana game gahana aya innawa; mamath dannawa game gahanna" (there are people here who play games, I also know how to play games). It seemed that Premadasa felt that Atapattu was set-up to attack him, though knowing Atapattu's character, he is not a likely candidate to be anyone else's cats-paw. Mulkirigala's Ananda Kularatne, not a great fan of young Premadasa either waded into the storm in a tea-cup, but made the suggestion that this was not the forum to discuss the party structure at Hambantota under Premadasa's stewardship, and that a separate day be reserved for this purpose.
That interlude over, and the minutes approved, Attanayake announced the appointment of the eight-member committee to amend the party constitution to enable the introduction of a new post as Senior Leader. He said that this committee would have a short time frame (of less than 100 hours) as they would need to report back to a special meeting of the Working Committee scheduled for tomorrow (Monday) at 3 pm. Two senior lawyers, former Minister Tilak Marapana and Shibly Aziz, both former Attorneys General, will form the legal experts for this committee.
The committee itself is evenly poised. S.B. Dissanayake, Lakshman Seneviratne and Sajith Premadasa want Wickremesinghe dethroned. Renuka Herath and Lakshman Kiriella want the status-quo to remain, while Jayawickrama Perera, Amaratunga and Attanayake will probably swim with the tide.
Currently, all power within the party revolves around the party leader, and how much power will rest with the proposed senior leader, and a new party leader according to this eight-member committee will be what is of interest. Wickremesinghe is in no mood to him being entirely side-lined, though he seems willing to shed some of his responsibilities, particularly on the administration side of things - not the political side.
Attempts at his side-lining have been a long time coming. He has had challenges to his leadership like no other UNP leader has faced. Not Dudley Senanayake, uncle of Rukman as Prime Minister who found a revolt in the party when he went for medical treatment to Britain and there were premature reports in Colombo of his death in London, nor in the immediate aftermath of the 1970 defeat of the UNP when a section of the party wanted to coalesce with the new Government, nor Ranasinghe Premadasa, father of Sajith, who faced an incredible impeachment motion in Parliament by the joint Opposition together with a section of his own front-liners, a move stoutly opposed by Wickremesinghe himself as Leader of the House at the time.
The first major revolt against Wickremesinghe's leadership was back in 2001 when he was visiting Norway in the company of his erstwhile right-hand-man Milinda Moragoda, now the Minister of Tourism. Only a few months later, the UNP won the General Election and many of those who stabbed him in the back ended as Cabinet Ministers under his premiership. Since then, the number of uprisings against his leadership has been countless. Only Fidel Castro may have survived more internal - and external, coups.
Ranil's mistakes
But what Wickremesinghe failed to do was to rally the troops and lift their morale in difficult times in the opposition. In many ways, events themselves went against him. For instance, when the courts permitted an MP elected from one party to freely crossover to another and take Ministerial jobs, rather than be sacked, it left a huge door open for those who clamoured for the perks of office to leave an Opposition party. And they left in droves - Sarath Amunugama, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Rohitha Bogollagama, and later, G.L. Peiris, Gamini Lokuge, Rajitha Senaratne, M.H. Mohamed, Moragoda and many others. Quite apart from the morality of collecting one's votes from one party and crossing over to another, or serving another, (what are morals in politics, anyway?), this was arguably the single-most crippling blow to the Opposition, because when this door was opened, it left the UNP almost no chance of sniffing power.
That does not mean that Wickremesinghe was to be absolved of all culpability for the management of the UNP. His media unit was long questioned as being a 'hit squad' that attacked whom they considered were 'upstarts' in the party. Even media persons complained that it targeted them. Their dealings with the mainstream media were also wanting, unable to get any good publicity for the leader and the party when the chips were down.
He ignored the party's grassroots machinery - the mechanism that brings home the votes. He procrastinated in appointing his electoral organizers, and once appointed let them hang out on a limbo without direction. Instead, he concentrated on mustering international support to pressurize and corner the Rajapaksa administration, which Rajapaksa managed to ward off with a gung-ho policy backed mainly by victories in the battle-front.
What was possibly the biggest mistake was having completely misread the mood in the country vis-à-vis the 'war' effort. He seemed to take personally, that going to war with the LTTE was an abandonment of his own approach in tackling the LTTE, and therefore, was the wrong approach. Instead, he should have considered it only as a different approach to deal with the LTTE. His public comments at critical moments, therefore, without a cogent party policy on the issue, and a lumpish media unit unable to do any damage-control, cost the party dearly in mass support and eventually, votes - in the South.
The government does not seem to be done with painting him, and the UNP as 'traitors'. The LTTE's erstwhile deputy leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna has repeatedly said, most recently only last week, that it was the 2002 peace talks (under a UNP administration headed by Wickremesinghe) that made him think differently; to know that there was a life beyond the fighting in the jungles for an unattainable Eelam. His break-away, and the subsequent split of the LTTE, was a split from which that organisation never recovered in the military sense. The UNP could never take credit for this because of its appeasement line with the LTTE, even though it was the LTTE that deprived Wickremesinghe of victory at the 2005 Presidential election. Now, the government is making use of a statement from the very person the UNP appointed to deal with the LTTE, including Karuna, during the peace talks period, to show how the UNP pandered, dangerously, to the LTTE.
The UNP is clearly unable to say that its ploy was to seduce the LTTE leadership at the time, and wean them away from war. Questions are being asked whether the LTTE was permitted BOI facilities to import certain war-like items; whether certain items went without Customs inspection to the Wanni.
Wickremesinghe himself is likely to be questioned on the seemingly unsolicited statement to the government by one-time Airport and Aviation deputy head Gamini Abeyratne alias 'Taxi Abey', now a member of the anti-Wickremesinghe Group within the UNP.
In a five-hour long statement he made to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), he has made several accusations against the UNP leader. The party itself has become privy to them and was consulting legal opinion. They opine that Abeyratne's statements were heavily flavoured since he was "now buying insurance" with the Government for his own survival." UNP lawyers say that it was Abeyratne who asked then Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to allow some bags go un-checked in an Air Force helicopter from the airport to the Wanni. The Air Force had objected, citing danger to the helicopter if it contained explosives. This statement to the CID though, now opens another front for the UNP and Opposition Leader to defend himself.
At the conclusion of the Working Committee meeting, Wickremesinghe said that those present, the senior members of the party, know the hardships the party and its members had endured over the past several years, especially to keep it together. He said that he did not want the party to be divided, and that when any decisions were taken, not to decide on personalities alone but on what was best for the party. He urged all of them to unite after the 23rd when the party constitution is amended, to defeat the government.
It was not entirely a stirring speech, but a somber one probably befitting the mood of the Working Committee. Whether the eight-member committee will be able to come up with the goods by tomorrow is still to be seen. Whether there would be total agreement is a tall order. Wickremesinghe is likely to dig his heels. He told his loyal group that he offered to stay out of the Western Province campaign, but it were the same Group that wants him ousted who asked him to help in the campaign. Had they kept him out, he would have wondered what his own role was in the party. Now, they ask him to campaign as party leader, and then want him out. He wondered if some of them were acting at the behest of the Government to keep the party split in an election year.
In any event, even if the eight-member Committee does come up with the goods tomorrow, the amendments have to be formally proposed by the Working Committee, which can also be done tomorrow, but they need to be endorsed by the larger Executive Committee (which usually meets in June), and eventually approved at the annual party convention. The convention is held only in December, unless the Executive Committee meeting in June is converted into a convention to pass these amendments.
The question of who will succeed Wickremesinghe as party leader also looms large. Those who want him ousted have taken up the approach that 'anyone' is better than him. That is easier said than done. Many feel that Karu Jayasuriya, the Deputy Leader would be the heir-apparent, and the natural successor. At the Parliamentary group meeting, and at the Working Committee he too has come in for some blistering criticism by some. They asked if this was the reward for leading 17 UNP MPs to join the government. Recognising this crticism, Jayasuriya remained silent saying he did not hanker after posts. Others however argued that even Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga left the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), only to return and lead the party to electoral success.
The party leadership is not just an ornamental post. Insiders say that administering a political party in Opposition is no mean assignment. For one, administering 'Siri Kotha' saps anyone's energy. Some likened the party headquarters to that of a Montessori with people running around in different directions all the time trying to do different things. Telephone bills remain un-paid, and no-one knows who is who there. Collecting financial resources is another key requirement of the party leader.
It has often been said of the UNP, that the party is like its symbol - the elephant, an animal who does not realize its own size and influence in the scheme of things. But this elephant has a long march to be considered the Alternate Government, or the supplicant Government-in-waiting. This pachyderm has miles to go to soothe its own party supporters, even before it can reassure the voters-at-large that it symbolises a united - national - party.
The role envisaged for Wickremesinghe seems to be one similar to that of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore where having given up his position as Prime Minister, he remains Senior Minister and for all intents and purposes, the pater-familias or head of the Cabinet family.
Even Wickremesinghe's biggest detractors would agree that he would have made a good political and government leader in a Singapore style of technocracy. For better or for worse, Sri Lanka is not Singapore. |
E-mail