The Political Column

The politics of violence

The second victim was a UNPer from Molagoda, Kegalle. The finger was pointed at the PA in this instance too. 

These incidents display the nature of our political culture. On Wednesday, the Mahanayake Theras of the four Nikayas issued a statement, urging the authorities to hold a free and fair election where people can exercise their franchise without fear. 

The reason for this kind of escalating violence may be related to economic problems with poverty-stricken people becoming pawns in the hands of power-hungry politicians.

The free education which has been in existence in Sri Lanka since 1944 and the efforts made by the clergy whether it be Buddhists, Hindus, Christians or Muslims have not reaped any fruits in disciplining the Sri Lankan society. It is a pathetic indictment on a country which has cherished universal franchise from 1931. Seventy years later, some people are beginning to think that democracy does not suit this country.

What we see today is a distortion of democracy where the ruling party calls the shots at election campaigns with state resources being flagrantly abused. The ruling party indulges in extravagant handouts to the people to woo them,eventually ruining the economy. 

The hive of political activity that began on the eve of the introduction of the new constitution bill in parliament, gathered momentum with the dissolution of parliament. 

With the nominations closing in, the ruling PA is in for a crisis with two of its Ministers — A.H.M. Fowzie and SLMC Leader M.H.M. Ashraff — at each other's throat.

It all happened after Mr. Ashraff chose the controversial political manipulator A. J. M. Muzammil to contest the Colombo District on the SLMC ticket. It sparked off a series of controversies not only in the political scene, but in the family circles of Mr. Muzammil because his brother-in-law M.M. Zuhair, who was a national list MP in the last parliament, had earlier been billed to contest the Colombo district. 

Mr. Zuhair, a one-time senior state counsel, virtually sacrificed his legal career for the party and he became a close confidante of Mr. Ashraff, his friend from Law College days. 

Mr. Zuhair was a close adviser of Mr. Ashraff on all legal matters and matters pertaining to his party. But things began to change when Mr. Zuhair began to question decisions taken by the leadership. Mr. Ashraff alleges that Mr. Zuhair had criticised him publicly and brought disrepute to the party while Mr. Zuhair refutes all that and says they had differences at politburo meetings which, Mr. Zuhair goes on to say was the only forum for a frank discussion.

The Ashraff camp in the party alleges that Mr. Zuhair has overstepped his limits when he tried to prevent the party's national list MP Asitha Perera, from resigning, ostensibly at the behest of Mr. Ashraff. Insiders point out that though the matter did not visibly surface, the relationship began to sour after this incident. The row within the SLMC reached a climax when Mr. Ashraff announced that Mr. Zuhair had been suspended from the party.

Some observers say the SLMC has lost the services of a good lawyer and political strategist with Mr. Zuhair's suspension. Mr. Zuhair was perturbed when he learnt that his brother-in-law Mr. Muzammil has stepped into his slot in Colombo. There was a wave of sympathy for Mr. Zuhair among Muslim circles and friends. But Mr. Zuhair initially did not want to exploit this sympathy wave. He wanted to keep quiet as long as the SLMC leadership did not cross his path. 

But with Mr. Ashraff going public over the state media, Mr. Zuhair was pushed into a situation where he had to explain under what circumstances he was thrown out of the party. 

The SLMC leadership knows Mr. Zuhair is capable of scuttling its electoral chances in the Colombo district. Realizing his strength, the UNP and the SLFP Muslim units are trying to woo him. Mr. Zuhair is not keen on the UNP's offer. But he may consider siding with the UNP if the SLMC tried to push him too much.

After Mr. Zuhair left the SLMC, the party is said to be consolidating itself with the arrival of Mr. Muzammil, a one-time close associate of President Premadasa, Minister Gamini Dissanayake and Minister Lalith Athulathmudali. 

He had many differences with party general secretary Gamini Atukorale and later he was removed from the All-Island Executive Committee as well as the Evaluation Committee of the UNP. Mr. Muzammil claims he was a member of the UNP at the time of joining the SLMC — a claim disputed by the UNP which says he was removed from the Executive Committee a long time ago and he was no more a member. But Mr. Muzammil says he has a membership card signed by Mr. Wickremesinghe. 

Mr. Ashraff believes that Mr. Muzammil could help the party make inroads into the Muslim vote bank in Colombo. It may be so, but Mr. Muzammil is not well known at the grassroots level, though his name is associated with the Cricket Board. So he has to design a huge campaign in a bid to woo the Muslim vote bank.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga has heard about Mr. Muzammil through various sources, but has not seen him in action where political matters are concerned.

Mr. Muzammil's entry into politics through the SLMC is causing concern for Minister A. H. M. Fowzie who described him as a UNP agent.

SLMC insiders say that soon after Mr. Zuhair fell out with Mr. Ashraff, Mr. Fowzie took him to see President Kumaratunga in a bid to strengthen the SLFP's Muslim unit in Colombo. But at this meeting, things turned sour for Mr. Fowzie when the President refused to accommodate him on the national list and told him to contest the Colombo district

The President also had inquired him about the posters that have sprung up in the city with the slogan "Fowzie for the whole country. Nauzer for Colombo." When the President asked for an explanation, Mr. Fowzie said his supporters had put up these posters which were printed for the provincial council elections. 

Thereafter, he unleashed his anger at the SLMC leadership whom he thought was a stumbling block for the SLFP Muslim unit. In a statement issued to the press, he lashed out at Mr. Ashraff, saying he would quit politics if the SLMC could win five seats contesting the elections on its own.

The statement, a copy of which was obtained by Mr. Ashraff infuriated him. He thought some part of it had been drafted with Mr. Zuhair's help. Mr. Ashraff immediately summoned his two Deputy Ministers to his official residence at Stanmore Crescent and explained to them the situation that had arisen. 

At the meeting, Mr. Ashraff told them to resign and started drafting his resignation letter which ran into 23 pages. The letter described how Mr. Fowzie opposed the South-Eastern council proposal approved by the President and the rest of the cabinet. 

The President soon after receiving Mr. Ashraff's resignation letter propelled herself into action. She summoned PA general secretary and Minister D. M. Jayaratne and directed him to issue a statement disowning the statement made by Mr. Fowzie.

The president, having read Minister Fowzie's statement was visibly disturbed. After Mr. Jayaratne drafted the statement, the President had another look at it and added another paragraph to give it a personal touch. Thereafter, she spoke high about Mr. Ashraff, especially the contribution he made in forming the PA government in 1994. 

When the news of Mr. Ashraff's resignation broke out it sent ripples across political circles. Ministers S. B. Dissanayake, Mangala Samaraweera, Alavi Mowlana and Reggie Ranatunga went to meet him. But Mr. Ashraff initially refused to come down and talk to them saying that he was busy. However, 45 minutes later, he came down and spoke to them. The ministers tried to pacify Mr. Ashraff saying not to take things seriously. 

Having sent his letter of resignation which was rejected by the President, Mr. Ashraff left for Mecca on an Umrah pilgrimage. 

Issuing a statement from Mecca, saying he would join the PA only if Mr. Fowzie was removed from the cabinet. 

Will the President give in to Mr. Ashraff's request by removing Fowzie? At the same time Mr. Fowzie is not ready to surrender his heart and soul at Minister Ashraff's demands. Mr. Fowzie scoffing at Mr. Ashraff's demand has said the SLMC leader had assumed a new role of appointing ministers and removing them from the cabinet. It all depends on God, Mr. Fowzie said.

While the debate on Fowzie and Ashraff continued, the suspended parliamentarian of the SLMC has sent his explanation to the General Secretary of the SLMC. He spells out the reason why he was suspended and what action has been taken by the SLMC. 

The Zuhair affair and the Ashraff-Fowzie row has now developed into a crisis in the People's Alliance. 

This was evident at the weekly meeting of the ministers when a majority of the ministers gave Mr. Fowzie the cold shoulder for his attack on Mr. Ashraff.

"With elections round the corner, it definitely worries us," one senior minister told this column.

However SLFP General Secretary S. B. Dissanayake was optimistic. He said the SLMC would fall in line with the PA and contest under one banner. But what Mr. Ashraff would do once he comes back from Mecca is anybody's guess.

Situation Report

Editorial/ Opinion Contents