The Political Column

26th November 2000

UNP rising from slumber

By our Political Correspondent

They point out that the party's media statements on the oversized cabinet have not been effective in taking the message to the people.

Had the party highlighted the enormous cost in public funds for the maintenance of a cabinet of 44 ministers with vehicles, administrative and security staff and housing, it could have made a big impact, these members say pointing out that the appointment of such a large number of ministers was contrary to a PA pledge in 1994.

The JVP, on the contrary, is keeping the momentum up in exposing the government's excesses and is fast becoming popular among the general public. The JVP's pronouncement that it would not make use of luxury perks offered to MPs has received much public accolade. Instead of big cars which will cost the government millions of dollars, the JVP MPs will go for small utility cars thus contributing in its own way to reduce the burden on the state coffers and the public.

Can the UNP MPs also do similar things, foregoing the pensions, refusing to partake the sumptuous meals at parliamentary restaurant given at a giveaway price and lead an exemplary life of a parliamentarian? If they do, they could put the government in real difficulty and the UNP's campaign for moderatation will gather momentum, analysts point out.

Many UNP members believe that they have been indulging in luxuries since 1977 and now they are unable to foresake these privileges to win back the confidence of the people. The UNP has done too little during the past six years to win an election. It appears only that most of the UNP members are interested in securing their parliamentary seats rather than winning the election and forming a government.

Had the UNP campaign been effective in the provinces and had it worked hard to prevent rigging and other malpractices, it could have easily won the election 2000. For example, the UNP could have won the districts of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Kegalle — all three traditional UNP vote banks — if it had a proper strategy, vision and the determination to win the election.

From the beginning of the general election campaign, the UNP was lacking in good campaigning. Most of the UNP strategists used the UNP bastion of Colombo as a barometer to gauge the mood in the rest of the country and failed miserably in the provinces.

What we have to realise is that the thinking of the city folks is totally different from that of the people in the regions. political analysts believe that the UNP had failed to overcome this problem because the leadership had placed its confidence in a group of Colombo-centric advisors who knew little about what the people in the provinces wanted. One may point out UNP victories in Polonnaruwa and Hambantota districts, but the success had little to do with the Colombo-based advisors.

Sajith Premadasa, for instance, knew the pulse of the Hambantota district and he had been with the people looking into their needs and winning their confidence — just like his father Ranasinghe Premadasa, a workaholic, who became the President against many odds.

The story in Polonnaruwa was different. Though candidates there worked hard to achieve the target in Polonnaruwa, other factors and circumstances compelled the farmer community there to support the UNP. It was more a protest vote against the government than a vote for the UNP because of the difficulties the farmers experienced in the Polonnaruwa district.

In another development, the UNP is also facing a disciplinary crisis. The UNP leadership has felt that the members are shooting out private members bills and all types of motions without prior approval from the party. A party spokesman said these motions were at times contrary to party policies. Hence, members have now been asked to place their motions first before the party's Parliamentary Affairs Committee for approval.

In the meantime, the UNP is to hold its annual convention on December 3 in Kandy. Several amendments to the party constitution and the ratification of the new appointments such as Deputy Leader and the Assistant Leader are to be approved. With just a week to go for the convenetion, the party has still not found a person for the post of secretary.

For the post of chairman, former Janasaviya coordinator Charitha Ratwatte, a close associate of Ranil Wickremesinghe, is to be appointed. Mr. Ratwatte, however, has declined to accept the post of general secretary. He also had many problems with party stalwarts over the years. But he has earned the accolades for his loyalty to the party and for his capability as an administrator. Party members also believe that he is one of the few people who have the courage to pinpoint the mistakes of the leadership.

Be that as it may, the JVP which is now preaching absolute democracy and calling upon the government to have a new political culture devoid of violence and rigging is yet to make a self-confession about its atrocities during the 1987-89 period. The JVP which is maturing to be a people's party has to seriously think about the violence it unleashed towards unarmed and innocent people.

The JVP is always welcome to join the mainstream but it should cast its mind back to what its members did to unarmed, innocent, law-abiding civilians of this country and they should by their own conviction find out the hardships these families had to undergo due to their brutality and offer an unqualified apology.

It is difficult to erase the memory of the 1987-89 era of JVP terror. It opposed provincial devolution the J. R. Jayewardene regime introduced consequent to the Indo-Lanka agreement in 1987 to solve the ethnic crisis. And today, it stands opposed to the Norwegian peace initiative.

The 1987 protest took a violent turn. Nearly 6,000 UNP activists were killed. One horrendous example is the killing of the principal of Kelle Junior School in Embilipitiya in 1987. The principal, S.H. Gunadasa, turned down a JVP request to allow schoolchildren to participate in a demonstration against the Provincial Council system.

A 15-member killer gang raided his house. Mr. Gunadasa ran for safety and hid himself. The two daughters, aged 6 and 4 at that time, ran to their aunt's house crying for help. Gunadasa's wife who walked up to the gangsters was first shot and was seriously injured. When Gunadasa heard gunshots, he could not bear any more and went forward and faced the murderers.

When several rounds of shots were fired, the two small daughters rushed back home with three others and carried their father and placed him on a mat. One daughter by the name of Champika gave him some rain water when he asked for water because the murderers even did not allow him water at the time of his death. He looked at his little daughter and closed his eyes.

The Sunday Times of November 29, 1987 described the harrowing tale of Champika who was shaken by this brutality. She told the Sunday Times correspondent at that time: "Thatha's body was as cold as ice when I touched him. I shook him, but he never spoke. He was dead."

There were other occasions. its members also killed the principal of Padalangala M.V. He was first blind-folded and his hands were tied together before he was taken away and shot dead.

These are just a fraction of the incidents of the time, though one cannot assume the party would revert to its ugly past.

Meanwhile, the PA executive committee which met last week took a series of decisions aimed at stemming the rising crime rate in the country. There was unanimous support for the implementation of death sentence.

Though the death sentence exists in statute books and murderers are sentenced to death, it was never implemented. It was Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who first suspended the death sentence being carried out. However, it came into force after his untimely death and was again suspended by President J. R. Jayewardene in 1977.

But now due to the rising crime wave in the country and the proliferation of offensive weapons in the underworld, it has become necessary to carry out death sentence again. At present there are more than 60 persons, including a few women, in death row with some 30 of them having filed appeals.

The PA executive committee also decided to appoint a commission to probe the attack on the Bindunuwewa detention camp where nearly 30 Tamil inmates were killed. Another important decision taken by the executive committee is to withdraw liquor permits issued to MPs and close down liquor outlets in close proximity to schools.

It was also agreed to resume the PA-UNP talks which were in cold storage for over a week. The executive committee agreed that the UNP's demands for the setting up of commissions, except for the police commission, could be incorporated as an amendment to the present constitution. However, the executive committee disagreed with the UNP's proposal to set up a select committee to probe malpractices during the recent general elections. The executive committee observed that since there was litigation pending such committee would influence the judicial decisions.

As regards the independent police commission, the PA probably feels that an important institution such as the police should be under the control of the government so that it can be directed in times of crisis by government leaders. They feel that in matters such as Bindunuwewa the government should be able to direct the police and to hold an inquiry against police negligence.

While the government is trying to come to terms with the UNP on many of these issues, the UNP is exploring ways and means to confront the government in parliament. There are signs that the UNP is now trying to wake up from a deep slumber. Its first action may be to vote against the President's policy statement and the vote on account in parliament scheduled to be debated during the first week of December. The UNP may try to defeat the vote on account, and put the government into further trouble. For this it has to muster the support of the other political parties including the JVP. But it is unlikely at this stage that the JVP would support anything that would favour the UNP and which would ultimately lead to another general election.

While there are rumblings in both the government and the opposition, the most important event of the week was the visit of Britain's Deputy Foreign Secretary Peter Hain. Mr. Hain's visit was mainly to initiate the peace process and he delivered a very thought-provoking speech at the British Council last week.

Mr. Hain said that Norway's peace envoy Erik Solheim had told him that Tiger Supremo Prabhakaran had changed his earlier stance for a separate state to an autonomous region within a united Sri Lanka. Mr. Hain, though he could not meet the President, met Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The UNP leader was asked for his support for the ongoing peace process. Mr. Wickremesinghe responded saying that the UNP's stance on the LTTE remained unchanged. He said that it was his view and the party's position that the government should talk to the LTTE which is a party to the ongoing conflict.

However, most UNPers think that Mr. Hain is not a heavyweight and that he has in fact revived the Liam Fox initiative between the PA and the UNP.

Mr. Hain who spoke to some of the UNPers including Tyronne Fernando, Rohitha Bogollagama and M.S. Sellasamy soon after his speech at the British Council said in lighter vein that he was on a secret mission to Sri Lanka to find out about the strength of the Sri Lankan cricket team who would be facing England in February.

The Sihala Urumaya did not take the visit kindly and mapped out its protest strategy the previous night at the Oberoi. The British Council got a little worried and telephoned DIG Colombo Bodhi Liyanage who calmed the lady caller by saying, " We are a five-star democracy" but assured them that the Sihala Urumaya demonstration would be without incident.

Peter Hain had been apparently told by the Sri Lankan ministers that there was no other way for Sri Lanka other than to go for a negotiated settlement with the LTTE for the current strife in the North and the East. This is a sequel to President Chandrika Kumaratunga's announcement last week that she was prepared for direct talks with the LTTE to end the ethnic crisis.

There is some hope now. The main opposition is also likely to give a helping hand to the government to end this crisis and the government is looking forward for talks with the LTTE about the second week of December and most probably at a foreign destination.

Situation Report

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