Jt. mechanisms & Jt. opposition
By Our Political Editor
Traffic chokes along the Kotte road. Outside the light yellow painted building and the green railings, ahead a makeshift pool stands an elephant, a tusker made out of papier mache. He is staring aimlessly at vehicles snaking their way through, symbolising the enigma of the country's main opposition.

Last Wednesday, however, the mood around Sri Kotha, the headquarters of the United National Party (UNP) was upbeat. The traffic jams that day were being caused by the arrival of everybody who was somebody - parliamentarians, party leaders and district organisers to name a few. At the gate, security guards in their now traditional Keuneman shirts were frisking them before they were allowed in. Policemen in their civvies were busy talking over their hand-held walkie-talkies. Lamp-posts and telephone poles were not spared. They held a lengthy poster of an elephant with a logo on its trunk exhorting victory or Jaya Apatai.

The hall inside began to fill up. Visitors shook hands or folded them together to say "Ayubowan" to each other. The chatter filled the air. Suddenly the lights went off and there was pin drop silence. It was not a wildcat strike by Ceylon Electricity Board employees, as some delegates thought. The reason became clear within seconds.

Strobe lights, like in a discotheque, lit up. They spewed psychedelic colours and blinked like in a dance hall or ballroom. Stereophonic sounds of elephants trumpeting followed rousing western music. To many, the noise put their eardrums to test. For a few among the younger greens, the mood was inviting. They kept tapping their feet or moving their bodies to harmonise with the rhythm, much the same way revellers would do at a music-filled bar or dance hall. Perhaps for the first time in history, the halls of Sri Kotha where some of the nation's high and mighty mingled had the atmosphere of a discotheque.

The only exceptions among the visitors were the old timers of the vintage of late J.R. Jayewardene and Ranasinghe Premadasa era. As a witty one among them remarked, "meka mona thovilak da" (what kind of thovil ceremony is this?). The departure in tradition by the oldest national, mainstream political party was too much for them to bear.

Then a voice broke into the microphone. It came very loud and very clear. "Anagatha Janadipathi thumata jayawewa," "Apey nayake thumata jayawewa," (cheers for the future president, cheers for our leader) were among the slogans. The voice belonged to Galle district parliamentarian Hemakumara Nanayakkara.

Another loud musical score and confetti hurled down from the roof. Clouds of white smoke filled the hall, like thick fog that prevents one from seeing another. Such a sequence found only in pop concerts signalled the arrival of the main performer. But this time it was not a pop star. The one who arrived had to wait till the smoke cleared and the voices lowered to make his speech. That was how Opposition and United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe came to be ceremonially anointed as the party's presidential candidate.

There were no Kandyan dancers, no lighting of oil lamps or Jayamangala Gathas. Nor were representatives of the clergy there to bestow their blessings or auspicious times observed. The country's main opposition, or a Government in waiting, had chosen to go a different way - take the first step in a lengthy Presidential election campaign to the gyrating rhythms of western songs and recordings of trumpeting elephants. Strobe lights beaming psychedelic colours were the backdrop.

The old timers did not forgive the organisers, at least one of them, a retired Police bodyguard, for ignoring the traditional drums, the clergy, the lighting of the oil lamp though they understood the need for playing recordings of trumpeting elephants. The pachyderm has become an almost endangered species. Local NGOs are receiving as much relief as tsunami aid to look after elephants that are now in conflict with man.

Yet, the organisers found one elephant. They dressed the animal in green and carried a slogan which said "Jaya Apatai" or victory is ours. This elephant ushered Wickremesinghe into the Sri Kotha premises for the grand disco like ceremony that saw the launch of his presidential campaign. Video cameras rolled. Soon the rural masses will see on their TV screens how the road to presidency for Wickremesinghe began. In his speech, he vowed to bring down the UPFA Government, democratically of course. The ceremony ended within 20 minutes with Nanayakkara making the concluding speech.

It was not only Wickremesinghe who this week wanted the UPFA Government out of office. Some of the country's top and powerful businessmen and brokers thought even the UPFA's junior partner; the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna wanted to do just that. At least one businessman, loved by both the Government and the Opposition, was most conspicuous by his role. How powerful he had become recently can be seen by how some one-time Police top brass behaved.

President Kumaratunga hosted a farewell dinner to her one-time Secretary, Kusumsiri Balapatabendi. That was before he left for Canberra to become Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in Australia. There a retired DIG, one who held coveted positions in service, froze to attention when the businessman arrived. It took the latter, who had now employed this top police officer, to tell him to take things easy.

The handful of businessmen and brokers had been shattered by last week's events. First was the walkout of JVP's four ministers from the Cabinet meeting on May 4. This led to a meeting of their politburo the next day where it was decided to give an ultimatum to the Government. It was to demand that they withdraw the decision to re-structure the Ceylon Electrictiy Board (CEB) within a month. If it was not done, the JVP's Central Committee was to take a decision on its future within the UPFA - in all certainty an exit from the Alliance.

The second was the meeting Kumaratunga held with a JVP delegation. The latter objected strongly to the Joint Mechanism or what the President now wishes to call by its new name - Post-Tsunami Operational Management Strucutre. In fact she had asked her confidant and Lake House Chairman Janadasa Peiris to make sure his editors avoided making reference to a Joint Mechanism but to only call it Tsunami Sahana Sapayeemey Kriyadamaya. This caused some confusion in a Dinamina (Sinhala daily of Lake House) news report on a discussion of the National Patriotic Movement held to protest against the JM. Instead the report said the protest was against the Kriyadamaya or the management structure.

Hardly had the May 8 meeting between Kumaratunga and the JVP delegation ended, did alarm bells ring in the form of an early warning by the group of businessmen and brokers. They warned that if something was not done immediately, the JVP would walk out of the UPFA. That would see the fall of the Government, a shuddering thought for all of them - holders of several chairmanships and directorates in their own private companies as well as Government Boards.

Late that night, Kumaratunga telephoned Mahinda Rajapakse. In the wake of the JVP ultimatum, trade unions in the CPC had chosen to go on strike from May 10. She wanted the situation defused. Strategically Kumaratunga's advisors thought they would go direct to the trade unions instead of approaching the JVP and making a plea to them. Thus, they felt, they could take the heat off the JVP letter containing the ultimatum. It had still not arrived then. Rajapakse talked to trade unions, defused the situation and won headlines in Sunday newspapers last week.

But there was another unsung hero who worked equally hard to keep the UPFA intact. That was Anura Bandaranaike, the Tourism Minister. Heeding the warning of the businessmen and brokers, he moved in to do damage control. Compared to Rajapakse, his actions were behind the scenes. He first rang Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar who was in London. "Don't worry. I will be back soon and try to sort things out," assured Kadirgamar. Then he rushed to Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera to warn him of the dangers ahead. Soon the Ministerial duo were talking to JVP's parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa on Saturday May 7 - the same day Rajapakse was talking to trade unions. That saw the birth of a new conciliatory mood.

Even President Kumaratunga was somewhat happy about the turn of events. She decided to go to Anurahdapura the next day (Monday) for the JVP's 10,000 tanks rehabilitation project. It was Anura Bandaranaike who persuaded her to do so. Bandaranaike now seems to have perfected the fine art of dealing with his sister President. He has been shooting off a series of letters to her on many a political issue. She had read them and responded. Also chipping in was Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera and Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama.

Accompanying President Kumaratunga to Anuradhapura were MP Mervyn Silva and Western Provincial Councillor Lasantha Alagiyawanna. The usually loquacious Silva cautioned the President not to say anything that would anger the JVP. 'Wait till I get there," she responded causing some suspense for the duo. Then, Chief Minister Bertie Premlal Dissanayake who met Kumaratunga briefed her of plans by pro-JVP trade unions in the CEB to stage a strike. That angered the President.

It was JVP Minister K.D. Lalkantha's turn to make the welcome speech. Contrary to the expectations of many who thought there would be more threats of walkouts, the speech was different. "Whatever problems we may face, we will not leave the UPFA Government," he declared. But Kumaratunga was unmoved. During her speech she responded, "simply saying not going is not enough. They must allow me to govern."

It was Prime Minister Rajapakse who was unnerved by the remarks. He turned to Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake and pleaded not to respond to the statement in his thank-you speech. He nodded. But when it came to his turn, Dissanayake said if there were meetings between the JVP and the Government leadership, a dialogue where decisions were taken thereafter; there would be no obstacles to governance. After the meeting, Kumaratunga was in a jovial mood and exchanged lighthearted banter with the JVP leaders present.

By last Monday, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva had despatched his letter to President Kumaratunga. In that he cited the assurances given to CEB trade unions that the state body would not be converted into a company. He sought the same assurance. Of course there was reference to the decision by the party's politburo that the four ministers should keep away from Cabinet meetings until the previous decision to re-structure was withdrawn. However, there was no reply from Kumaratunga and there is not likely to be one.

The reason? Well, the minutes of the Cabinet meeting where there was a decision to re-structure the CEB, after the four JVP ministers walked out, had not taken place. This was not on official record. The minutes of the meeting on May 4 circulated last Tuesday recorded that the JVP ministers were present. That is not all. It simply noted that that a proposal to re-structure the Ceylon Electricity Board was discussed. Who said a decision had been made? If that was so, someone had seen to it that the minutes of the Cabinet meeting made no mention of it.

This has amused the JVP leadership. Do their four mnisters continue the boycott of Cabinet meetings? How could they demand the withdrawal of a Cabinet decision which had not been made, at least according to the official minutes? So, it has been decided that they will all return to the Cabinet meeting on May 18.

If there is a moral in the political drama of the past several days, it is just that the JVP is playing the role of Government's junior partner and that of an opposition in equal measure. And the dividends seem to be accruing in great measure to them.

On May 10, President Kumaratunga invited representatives of Muslim political parties in Parliament for a discussion on the Joint Mechanism or what she calls the Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure. But they chose not to do so on that day. The JVP was having its rally to protest against this mechanism at the Town Hall grounds. And now it seems the proposed mechanism will go to the back burner. Kumaratunga cancelled plans for a hurried visit to India to brief leaders there.

The Sri Lanka Development Forum which meets in Kandy beginning tomorrow to consider aid has said acceptance of the JM by the Government is not a precondition. That is not all. Finance Minister Amunugama had successfully obtained World Bank support and assistance to formulate Government's own position papers articulating its case for more aid. Country Director Peter Harold was more than co-operative.

The Government of Japan has now rolled out the red carpet for a JVP delegation to visit that country from May 20. A two-week programme covering four different ministries in that country has been formulated. They will also meet senior political leaders. They are to be accommodated at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, the venue for all heads of state and government visiting Japan. Wimal Weerawansa and Nandana Gunatilleke are to undertake the trip.

Interesting enough, the first meeting for Japan's special envoy for the peace process, Yasushi Akashi was with JVP's Somawansa Amerasinghe. There was a friendly but heated debate on the joint mechanism. Akashi asked how the affected people in guerrilla-held areas could receive relief. Amerasinghe said it could be done through MPs representing those areas. He said his party's MPs cannot be like flower pots in Parliament when a sovereign government was to enter into a deal with a terrorist organisation. Of course, both were agreed, that they were unaware of the fuller details of the mechanism.

For a party celebrating its 40th anniversary this week after two armed insurrections to overthrow governments, it has emerged as a potent political force locally. The visit to Japan, Sri Lanka's largest aid donor, shows it is on the road to more international recognition. Both whilst being in the Government and playing the role of the opposition.

This is whilst the main opposition United National Party is preoccupied with strobe lights, psychedelic colours and tape recordings of trumpeting elephants. No doubt there is a need for its leadership to turn the strobe lights inwards come out of the artificial lighting of the disco world, and get into the real world. Their mass mobilisation is still town-based and has yet to penetrate into the areas where the JVP has pitched camp. It is only then can it regain its role as the major opposition, the role that is now being played by the JVP.

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