Political Column

Political Column

Yes madam, here's the story
By Our Political Editor
A lesser known facet of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's work ethic is the guidelines he has set for his staff at "Temple Trees," the official residence of the Prime Minister where he continues to stay.

One of them, meant to be followed by those manning the switchboard is to put through calls from any parliamentarian whatever the time of the day or night they called. He wants to be available to hear their tales of woe or issues of public concern. Once, a call from an MP from the Jaffna peninsula was put through. He said he was passing by an Army camp when he heard a woman wail. He feared she was being tortured and wanted the matter probed immediately.

President Rajapaksa immediately telephoned a senior security official and told him to investigate the complaint. He in turn spoke to the MP, obtained details and got in touch with the camp in question. Later, the security official telephoned the MP to say no such thing had happened. The security official wanted to know whether an Army officer could come and escort him (the MP) to the camp so he could personally verify matters. The MP was reluctant and the matter ended there. The next morning, it became clearer that the complaint was totally unfounded. Yet, Mr. Rajapaksa did not change the directive. He allowed it to remain an occupational hazard.

Talking to a journalist recently, President Rajapaksa explained that as President he wanted to be within the reach of representatives of the people. He recalled the days when he was Prime Minister. There were many occasions when he was unable to reach his own President. The operator at President's House had been told not to put calls through. "There are occasions when I find myself free. Sometimes I respond to calls from private citizens then," he declared.

Last Friday morning, the roles were reversed. Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was calling her successor, Mahinda Rajapaksa at "Temple Trees." The latter had not even sat for breakfast. On being told it was Kumaratunga, he promptly answered the phone. The immediate cause for the call was to complain about the lack of some men, less than ten from the approved strength, from her security detail. She seemed worried that it was posing a problem to her safety.

But it was only two days before (Wednesday) that President Rajapaksa received a telephone call from a friend who was dining at the Coffee Shop at Colombo Hilton. He was asking whether Mr Rajapaksa was planning to come over to the five-star hotel for a meal. Apparently the friend has been told that "the President" was coming there.

That was from an advanced security team that had arrived at the Colombo Hilton, shortly after 2 p.m. to scour the area. It took a while for the friend to realise it was not Rajapaksa but Kumaratunga, the former President. Since leaving office, she loathed the idea of her being referred to as former President. It was only two weeks ago she argued with Mr. Rajapaksa that there was no legal or constitutional provision that referred to her as former President. She preferred if she was called President Kumaratunga.

More plain-clothed security personnel arrived at Colombo Hilton. They were in the lobby area, 'Fine Things' (the cake shop), the lounge near 'The Pub' (bar), at the coffee shop, near the toilets, along the stairway that led to the ballrooms and even at the main entrance. A bullet proof BMW in which Ms Kumaratunga arrived lay parked near the entrance alongside a security vehicle. At the turn off to Colombo Hilton from Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha, a Defender Jeep packed with plain clothed men carrying automatic weapons lay parked. For good measure, a well-built plainclothesman followed an equally well-built hotel employee into the toilet. He watched him with suspicion - the poor guy was emptying soiled hand tissues into a black waste disposal bag. He had tucked the rolled black bag under his arm pit when he walked in. That appears to have aroused suspicion.

According to a security guard at the hotel entrance, there were more than 40 men on duty protecting the former President as she arrived for lunch with two former schoolmates. The trio did the rounds past the buffet table before taking a seat that overlooked the pond where Swans swam aimlessly. A coterie of restaurant executives and waiters, scarce during the buffet meal hours, swarmed around to be of help. Only moments earlier, one of them had informed a tourist who eagerly wanted to savour the delights of Sri Lankan Lamprais by telling him "it would take a very, very long time. Why don't you go for the buffet?"

President Rajapaksa's friend who watched the high security drama at the Hilton coffee shop had told him the presence of a heavy security contingent and the way they went around had caused some panic to other visitors, particularly to foreigners. Yet, Mr. Rajapaksa did not raise issue over her complaint about security or over her title. He told Ms Kumaratunga this was not a big issue. "The best way to sort this out would be for your secretary to address the matter with my secretary," declared the incumbent President. He said as President, he had other burning issues to solve.

"Farmers are saddled with excess paddy stocks. The burning question for the nation, the ongoing peace process requires my attention. So why don't you get this sorted out by getting your Secretary to write to mine," he pointed out. That did not meet with a pleasant response from her. Declared Ms Kumaratunga, "Your secretary is a relative of yours." Not to be outdone, Mr. Rajapaksa retorted "don't forget he was secretary to your mother, one time Prime Minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike."

The conversation should have ended there but it did not. Kumaratunga became more irritated and it became a ding-dong verbal battle on the telephone. She began raising a number of issues, one after another. One such issue was her brother, Anura Bandaranaike. This angered President Rajapaksa. He told her: "You put him in trouble. Otherwise he would have been the Prime Minister. You told him not to support my candidature at the presidential elections. You told him to criticise me and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). He went on doing it."

If it was she and her brother who did not want to back him during last November's presidential elections, President Rajapaksa pointed out he faced other problems related to the upcoming local government elections. It was the result of Ms Kumaratunga's or actions of her own supporters. Whilst members of United National Party at the district level were crossing over to the Government side after meeting him, there were a few who were doing so without his knowledge. One such instance was when MP Arjuna Ranatunga took a group of UNPers to Ms Kumaratunga and publicised the event. It was only through the media that Mr. Rajapaksa had learnt of it.

President Rajapaksa said Ms Kumaratunga had on her own been busy formulating nomination papers of a few candidates hand-picked by her. In one such instance, in Gampaha, it had failed and the UPFA's list of candidates was rejected. There were also similar instances where UPFA (SLFP) lists were rejected. He had to find some space at the Presidential Secretariat for the SLFP to formulate the lists of candidates.

This was because the party headquarters was not available. Mr. Rajapaksa said he had to arrange for helicopter flights for UPFA General Secretary, Susil Premjayantha, to travel to some far off areas to formulate lists of candidates for the party. Such were the difficulties he had to encounter.

Rajapaksa was also delighted he had been able to win over to his side two veteran plantation sector trade unionists, Armumugam Thondaman of the Ceylon Workers Congress and P. Chandrasekeran, of the Upcountry People's Front. Unlike on previous occasions, both parties were contesting the local polls under the UPFA symbol, the betel leaf. In fact when Mr. Thondaman called on UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to say he was supporting President Rajapaksa, the latter had a few comments to make.

He had said when Mr. Thondaman went to see former President Kumaratunga, Mr Wickremesinghe was confident he would return. But he was not sure whether he would come back since he was joining President Rajapaksa. It was a case of a southern leader now bagging the support of the largest plantation sector trade unions. Moreover, Mr. Thondaman had declared he was not seeking any portfolios, which was almost too good to be true.

The telephone conversation was badly soured. But Ms Kumaratunga was inclined to continue. Mr. Rajapaksa said he had other very important tasks to attend to and wanted to ring off. Then the parting shot came from Ms. Kumaratunga. “Last time I came to Temple Trees and spoke to you, all what we talked appeared in The Sunday Times. I can now look forward to reading all this in next week's The Sunday Times," she retorted.

Days earlier, Ms Kumaratunga had summoned some local level SLFP leaders for a meeting at Horogolla, her temporary residence now. Also present on the occasion were two parliamentarians from the same Gampaha district, Ministers Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and Sripathi Sooriyaratchchi.

During her speech to those present, Ms. Kumaratunga spoke about the days before presidential elections where people spoke in glowing terms about her. They said "we will not let you retire and allow your talents to go waste. We will make sure those talents are used in the best interests of the country. "As she made these remarks, she looked at Mr. Fernandopulle and Mr. Sooriyaratchchi. As if it was a direct message to them, Ms. Kumaratunga then declared "don't misinterpret or misrepresent what I say. Please listen to me carefully and go and tell those who matter the exact thing I said."

Rajapaksa also told Kumaratunga he had got to know she was also bitterly critical of the President when she attended her brother, Anura's 57th birthday party at Visumpaya, the former Acland House, on Wednesday. This complex was once used as a State guest house. Only close friends and relatives of Anura Bandaranaike were present at the party that ended with a sing song in the wee hours of Thursday.

Thus ended a verbal duel between an incumbent and a former President. Already senior Government officials have recommended to President Rajapaksa that Visumpaya should be restored to the status of a State Guest House. This is for two reasons -- one is the facilities it offers to host top level state guests. The second is the security afforded by the environment, one that is not available in star class hotels. If President Rajapaksa accepts the proposal, Mr. Bandaranaike is likely to be given time to move to his own private residence at Rosmead Place.

Thursday, was nomination day for the local government polls. President Rajapaksa met a delegation from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). It was led by JVP leader Somawansa Amerasinghe and comprised Tilvin Silva, Wimal Weerawansa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Mr. Rajapaksa gave them a detailed briefing on the peace process.

The President also made clear that although the SLFP and the JVP were contesting the local polls separately, the close friendship and unity between the two should be maintained. He said he had asked his party members to make sure no vituperative remarks are made against the JVP. He also said the SLFP candidates have been advised not to go on confrontation courses and act in any way to make the JVP angry over any issue. He said even after the local polls, the relationship between his Government and the JVP should continue.

Like during the run-up to last November's presidential elections, the countdown to local polls also appears to be dogged by one major issue for President Rajapaksa. It is not the worry posed by the political competition offered by rival parties. Strange enough, it is still from Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarartunga, a former President who still holds the reins of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. She still remains the formidable challenge and President Rajapaksa knows that. He has confessed to confidants that she is placing many an obstacle in the way of his governance.

They have said that the President should take some strong action or continue to face ugly situations and political manipulations by Ms. Kumaratunga. President Rajapaksa remains calm, at least for the moment, as he strengthens his political stability by netting in a wider representative array of partners. But a storm, no doubt, is building up within his own party, the SLFP, as Ms Kumaratunga keeps pulling the rug from under his feet.

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