UNP
‘Reformists’ speak to JVP; Karu J’s position shaky
By Our Political Editor
The Opposition United National Party (UNP) holds
its annual convention today despite a last minute attempt to have
it cancelled as the re-appointment or sacking of its deputy leader
Karu Jayasuriya becomes the major issue of the event. The decision
hinges today on whether party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe will re-appoint
Mr. Jayasuriya following the latter's continued efforts to clip
Mr. Wickremesinghe's powers, which climaxed this week with an abortive
effort to have the convention -- of which Mr. Jayasuriya is the
chairman of the organising committee -- cancelled.
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Ranil Wickremesinghe |
Pro-Wickremesinghe UNP MPs were on Friday and yesterday
demanding the sacking of Mr. Jayasuriya as the party's deputy leader,
but Mr. Wickremesinghe remained tight-lipped and non-committal about
what he would do. In other words, he did not say he would re-appoint
Mr. Jayasuriya, a function entrusted to him to carry out today as
much as to appoint the party chairman (Rukman Senanayake) and party
secretary (Tissa Attanayake).
Mr. Jayasuriya initially refused to make any comment,
but by last night issued a statement saying "if more democratic
safeguards were instituted and if decision-making processes are
made more democratic, Mr. Wickremesinghe would emerge stronger".
The statement said that the intent of the Reformists was to prevent
the party's disintegration, and dismissed what he called was a "myth"
that they wanted to oust the party leader.
He said they (the Reformists) would continue to
agitate for party reforms, and asked for the ratification of the
party reforms reached at the Working Committee meeting. Meanwhile,
the down, but not out, self-styled Reformists of the UNP have vowed
to "carry on" their campaign to clip the wings of party
leader Wickremesinghe even after today's annual convention despite
their petition to cancel the convention being rejected by court
on Friday.
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Karu Jayasuriya |
Ostensibly led by former SLFP General Secretary
S.B. Dissanayake, former Ministers G.L. Peiris, Gamini Lokuge, Dharmadasa
Banda and Milinda Moragoda, the Reformists yesterday consulted lawyers
and telephoned JVP MPs to discuss future legal and political strategy.
These fresh moves came a day after Mr. Dissanayake issued a press
release calling on UNPers to work for party unity to defeat the
Mahinda Rajapaksa Government.
The group has decided to argue their case when
the inquiry comes up for hearing before the Mount Lavinia District
Courts on December 1, with the belief that should they succeed,
all decisions taken at today's convention could be set aside. Politically,
deputy leader Jayasuriya and Mr. Dissanayake have been telephoning
JVP MPs yesterday suggesting they meet next week. Analysts believe
the 'Reformists' have indicated their willingness to back a JVP
MP to be the Leader of the Opposition in place of the UNP's Mr.
Wickremesinghe, and to sit as a separate group in the Opposition.
They have pledged 20 UNP MPs to the JVP for the exercise.
The reforms proposed by Mr. Dissanayake were re-formulated
into a set of Political Principles and now in the form of resolutions
aimed at reconstituting the composition of the Working Committee
and the Political Affairs Committee for approval at today's onvention.
It was also decided that all party leaders will decide within 100
days of the convention to implement these resolutions on party reforms.
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