The election in the Digamadulla district was contested on ethnic lines, with some posters calling on voters to cast their votes only for Sinhala Buddhists.
But the reaction of voters who elected G.H.P. Piyasena of the llankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi ,now known as the TNA, as one of the Members of Parliament for the district, surprised many.
Piyasena’s father, Perumpuli Hewage Podiappu came to Akkaraipattu from Dondra and married Sitamma.
Piyasena was the sixth of their seven children.
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| Above Piyasena the newly elected TNA MP and below the MP and his family. |
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“All my brothers and sisters received their education in Sinhala schools Piyasena told the Sunday Times in an interview. “At my mother’s request the family decided at least one child should be educated in Tamil and that was me,” he said.
“My brother was shot by EROS in 1984 on suspicion of leaking information to the army. That was the first murder in this area. At school I was nicknamed ‘Sinhalaya’. I have given my children Tamil names.
“When the Tigers ruled these areas we faced many problems, while in our village back home we faced problems arising from the sourthern insurgenxcy.”
“Originally my ambition was to join the police force, but I later gave up this idea and went into business,” he said.
Piyaena recollected after his father’s death the family lost contact with his (father’s) side of the family who lived in Matara. He remembered his father had a brother named Pieris Appu, but though they tried tracing his father’s origins they could not make much progress.
“Once when I was in Matara, I suddenly noticed a lorry bearing the legend ‘Peiris Appu Bro’. I felt sure this was my father’s brother. I followed the lorry and was able to trace the family.
“Shortly after this incident my mother died,” he lamented.
According to Piyasena, in 1995, he intended contesting the Aalayadivembu Pradeshiya Sabha on the EPDP ticket, but on the advice of a friend who was in the police he contested as an independent candidate and was elected with a majority of 5,800 votes. He was also elected as vice chairman of the Pradeshiya Sabha, but was forced to resign because of threats from the LTTE.
In 2000 he failed to contest the provincial council election as he was not considered by the party.
However, in 2006 he contested through the Tamil National Alliance and received 6,800 votes to become the chairman of the PS.
However, his stint as chairman was cut short because of pressure brought to bear by a group backed by the LTTE.
Piyasena said that during the presidential election he supported the candidature of General Sarath Fonseka which led to his shop being set on fire.
According to Piyasena though his name was submitted for the general elections, his ambition was not to be an MP but rather to serve as a member of the Pradeshiya Sabha.
He said although he was assured he would be appointed chairman on March 1, it did not materialize. It was after this he said, he agreed to come forward as a contestant at the general elections.
“During the campaign there was much speculation that I would join the UPFA,” he said.“But to the surprise of many I won a seat in Digamadulla,” he said.
“My father would have been happy had he been living today,” he said recalling the troubles he had to undergo during the campaign. “The situation got so bad that I was once hospitalized,” he added.
Piyasena said he joined the TNA to help the Tamils as the government did not do much for their cause.
“I will be the spokesman for the Tamils and Muslims in Parliament. A good Sinhalese should not rouse ethnic sentiments,” he said. |
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