The most important message from the Ellawala assassination and its bloody aftermath is that democracy and violence cannot go together. Hence it is necessary at this stage to disarm all politicians.
The people voted the People's Alliance to office with this fervent hope but it has failed in this task.
At present, there are more than 2000 weapons in the possession of politicians ostensibly to safeguard democracy.
The Ratnapura case shows that politicians with weapons pose a serious threat to society.
If this trend continues, there will be anarchy and peaceful citizens will not go to the polling booths, resulting in a low turnout as in Pakistan recently.
We need to take steps to re-establish a democratic and peaceful society, based on the values and traditions that have enriched this country for 2,500 years.
It is not that we must reject advanced technology and go back to primitive customs, but our growth and development must be based on the values we have cherished for centuries.
The Ellawala assassination is only one of a series of incidents but it was given a lot of publicity for obvious reasons.
This trend, which started in the late 80s with the JVP insurrection has from time to time raised its ugly head.
The PA which rode back to office with every possible pledge, today finds it difficult to work according to its policies.
Disarming of politicians and restoring democracy were two of its promises.
On the contrary, we see it framing para-military units as done in the late 80s in the guise of training security personnel to protect key state installations.
With the local polls less than a month away, this could be dangerous and we might see more incidents like the Ellawala killing. So it is important to disarm politicians as soon as possible and disband all private armies of politicians.
We are not saying politicians should go sans security in a situation where the deadly LTTE can strike anywhere. It is the duty of the police to assess the security needs of each politician and act accordingly.
IRA guerrillas
The British government, facing a similar situation with the IRA guerrillas handles security for its politicians in a proportionate manner and we could take a cue from it.
The Ellawala assassination had severe repercussions, the whole of last week. The police raided the houses of many opposition politicians in search of fugitive Parliamentarian Susantha Punchinilame.
The most controversial raid was on the residence of Anura Bandaranaike at Rosmead Place in the dead of the night. It infuriated him.
Besides these, a goon squad also became active on Saturday night, hours after the cremation of Nalanda Ellawala. It raided the well-known Canton Seafood Restaurant belonging to UNP MP Sarath Kongahage and his wife Shanthini.
Soon after midnight on Saturday, the gang allegedly linked to the PA, arrived in three vans and opened fire indiscriminately with automatic assault weapons driving the guests into panic.
Mr. Kongahage who was at the restaurant with friends escaped through a window. He ran across the road to the house of A.J.M. Muzammil, a long-standing friend. By then the Muzammils had also woken up amidst the gunfire.
When Mr. Muzammil rushed to the door he saw the panic-stricken Sarath Kongahage who said, "Muzammil take me in, they opened fire at my restaurant."
As Mr. Kongahage rushed in and sat he expressed fears about his wife Shanthini who was still at the restaurant.
Mr. Kongahage then telephoned the Police Emergency, but by then the attackers had finished their job and got away.
Prominent lawyers who were there had rescued Shanthini and gone to the Bambalapitiya Police.
Later, Mr. Kongahage learnt his wife was safe at the police station and joined her there, she was with lawyer Hemantha Warnakulasuriya.
Mr. Kongahage said as he escaped through the window, one of the assailants pointed an automatic at his head and asked for Kongahage.
"Ko Kongahage", but Mr. Kongahage pretended to be a customer and escaped.
At the time of the attack UNP's Colombo Campaign Manager Bodhi Ranasinghe was there along with actress Sriyani Amarasena and her journalist husband Arthur.
Mr. Kongahage after returning from the police station tried to contact the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and General Secretary Gamini Athukorale.
Mr. Wickremesinghe had already been briefed on the incident by Milinda Moragoda and Bodhi Ranasinghe. He called Mr. Kongahage on his mobile phone and told him not to worry.
Open mind
Now there's speculation of the involvement of a senior PA politician but police declined to comment except to say they are probing with an open mind.
The Canton Restaurant has been a scene of controversy for the past two years, since it has earned a name as the rendezvous of many opposition politicians, including Anura Bandaranaike and journalists.
It figured prominently during the no-confidence motion brought by the UNP against Ports and Shipping Minister A.H.M. Ashraff over the Galle Port Project.
It was also known as a place where opposition politicians map out their strategies.
However the attack on Canton mostly patronised by the elite class in the city will not augur well for the government or for investment.
If the government has gained some admittedly unforeseen advantage on the Ellawala assassination to win the local elections the goon squad that attacked Canton has certainly turned things the other way.
At the moment the UNP is in deep political slumber looking for an opportunity to raise its head and come out more positively, and the government politicians wittingly and unwittingly are paving the way for the UNP to gradually come back to the scene.
In a somewhat related incident last week the police stopped the car of President's Counsel M.L.M. Ameen to check whether he was taking fugitive Parliamentarian Susantha Punchinilame.
Mr. Ameen who is appearing for ex-Mayor for Ratnapura, Mahinda Ratnatilleke, had set off from his Kollupitiya residence to attend to some court work in Anuradhapura.
He noticed a police van and a jeep following him.
On the way Mr. Ameen stopped to pick up two of his juniors, one of whom resembled Mr. Punchinilame.
Not surprisingly the police stopped the vehicle for what they thought would be the prize catch till a grinning lawyer told them that they had got the wrong catch.
As far as Mr. Punchinilame is concerned there is speculation that some government politicians had helped him to evade arrest. It is also known that a government politico helped him bring down his bullet-proof vest when it was held by the governmental authorities for queries, and according to Mr. Punchinilame himself the bullet-proof vest saved his life when Nalanda Ellawala's guards shot at him.
Finally the high drama in the search for Mr. Punchinilame came to an end after he surrendered to the Fort Magistrate on Thursday evening.
He was driven in his Pajero covered with tinted glasses and sat alone in the courthouse for some time. Later he retained two lady lawyers who were to surrender him to the court.
While seated in the courthouse Mr. Punchinilame told this columnist that he did not open fire at anybody and he did not possess any firearms at that time.
He said his bodyguards opened fire only after somebody from the opposite side shot at them. Mr. Punchinilame claims he was attending a reception at the time the PA MPs passed his procession obstructing them. He also said he had taken pictures of the Kuruwita incident using a 135mm auto camera which would reveal everything .
Election laws
Allegedly some PA politicians were trying to enforce the election laws to the very letter when they spotted the UNPers coming in a procession. The MPs have apparently told them that they were acting contrary to the election laws, but others say that it was not for them to do so which ultimately resulted in the death of the young Ellawala.
Asked as to why he wore a bullet-proof vest, he said he had made several complaints to the Ratnapura police about threats to his life and his family. He informed the police that given the circumstances, he had no option but to wear a bullet-proof vest for his own security.
After Punchinilame's surrender to courts some lawyers have pointed out that there was a rare coincidence in the case.
Mr. Punchinilame surrendered to Acting Magistrate Jayantha Dias Nanayakkara who was one of the attorneys who surrendered two other suspects in the same case.
When a motion was moved to surrender Mr. Punchinilame three lawyers, Palitha Liyanage, Shiraz Noordeen and R.S. Pathirana, pointed out that there was a warrant out for the arrest of Mr. Punchinilame. Hence he should be directed to be produced before the Chief Magistrate of Ratnapura.
But Mr. Nanayakkara refused the application saying that it was not an inquiry and only a surrender of a wanted man. In short he said, "you have no status quo". The Acting Magistrate told the lawyer they could appear on the day he was produced before the Ratnapura Chief Magistrate.
Though the lawyers who watched the interests of the Ellawala family cited Section 58 (2) and 260 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Magistrate refused their application and directed that Mr. Punchinilame be remanded till February 27.
After the Magistrate made his order remanding the MP, the court sergeant went into the Magistrate's Chambers and informed the prison authorities about the surrender of Mr. Punchinilame. Later he also called the Slave Island Police for an escort and after about half an hour four Police constables accompanied Mr. Punchinilame to the Welikada Prison.
Mr. Punchinilame's surrender came at a time when the government was contemplating as to what legal action could be taken against him if he absconded any further.
Legal experts have apparently advised the government to use Emergency Regulations to forfeit his movable and immovable property.
Before the government could take that drastic step, Mr. Punchinilame surrendered to Court.
New laws
It is now clear that the government is determined to punish the culprits in the Ellawala killing. The President told a mass rally in Kalutara, that if existing laws were inadequate the government would not hesitate to bring in new laws. More than this, the government's intention was clearly stated by Minister G. L. Peiris when he gave an assurance to Nalanda's mother, Suranganie Ellawala, that the government would not allow the miscreants to escape.
Suranganie Ellawala's appeal to Minister Peiris was, that the government should not allow the miscreants to escape through loopholes in the law. She had said: "My son is dead. That is one thing. But don't allow the culprits to get away just because there are contradictions in the evidence."
Minister Peiris gave a firm assurance and said the President had directed him to be firm on this matter.
At the moment the government is also looking at the possibility of concluding the non-summary proceedings in the Trimavithana murder case in which Susantha Punchinilame is a prime suspect.
Trimavithana and two others were allegedly killed in Ratnapura during the 1987 JVP insurrection.
The non-summary proceedings went on for quite some time and the President had a long discussion recently with Chief Justice G. P. S. de Silva to appoint Additional Magistrates to these Courts in a bid to expedite these matters.
At Nalanda Ellawala's funeral, Minister Peiris had the opportunity of meeting Dinesh and Bandula Gunawardene of the MEP. Dinesh Gunawardene told Dr. Peiris this was a dangerous trend. "We use words to express our ideas and desires but if someone uses firearms to express them no one would be left."
Everybody agreed with him, but it is left to the government to make the final decision - to disarm politicians. Interestingly, the President is to take one step towards this, by cancelling all firearm licences issued to politicians.
The issue relating to Punchinilame and Ellawala was also the subject of discussion among three prominent personalities.
They were Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Ministers Mahinda Rajapakse and M. H. M. Ashraff.
The venue was the funeral house of Mukta Wijesinghe, wife of Sam Wijesinghe, former Secretary General of Parliament.
Mr. Wickremesinghe traced the history of Ratnapura and told the others how G. V. Punchinilame popularly known as Bata Nilame worked as the campaign manager of Nanda Ellawala at the 1970 General Elections and returned to power with an overwhelming majority.
G. V. Punchinilame later became the UNP's chief organiser for Ratnapura on an ex-parte decision taken by former President J. R. Jayewardene amidsts protests from other UNPers.
A. J. M. Muzammil who was also present joined them and spoke about how the late Gamini Dissanayake conducted a by-election in Ratnapura with G. V. Punchinilame's son, Susantha, as the UNP candidate.
He told them that Mr. Dissanayake's plan did not work since he did not want President Premadasa (then Prime Minister) on the election platform and finally the UNP conceded defeat.
Mr. Muzammil, a controversial figure in politics, was dropped from the UNP's All Island Executive Committee following his role in the UNP initiated no-confidence motion against Minister Ashraff on the Galle Port Project.
They also discussed many things about the political history and the continuing trend.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet of Ministers also discussed the present political situations, including the Ellawala assassination.
At the meeting, the President expressed her dismay over the manner some back-benchers behaved during the funeral of Nalanda Ellawala.
She said most of the back-benchers used this opportunity and the State Media to discredit the government.
"They also incited the people by using strong words. It was a sorry state of affairs", she said.
Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte also supported this view and stressed that it is time to have some control over back-benchers.
Minister Richard Pathirana, normally known as the champion of the back-benchers, too supported the view and said it was of vital importance to discipline them.
The ministers also witnessed an apparent showdown between Minister Kingsley Wickremaratne and Minister D. M. Jayaratne over the affairs of the Paddy Marketing Board.
Mr. Jayaratne blamed the trade policy which he said had virtually put the paddy producer in a bad position. He points out that the benefit went to the middleman rather than the producer.
When Mr. Wickremaratne rose to his feet to defend his position, it became a virtual clash.
"You have given enough dead ropes to the leaders... You go on saying, Yes Madam... Yes Madam to everything."
The President had to intervene. She said it was she who introduced the new system to the Paddy Marketing Board.
"You mean I did something wrong", the President asked the angry Minister D. M. Jayaratne.
In the confusion the Minister replied, "You are also wrong".
In another development in the PA, a move to set up an election secretariat without the knowledge of the seniors in the SLFP came under heavy fire by Minister Mahinda Rajapakse.
New election secretariat
The new election secretariat was set up at the Ministers' enclave at Wijerama Mawatha on Thursday and some Ministers were instrumental in the effort. They included Ministers S. B. Dissanayake, Mangala Samaraweera, Presidential Secretary K. Balapatabendi and Media Advisor Sanath Gunatillake.
Ministers Dharmasiri Senanayake and D. M. Jayaratne were also present and were enjoying traditional Kiribath when Minister Mahinda Rajapakse made a surprise entry.
He asked the Ministers there as to how they set up this secretariat without the knowledge of some seniors of the party.
He told them he was a Vice President of the party and a member of the party's apex body, the Central Committee.
"We don't care for ministerial portfolios but we do want to protect the party. We are there to do elections", he shouted at the two young Ministers S. B. Dissanayake and Mangala Samaraweera.
By this time those who were present there observed that the two General Secretaries of the SLFP and PA, Dharmasiri Senanayake and D. M. Jayaratne, leaving the premises quietly amidst the confusion.
As Mahinda Rajapakse hurled accusations at the two, Minister S. B. Dissanayake said it was Minister Samaraweera's work. But Minister Samaraweera promptly denied this.
However, the party stalwarts now feel that an organised group in the PA is trying to take the credit for an election victory.
But there is some more time for the people to give the verdict on the performance of the government.
It is yet to be seen whether the people would vote on national issues or local issues.
John explains
UNP MP John Amaratunga in a letter to The Sunday Times states:
"I was nominated by the Speaker and was approved by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, and the Leader of the United National Party Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe to the Parliamentary Delegation as the representative of the Opposition Group, to the Conference on the Subject of Delegated Legislation & Scrutiny that were held in Australia and New Zealand from 6th to 13th February 1997.
"The task of looking after the interests of Wattala Nomination Papers due to my absence was delegated to a Senior Provincial Councillor of the Western Provincial Council by the Party Leader himself. Hence the remark of my neglect of obligations by Hon. Wijeyapala Mendis is a misrepresentation of facts, and it could be due to the fact that Hon. Wijeyapala Mendis himself had returned to the country from the United Kingdom just prior to nomination handing over and therefore would not have been aware what was going on. "
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