The Political Column

3rd May 1998

Ministers clash over postal crisis

By our Political Correspondent

The UNP appears to be gradually moving towards a final decision on the Wijeyapala Mendis crisis.

On Tuesday, minutes before the UNP's Working Committee meet at Sirikotha, Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had a one-to-one meeting with Mr. Mendis.

The leader proposed a committee to report as to what the party should do in this case. Mr. Mendis did not agree. He said it was not necessary for a committee to go into the matter again.

When the Working Committee met Mr. Mendis in an emotional outburst said it was not proper for the party to appoint a committee to go into this matter since he was not found guilty by a court of law.

He pointed out that he had served the party for some 50 years and sacrificed much, including his only son.

Appointing an internal committee to probe his case would reduce his stature and reputation as a senior member, he said.

Mr. Mendis in a 30-minute long plea said he did not take to politics to acquire wealth. Tracing his family history he said that his father was a rich philanthropist who owned a bus company and he too had land and owned buses.

He suggested that the latest UNP move could be a "witch hunt" since he supported Gamini Dissanayake in the leadership battle that virtually divided the party some time ago.

Mr. Mendis also said appointing a committee would open flood gates against individuals in the party and added that the party should have resolved to fight the government instead of appointing a committee to probe him.

He also warned the party not to fall prey to the ploys of the government.

Former Ambassador and University don Professor Stanley Kalpage also made a long speech supporting the position taken up by Mr. Mendis.

Dr. Kalpage asked what prevented the Working Committee from accepting Mr. Mendis' explanation.

Holding Mr. Mendis' explanation in one hand Dr. Kalpage said it is the truth and nothing but the truth.

We have to accept it in the absence of any evidence against him other than the commission report.

He said that the party should have taken a stand on Special Presidential Commissions long ago. When he pointed this out six months ago, the Chair had ignored him, Dr. Kalpage said.

Another prominent Working Committee member Susil Moonesinghe pleaded with Mr. Mendis to step down while UNP Treasurer Milroy Perera said the politicians should be able to work according to their conscience.

Mr. Perera said the politicians should not work until the cases against them are proved.

Despite the objections, Mr. Wickremesinghe moved for the appointment of a committee to go into the matter and said "I have all the powers in terms of the constitution of the UNP to take action against any member on any allegation.

"In spite of these provisions in the constitution I believe that this matter should be gone into by a committee, so that it would reflect correct and a just approach being made by the party."

Once the deliberations of the committees are over those recommendations could be dismissed by the Working Committee, he said.

The committee comprises General Secretary Gamini Atukorale, Percy Samaraweera and Henry Jayamaha.

The party also appointed another committee to review the SPC act. This committee headed by Tyronne Fernando, includes Rohitha Bogollagama and Daya Pelpola.

At the same time it is interesting to note that some of the stalwarts of the party inclusive of A. C. S. Hameed, Anura Bandaranaike, Ronnie de Mel and M. H. Mohammed were absent at this meeting.

Questions now being asked as to when the government would resume the adjourned debate on the motion on Mr. Mendis. It is more than likely that the government is toying with the idea of resuming this debate at a strategic moment, but it is now clear that the motion would not come up in May. Some political observers guess that the debate would come up at the height of the Provincial Council elections.

Meanwhile at the last party leaders' meeting UNP's Mr. Hameed had asked for an early, two-day debate on AirLanka. Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake responded that if it was one day he would agree straightaway but if it was two days, then he would have to consult the government. Finally it was agreed that there would be a full day debate on May 19 from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm. Subsequently on Mr. Wickremesinghe's request the debate was advanced to May 6. But now Aviation Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake would be out of the country on May 6 and the debate again goes back to May 19. Whatever the outcome of the debate may be, it will generate a lot of hot air and at times foul too.

Besides the AirLanka controversy, the country is facing a severe problem due to the on-going postal crisis.

Ministers discussed this matter at length at the weekly meeting on Wednesday. The meeting which was presided over by Minister Richard Pathirana in the absence of President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike took a volatile atmosphere when some Ministers exchanged words over the postal crisis.

At the beginning, Minister Batty Weerakoon raised some matters relating to the postal crisis. Other Ministers suggested that it should be taken up in the presence of Minister Samaraweera who is in charge of the subject.

When Minister Samaraweera entered the Cabinet room once again Minister Weerakoon said he wanted to make a statement on the postal crisis.

At this stage Mr. Samaraweera said he would like to explain matters relating to the crisis.

But Mr. Weerakoon who insisted that he should talk first, said that a difficult situation had arisen as a result of the government's decision to declare postal services as an essential service.

He said that this was done after the appointment of a Cabinet sub committee on the matter.

Minister Weerakoon's complaint was that there was insufficient time for the committee to get to the bottom of the problem.

"There had been a number of arrests and it had hampered the efforts of the sub committee," Mr. Weerakoon said.

Mr. Samaraweera replying pleaded with his colleagues to allow him to handle the crisis in the way he thought best.

He explained why the government was forced to declare it as an essential service.

Mr. Samaraweera said if the sub committee advocated the removal of Post Mistress General Soma Kotakadeniya it might as well recommend his removal too.

Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte interjected to say the decision to declare it as an essential service was taken after a careful study.

He said President Kumaratunga, Minister Samaraweera and he carefully considered the intelligence reports before taking this decision.

General Ratwatte said that although be tried his level best to locate the members of the sub committee they were not available.

However Mr. Weerakoon referring to the day in question said he was at home the whole day and did not receive any message or telephone call asking him to come for any such meeting.

General Ratwatte looked excited but said that the final decision was not theirs.

In others words Minister Ratwatte told the Cabinet that the final decision was taken by the President depending on the reports.

"We used the normal law of the country against the union leaders and produced them before court within 24 hours as required by law," he said.

Mr. Samaraweera said that it would be unfortunate if one spoke for the strikers since he believed they were backed by the UNP and the JVP.

Labour Minister John Seneviratne however said the other postal unions which were not directly involved in the strike also wanted postal chief Kotakadeniya removed.

Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, a former Labour Minister, said the dispute should be settled before it set off a major crisis.

At this stage Minister Indika Gunawardene flared up and accused Minister Alavi Moulana of trying to mislead the Cabinet the previous week. Mr. Moulana even told the Cabinet that it would lead to a general strike, he said.

"It is wrong to say that I misled the Cabinet. I only said that a general strike is imminent," Mr. Moulana replied.

Minister Pathirana who presided over the meeting endorsed the view taken by Minister Moulana and others and said that there had been a severe problem for students especially because of the strike.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Weerakoon reminded the Cabinet that the sub committee would not function anymore and that the Minister in charge of the subject should handle the matter henceforth.

Apart from this, the party organisers meeting summoned by the President bore some significance.

The meeting was aimed at re-vamping the SLFP branch organisations for the forthcoming Provincial Council elections.

President Kumaratunga said the election would be crucial for the government, since it had already been in office for four years.

Emphasising the need to strengthen the party machinery, the President asked the organisers to prepare for an election in August.

The President also spoke of an independent survey carried out in 20 districts and said that she was aware of what was going on in those places.

The report is with me and it gives an insight into our party activities and what the individuals are doing."

Kandy district parliamentarian Vincent Kuruppuarachchi who praised the President for her efforts to create a just society and develop the country however said that he had no confidence in the set of people with whom the President had set up her own inner circle.

"Some of them are liars and are trying to mislead you," he told the President.

He said that in the Kandy district, top political figures connected to the government are clashing, bringing in misery to the party and its leaders.

Mr. Kuruppuarachchi said they miserably failed in the election for the Diyawadana Nilame stakes some years ago because of this disunity.

The President listened to the organisers but did not make any comments other than announcing a new programme encompassing all PA organisers throughout the country to bring about better co-ordination.

The SLFP Central Committee also met recently but without both the Prime Minister and the President.

On the invitation of General Secretary Dharmasiri Senanayake, Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, a senior vice president of the party, presided.

After having taken the Chair Mr. Rajapakse said, "It is too hot for me". There was a sipple of laughter. But the apex body later discussed about May Day and briefly the Provincial Council elections.

There is nothing much to discuss on the PC elections, Mr. Senanayake said.

"I have no power unlike in other parties and it is better to discuss these matters in the presence of the President," he said with a smile.

On the diplomatic front, the recent visit of N. N. Jha, a former Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, has sparked off a controversy.

Political analysts believe that his visit has given new dimensions to the on-going political process to resolve the ethnic conflict.

Mr. Jha's visit, coincided with the tour of US special envoy Bill Richardson, is seen as an attempt made by Indians to break into the on-going process on the devolution package.

Mr. Jha's statement as reported to the media had created a controversy.

He said that there could not be a solution to the Sri Lankan conflict without the merger of the North and the East.

Soon after this, Minister G.L. Peiris spoke to Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on the matter, and both of them were of the view that this statement was inappropriate at a time, when the merger has run into resistence from all quarters.

This also figured at the reception hosted by American Ambassador Shaun Donnelly at the Jefferson House in Colombo to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of US-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations.

The reception was also attended by President Kumaratunga along with her key Ministers, Lakshman Kadirgamer, G. L. Peiris, C. V. Gooneratne and Lakshman Jayakody.

Though Mr. Jha's statement has created some sort of excitement in political circles, it would not have a serious effect since the US interests are already anchored with the government's proposals.

However there seemed to be a conflict growing between the US and Indian interests in the region.

Whilst the Vajpayee government has rejected the Gujral doctrine on the region the US wants the Indian government to adopt it more clearly.

The Gujral doctrine essentially means non interference by India in the local issues of neighbours and to respect the independence of the neighbouring states.

The Vajpayee administration believes that the Gujral approach to deal with its neighbours, had weakened India's position as a regional power.

Hence India once again wants to regain its lost importance in the region, especially at a time, when a nationalistic government is in office in Delhi and in the midst of an aggressive regional role played by the US.

While this was being discussed, the other matter that was discussed was the harassment and suffering caused to the Tamils in Colombo and the North.

Neelan Thiruchelvam of the TULF explained the situation while EPDP leader Douglas Devananda said the rehabilitation process in the North and the East had slowed down.

The UNP was represented at this reception by Karunasena Kodituwakku, Rohitha Bogollagama and Charitha Ratwatte. They were also seen exchanging views with the government Ministers and Tamil politicians along with the diplomatic corp.

In another political development, ULF's Ravi Karunanayake has written to Minister G. L. Peiris asking him to restore the status quo in the Bribery and Corruption Commission.

In his letter he said the government should create an atmosphere where the Bribery and Corruption Commission could act independently.

His letter states thus:

"Dear Minister,

Re: Bribery and Corruption Commission

"You would recall that on the 2nd March 1998 at the Government Group Meeting I brought it to your attention that there are vacancies in the Bribery and Corruption Commission, as way back from December 1996 (owing to the demise of Mr. Siva Selliah).

This position became even more injurious when the Police Officers attached to the commission were transferred suddenly without any replacements being sent to this very important Permanent Commission.

Being a matter of grave importance to the government which was and hope still is committed to fairplay, transparency etc. I once again brought to your attention at the last Government Group Meeting held on the 7th April 1998 where you advised that the President's attention has been drawn to this matter.

We regretfully state even to date this matter has not been rectified nor addressed upon.

Our late Leader Hon. Mr. Lalith Athulathmudali, Hon. Mrs. Srimani Athulathmudali and we in the Lalith Front have always been very eager to maintain and strive towards creating an atmosphere that is devoid of bribery and corruption. We were extremely happy that the People's Alliance in its Manifesto at the last election (1994) did place a lot of emphasis on the creation of the Permanent Commission, but now understandably we are disappointed and dejected at the turn of events where there seems to be a lack of zeal and urgency in rectifying this.

Quote: Manifesto Page 14 - Corruption is the implacable enemy of Sri Lanka's progress, stability and well being. Its incidence and scale at the present time give rise to fundamental questions about the moral underpinnings of our society, and the quality of our perspectives on core social issues. The PA is convinced that immediate legislative action directed towards the establishment of a Permanent Commission on Bribery and Corruption is a measure that is urgently required to restore salutary criteria of morality, transparency and accountability in the public life of our country.

Unquote:

In conclusion, I hope this receives your prompt attention as this is essential for cleaner government and also to assist and motivate the existing commissioners who are of high standard and impeccable integrity to continue their day to day work without unwanted and undue pressure being brought upon them which would affect their independence.

Amidst all these controversies the working class in the country along with almost all the political parties celebrated May Day on a fairly interesting scale.

They all seemed to be trying to show their politcal strength.

In this exercise some succeed and some failed. The CWC, led by Minister Thondaman shifted from Nuwara Eliya-Hatton stronghold to Nawalapitiya where it held its May Day rally. The shift to Nawalapitiya is being interpreted by political opponents as a silent admission of Mr. Thondaman's loss of grip in the Nuwara Eliya-Hatton area. Some political watchers of the plantations scene think that a gradual political integration is taking place among the plantations voters.

After having won their basic demands they think that their future lies in alliance with one of the two major political parties and not with regional or sectarian ones. The validity of this theory could be only judged from the Provincial Council elections voting pattern.

The UNP which held its May Day rally in Kandy had six current and relevant resolutions. The resolutions committee comprised A. C. S. Hameed Chairman, Gamini Atukorale, W. J. M. Lokubandara, Gamini Lokuge and Karunasena Kodituwakku.

It is interesting to observe the UNP's resolution on Trade Union disputes. It calls upon the government not to drive a wedge between the people and the workers and not to heap blame on the UNP.

The postal crisis, one of the biggest Trade Union problems the government has faced so far and has certainly led to bitterness on both sides. It is bound to be some time before the wounds could heal. While the government has accused the UNP of interfering with the crisis, the leader of the UNP at Anuradhapura has said that the party would give legal assistance to the postal unions.

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