The Political Column

26th July 1998

Communist turned capitalist

By our Political Correspondent

Discarding provincial councils

Commissioners say two Ministers disqualified

Unknown and largely unnoticed, a Housing Amendment Bill intended to evict so-called illegal tenants of state-owned flats, became a major political issue with the Government facing defeat in parliament.

The man behind the controversial Bill is Minister Indika Gunawardena, whom his critics are dubbing as the communist who has turned capitalist. It is widely acknowledged that communist Minister Pieter Keuneman was the principal figure in the provision of houses for the needy in the 1970s. Some 25 years later, the wheel has turned full circle and one of his party men is in the unhappy position of having to evict tenants.

The government on Tuesday backed down on the National Housing Development Authority (Amendment Bill) in the face of stiff opposition from the UNP and minority parties.

The Bill provided for the eviction of unauthorised occupants from NHDA houses.

Many MPs said the Bill was unreasonable and would render thousands of people homeless. They pointed out that people have bought these houses from the original owners at a cost ranging from 6 to 8 lakhs.

They said such transactions had taken place in the absence of legislation regarding such matters.

One MP said that if the Bill was passed, the present occupants would lose both their money and the houses they lived in.

Government MPs apparently did not have the opportunity to study the Bill and move for amendments since it came directly from the Cabinet to the Order Paper of Parliament.

Not only MPs the UNP group also resolved to vote against it since they felt that it would create additional problems for already overburdened people.

Though the legislation had prospective effect in theory, it would actually have retrospective effect in practice, one MP said.

He pointed out that the covenant on civil and political rights had banned such laws.

It also violates the spirit of clause 11 of the universal declaration of human rights.

As soon as the minority parties studied the Bill they conferred in Parliament on Tuesday and decided to oppose it.

Minister S. Thondaman contacted Housing Minister Indika Gunawardena to express concern. So did TULF Parliamentary group leader Joseph Pararajasingham.

UNP Parliamentarian Imtiaz Bakeer Markar on Tuesday spoke to TULF lawyer Neelan Thiruchelvam about the matter.

Waving the bill Mr. Markar asked Dr. Tiruchelvam whether he had studied it. He said 'no'.

Mr. Markar said the Bill was fundamentally flawed and could have serious repercussions. He said some of the occupants of these houses were displaced people from the North and East.

In the Parliamentary lobby Mr. Markar canvassed the support of PLOTE leader Siddharthan too. He also spoke to some PA MPs.

By this time Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle had learnt about the concerns of the MPs and telephoned the President.

He told her that minority parties were up in arms and Government might face defeat.

The President then telephoned Minister Gunawardena and directed him to put off the vote on the Bill. The Minister appealed that they should go ahead, but the President insisted that it be put off.

When this was taking place, Dr. Thiruchelvam telephoned Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and told him the TULF had decided to vote against the Bill.

SLMC MPs met separately and M.M. Zuhair briefed them on the implications of the Bill.

The group decided to oppose the Bill and Mr. Zuhair contacted SLMC leader M.H.M. Ashraff to inform him.

Mr. Ashraff told Mr. Zuhair to inform Minister Fernandopulle while he also contacted Minister Alavi Moulana.

Minister Moulana told Mr. Ashraff that he too could not agree with certain provisions of the Bill which he felt would render a large number of people homeless.

When Mr. Zuhair got through to Mr. Fernandopulle late at night the Minister said that he had received many protests and would speak to the Opposition Leader on the possibility of putting off the debate.

He said that if the Opposition did not agree to put off the debate he would suggest that the matter be referred to a Select Committee of Parliament.

Eventually, it worked out that way. If a vote had been taken, the Government would have faced an embarrassing defeat.

At the debate, Minister Gunawardena and deputy, Mahinda Wijesekera insisted the Bill was necessary to evict people who were occupying NHDA houses illegally.

But most MPs said there were simple legal means to deal with any such problems and no laws were necessary.

Some MPs said that the PA Government had over the past four years had failed to launch new houses for the needy, while the NHDA was not providing many basic facilities to occupants of flats.

Therefore it is unlikely that the Bill will come up again as the PA leadership does not want to become more unpopular.

Government lawyers say the Bill was necessary because many of the original occupants had transferred their houses illegally.

They say the present occupants if ejected under the new law, would have recourse to legal redress, if they sue the original tenants.

Two Whips for UNP

The Wijeyapala Mendis issue is continuing to be a major problem for the UNP. Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe insists that the decision to suspend Mr. Mendis is still valid despite a court order.

He points out that Mr. Mendis has filed action only against the 70 member working committee and not the party as a whole.

If he wanted to sue a non corporate body such as the working committee Mr. Mendis by law is required to publish a notice in newspapers, he said.

But Mr. Mendis feels otherwise. He believes he could participate in all party activities in view of the court ruling staying his suspension.

However, he was not present at the UNP Parliamentary group meeting on Monday saying he was not informed of the time.

But he attended the Party leaders' meeting on Wednesday and Speaker K.B. Ratnayake took up the position that outsiders should not be there.

At this meeting the UNP was represented by Ranil Wickremesinghe, A.C.S. Hameed, Tyronne Fernando, W.J.M. Lokubandara and A.H.M. Azwer while the government was represented by Ministers Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and Deputy Minister Anura Yapa.

Mr. Mendis was present, though he lost his position as the Chief Opposition Whip following his suspension from the party.

Mr. Mendis occupied a front seat meant for the Chief Opposition Whip while the newly appointed Whip W.J.M Lokubandara sat behind.

Minister Fernandopulle signalled Mr. Lokubandara to come forward and occupy his rightful seat but Mr. Lokubandara remained where he was, obviously not wanting to stir more problems.

Nobody, knew whom the Speaker referred to when he spoke of outsiders. Was it Anura Yapa, A.H.M. Azwer or Wijeyapala Mendis?

Whoever it may be, Mr. Fernandopulle moved to defend Mr. Yapa. He said Mr. Yapa was there to discuss the no confidence motion against his Minister Mangala Samaraweera.

Former minister Hameed too defended those who were present said that in future the list should be adhered to strictly but today they should not ask anybody to withdraw.

Thereafter the party leaders discussed the no-confidence motion and Mr. Wickremesinghe queried the time given to the opposition.

Mr. Hameed, raising a question of principle said "The Speaker should make a decision regarding parties which were constituent members of the government but were sitting on opposition benches. They not only sat in the opposition, but also took time from the opposition to defend the government, he complained.

The Speaker promised to look into the problem while none of the government ministers raised any objections.

Meanwhile, UNP has also moved to make a new appointment. Party frontliner and former minister Tyronne Fernando has been appointed the Whip of the UNP Parliamentary Group.

Though no official announcement has been made, Mr. Wickremesinghe has told Mr. Fernando he did not want to make it official in view of the case pending in the District Court of Colombo.

It is understood that both Mr. Lokubandara as Opposition Whip and Mr. Fernando as UNP Whip would function in their positions unofficially until the case filed by Mr. Mendis is disposed of.

Discarding provincial councils

United Lalith Front and PA parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake has slammed AirLanka for paying massive salaries and allowances to foreign executives after the deal with Emirates.

Speaking at a parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting he said that after the AirLanka-Emirates agreement, AirLanka had got a new chief executive who drew a staggering monthly salary of rupees one million. In addition, the CEO has been given a luxury apartment at the Hilton Towers at a cost of US dollars 3,000 a month paid by AirLanka.

Mr. Karunanayake said another top official was receiving Rs. 800,000 a month and a house which costs AirLanka US $ 2000 a month.

Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake said he was unaware of these payments and promised to find out.

Referring to a tourism matter, UNP MP Gamini Lokuge accused the government of being responsible for allowing a scandalous film in the guise of promoting Sri Lanka as a tourist destination.

The Minister said the government did not finance this film but a tourist agency had produced it after seeking permission.

He said legal action against the producers was being considered by the Attorney General.

Attorney General Sarath Silva meanwhile is sifting through the commission report on the assassinations of former minister and DUNF Leader Lalith Athulathmudali and Lt. General Denzil Kobbekaduwa.

The Attorney General intends to file action against those against whom there are findings in the report.

He told this column: "We are looking at it objectively to see whether charges could be framed against the people concerned."

At the same time the Attorney General has told the Presidential Secretariat he is unable to defend the commissioners in the writ application filed by former UNP strongman Sirisena Cooray.

The AG it appears wants to steer clear of controversy and doesn't want to defend the commissioners since he is perusing the commission report to determine what charges could be framed.

The AG has also issued letters to the CID enabling it to record statements in Britain regarding the case of the missing painting from the Presidential palace.

It is alleged that the painting went missing during the tenure of President R. Premadasa.

The investigations are still on and there is no conclusive evidence, a top police officer told this column.

But it appears that the government is not interested to play it up for obvious reasons, while the UNP is showing some keen interest on this matter with a view to clean up the party of unruly elements.

Meanwhile another controversial issue came up at the weekly Cabinet meeting. Copies of the agreement with P&O to develop the Queen Elizabeth Quay were distributed among the ministers.

Minister Batty Weerakoon raised several objections even to the new draft. He said he had pointed out shortcomings in the earlier draft but they had not been rectified. He asked for time to introduce amendments.

President Kumaratunga, reminding ministers of their collective responsibility, said ministers who gave their consent at Cabinet meetings for various projects were frequently heard criticising them elsewhere in keeping with their party policies. She stressed the need for more discipline..

"This is a sad situation. I call upon ministers to strictly adhere to the principles of collective responsibility and discipline," she said.

At this point, Minister Mahinda Rajapakse intervened to say that he felt that certain clauses in the QEQ agreement needed careful consideration. He asked for two weeks to submit amendments.

The President said no. She said that the QEQ agreement was good for the country and insisted the cabinet must approve it.

The president again complained of regular cabinet leaks and said even what she was saying now might be leaked.

She said the government had been compelled to pay US $ 150 million to a US firm since Sri Lanka had failed to honour an agreement with it.

The agreement was signed between the Mahaweli Ministry and the US firm during the UNP regime when Gamini Dissanayake held the portfolio.

She said it was unfortunate that her government was called upon to pay for others' sins. The US firm and the government in Washington were exerting pressure on Sri Lanka to settle this amount, she said.

Thereafter the President continued to criticise Gamini Dissanayake's role as the Minister who was in charge of the Accelerated Mahaweli programme.

Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle intervening said there was no purpose in criticising Mr. Dissanayake since he was dead and gone.

"That's a wrong notion. do you mean to say we should not even talk about what Premadasa did," the president asked.

Minister Rajapakse at this stage said the problem they were facing right now was the government's reluctance to go into the affairs of the "Premadasa's" of the present.

The President then asked Mr. Rajapakse as to whom he was targeting.

He said a monk had been killed at the Chittaviveka-ramaya, and though an investigation was initiated there was no satisfactory outcome.

He also spoke about a missing gem and the missing painting in the Presidential palace. When Mr. Rajapakse was asked once again whom he was targeting, he said he was talking about Premadasas.

The President who said that he had got it all wrong and their common rival was Ranil Wickremesinghe — nobody else.

"Our common enemy is not either Hema or Sajit. It is 'Ranil," she said. "Nobody is talking about Ranil's alleged land grab. I have heard only Batty and Nimal Siripala talking about these matters," she said.

Mr. Rajapakse retorted saying he also was wondering why the government was soft peddling on the issues involving the opposition.

"When the UNP came to office in 1977 what did it do? It broke the back bone of the SLFP by depriving Sirima Bandaranaike of her civic rights. If there is anything that we should do, tell us. But I am not ready to protect Sajit. He is my political opponent and I will fight him politically. The problem is that some elements in the government are trying to protect Sajit," Mr. Rajapakse said.

At this stage the President said they had to understand that district politics and national politics were two different factors.

But Mr. Rajapakse disagreed. He said it was important for him to safeguard his interests in the district of Hambantota.

As the debate went on, Minister Mangala Samaraweera joined the fray. He said the main aim should be to win another term of office for the PA and needed to avoid parochial political issues.

But one minister quipped, "We could stay on for 20 years if you get more credit cards."

Thereafter Minister Samaraweera referring to a report in a weekend newspaper on the missing painting, said he felt the story was manipulated by the UNP to achieve someone's ends.

The President also referred to conspirators in the party and spoke of how Maithripala Senanayake and Anura Bandaranaike had joined forces to undermine the SLFP in 1982.

"There were others too and still there are," she said.

The President also referred to UNP MP Mervyn Silva who she said was attacking the government ruthlessly.

"But soon as he comes out of the chamber of Parliament, our people go and hold his hands," she complained.

The President also feels some newspapers are trying to create a rift between her and Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte.

The President told a group of national newspaper editors on Thursday that the streamlining of the defence structure was purely to help him in his duties.

It was pointed out by others that in any case many defence matters relating to intelligence were handled by the President herself.

She recalled another occasion where the newspapers tried to drive a wedge between her and Minister Ratwatte.

"We both knew that it was wrong and we laughed it off," she said.

As things stand today, it appears that the government is planning to abolish Provincial Councils altogether. The main aim of the PA is to hold the Presidential elections before the scheduled time and go in for Parliamentary Elections with the hope of getting an absolute majority to push the package through and solve the ethnic conflict.

Commissioners say two Ministers disqualified

In a dramatic turn of events in a long drawn out crisis, the two Bribery Commissioners in the centre of the dispute, have written to the Speaker expressing objections to Ministers G. L. Peiris and Jeyaraj Fernandopulle being on the Select Committee probing a motion to remove the Commissioners.

The two Commissioners T. A. de S. Wijesundera and Rudra Rajasingham say they believe the participation of the two Ministers in the Select Committee would be contrary to principles of natural justice.

Excerpts from the letter:

"We wish to record our objection to Ministers G. L. Peiris and Jeyaraj Fernandopulle serving as Members of the Select Committee appointed to investigate and report on the allegations referred to in the resolution placed on the Order Paper of 23rd July, 1998.

Our objection to Dr. Peiris is on the following grounds:

a) Dr. Peiris' Private Secretary Kanchana Ratwatte and the Justice Ministry's Additional Secretary Nelum Gamage are both being investigated by the Bribery Commission on allegations of Bribery and Corruption. In consideration of the close relationship that may exist between these two persons and Dr. Peiris, his serving as a member of the said Select Committee would give a reasonable apprehension of bias; thus disqualifying Dr. Peiris from serving as a member of the Select Committee.

b) inasmuch as allegation (c) contained in the resolution pursuant to which the Select Committee was appointed specifically relates to a dispute we are alleged to have engaged in with Ms. Gamage and in consideration of the above-mentioned relationship between Ms. Gamage and Dr. Peiris, his serving as a member of the Select Committee would give a reasonable apprehension of bias.

Dr. Peiris at a Cabinet news conference is reported as having expressed the opinion that the Commissioners have to be replaced 'to ensure that the Commission works'.

In view of the said pronouncement it is respectfully submitted that Dr. Peiris cannot be considered impartial or disinterested in the outcome of the proceedings before the Select Committee and is thus disqualified for this reason.

d) that it was Dr. Peiris who presented in Parliament the legislation to establish the Permanent Commission to investigate allegations of Bribery and Corruption and the Amendment to the Bribery Act introducing the new offence of corruption. His declared views of the importance of the newly introduced offence of corruption must necessarily influence his decision on the outcome in relation to allegation (a) contained in the said Resolution and for this reason is disqualified.

3. Our objection to Mr. Fernandopulle is on the following grounds:-

On more than one occasion Mr. Fernandopulle has adversely criticised us, thus demonstrating very clearly he appears to be biased in a way that precludes fair and genuine consideration of the matters required to be investigated and reported upon by the Select Committee.

We annex two newspaper reports in which he has referred to us in the most disparaging terms. Furthermore, he has over the radio and the TV on more than one occasion criticised us in very strong terms. For these reasons it is respectfully submitted that Mr. Fernandopulle is disqualified.

4. In these circumstances it is our respectful submission that the participation of Dr. Peiris and Mr. Fernandopulle as members of the Committee would be contrary to all principles of natural justice and procedural fairness and for this reason object to their serving as members of the Committee.

When this letter was read out at the Parliamentary Select Committee, Dr. Peiris citing Supreme Court traditions said if a party alleges that a judge should not hear a particular case, it is for the judge himself, in keeping with his own conscience to decide what he should do.

In other words he said it was up to him and Mr. Fernandopulle to decide whether they should sit in the committee or not.

The Committee Chairman Dharmasiri Senanayake granted time till Thursday for the Commissioners to send in their submissions and noticed them to appear before the Select Committee on August 12.-Pol. Corr.

Situation Report

Editorial/Opinion Contents