The Political Column

18th April 1999

Two new faces in cabinet

By our Political Correspondent

The verdict of the people is clear - they have demonstrated their loss of faith in the two major parties and neither has received a clear majority to run any of the five provinces that went to the polls on April 6.

A close scrutiny of the Provincial Council Act would give the impression that it has been designed in such a way to create a new political culture and environment in the provinces.

In a positive sense, the close finish gives the two major parties - the PA and the UNP - an opportunity to work out a process of consensus politics, especially on major development issues in the provinces. Hopeful signs of this have emerged in the western province with the UNP's main candidate Karu Jayasuriya offering support to chief minister designate Susil Premajayanth in all proposals that are intended for the common good of the people.

If such consultation, compromise and consensus could be reached in all provinces, the people would see more development, infrastructure facilities and better services in addition to curbs on corruption. Even though this has not been possible at national level, many people are hopeful that the spirit of such bipartisanship could be developed at provincial level.

A significant feature of the April 6 election was the staggering number of rejected or spoilt votes - a record 350,000 or 7.5 percent. Election officials say that a vast majority of these votes were intentionally spoilt - the voters had either marked a cross across the whole ballot paper or written angry remarks, conveying their loss of faith not only in the two major parties but also in all political parties. This indeed is a disturbing trend. The people are losing faith in the two parties which held office since independence 50 years ago and they have no credible third party to turn to.

Many political analysts are of the view that the major political parties who made democratic election a farce should take responsibility for this situation.

In the UNP, the main focus in the aftermath of the PC elections is a campaign of finding fault with those who were in charge of the campaign in different areas.

This does not exclude General Secretary Gamini Atukorale whose own seat was lost.

The subject has been discussed at the highest levels of the party.

Arguments and counter arguments for and against Mr. Atukorale have been proffered. Not even the party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was immune from criticism in the immediate aftermath to the elections and the disappointment at the loss of all five councils. The post mortem of the election results however have afforded some consolation to the UNP as a fairly substantial closing of the gap.

But nothing succeeds like success. Will the party look for a scapegoat or get down to the tough business of analysing the weaknesses of its campaign mending its fences where it should and chopping out the lazy and incompetent? The UNP is planning a major structural revamp of the party in preparation for presidential and general elections. New strategies and priorities are also likely - one of them being a campaign for the abolition of the executive Presidency. Just as Ms. Kumaratunga said before 1994, the UNP candidate for the next presidential election would also say he is coming only for a limited period till the system is abolished. But very few people are likely to take it seriously.

In any event, abolishing the presidency the handiwork of J.R. Jayewardene - is likely to face stiff opposition within the UNP while minority parties which get much bargaining power from this system are also likely to work hard to keep the presidency going.

As things stand today it is evident that the PA will not go for a Parliamentary General Election before a Presidential Election.

Parliamentary elections are due in August 2000 and Presidential elections in November. But it is likely that Ms. Kumaratunga would opt for a Presidential election first.

Amidst all conflicting and confusing signals President Kumaratunga took time off from her schedule to be in the cooler climes of the central hills. On Thursday she made an unscheduled visit to the Tea Factory Hotel at Kandapola.

Looking relaxed and casual in light green T-shirt (the auspicious colour for the Avurudhu) and jeans she climbed at least four flights of steps for a panoramic view of the lush green tea gardens, surrounding mountains and cascading water streams.

She exchanged pleasantries and spoke to many at the hotel, including businessmen, politicians and political analysts. Among those who met her was Minister Jeyaraj Fernadopulle with whom she is reported to have discussed the recent provincial elections. This column learns they discussed the possibility of an early presidential election.

Another noteworthy visitor was Deputy Minister Reggie Ranatunga who reportedly came with a sheaf of betel and all that. During the past few weeks, there has been speculation of a rift between the President and the Ranatunga family over various matters, leading to the March 28 fiasco at the Cricket Board elections. The Cricket Board's Chief Executive Dhammika Ranatunga was allegedly assaulted at the elections and an angry Reggie stormed Temple Trees that afternoon, demanding to see the President. But he could not.

The Cricket Board is now legally suspended and the Colombo District court will take the case up again tomorrow. Yet legal events might be somewhat overtaken by political events if a minor cabinet reshuffle within the next few days leads to the sports portfolio passing from S. B. Dissanayke to Lakshman Kiriella.

This column learns that Mr. Kiriella and Mahinda Wijesekera are expected to get cabinet portfolios. Sports Minister Dissanayke is known to have supported Cricket Board president Thilanga Sumathipala in the ongoing battle against challenger Clifford Ratwatte, an uncle of President Kumaratunga. Under the sports law, the minister in charge is empowered to dissolve the board at any time if he believes there was any malpractice. If and when Mr. Kiriella takes over, many observers feel a dissolution would be very much on the cards, followed by the appointment of an interim body comprising widely respected veterans to handle administration until things are sorted out.

The JVP is also on a political mountain - having reached the peak of their up and down journey in the democratic mainstream. The JVP's rise to third place in the recent elections was discussed at the UNP's working committee meeting.

Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed the importance of getting new blood and restructuring the party to meet the requirements of the new generation.

He spoke of the fate that had befallen the old left. Mr. Wickremesinghe also pointed out while professionals such as Karu Jayasuriya and Nivard Cabral had been able to attract a sizeable minority vote the minority candidates fielded by the party had failed.

Charita Ratwatte proposed that those who performed well in the elections be complimented and recognised. Mr. Wickremesinghe told Mr Ratwatte to prepare a list. He agreed to do it amid speculation whether the party was seeing its new general secretary.

Besides Karu Jayasuriya, the election has also produced some outstanding personalities from the UNP. One is Keheliya Rambukwella who also has emerged as number one in the Kandy district, causing some concern among other party frontliners in the hill capital.

Mr. Wickremesinghe is also known to be keen to bring some new faces into the policy-making working committee. There are two vacancies caused by the death of Percy Samaraweera and the suspension of Wijeyapala Mendis.

It is likely that Mr. Rambukwella and Rajitha Senaratne would be elevated to the working committee. Insiders say Mahinda Samarasinghe, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene and Themiya Hurulle are also tipped to be appointed to the working committee while those on the exit-list include Stanley Kalpage, A. M. S. Adhikari and W. M. P. B. Dissanayke.

For the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the April 6 election was a disaster. Party Leader and Minister M.H.M. Ashraff has said that Sinhala voters in the PA unlike the Sinhala voters in the UNP do not like to give their preferential votes to Muslims. However, this argument is challenged by circles close to Minister M.H.M. Fowzie, regarded as the SLFP's Muslim wing leader and also known to be at odds with Mr. Ashraff.

They say it is not the Sinhala voters who have rejected the SLMC but the Muslim voters. The majority of the Muslims in the five provinces have voted for the UNP. A good number of Muslim candidates have won from the UNP. Four Muslims were returned from the UNP in the Kandy District.

The Tamil votes did not go to the PA either, though the TULF again backed the PA. With a majority of Tamil votes in Colombo going to the UNP and the Sinhala vote equally divided, the Muslim vote could be crucial in upcoming elections.

While the dust has still not settled over the five provincial elections, the starting blocks are being laid for the polls in the south with nominations scheduled to begin on Thursday.

The centre of attraction will be the JVP with everybody watching to see how it will fair in its stronghold, especially after the good performance in other provinces.

Meanwhile ACTC leader Kumar Ponnambalam has addressed the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Representing an NGO named International Association of Democrate Lawyers he called for the immediate repeal of the Sixth Amendment in the constitution whereby all the citizens are called upon to disavow separatism.

Excerpts of Mr. Ponnambalam's speech is as follows:

He said despite clear and universally agreed standards, violation of basic and fundamental rights continue in many parts of the world. The Geneva-based Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers had carried out a fact-finding mission in Sri Lanka, and concluded that: "The present and previous Governments of Sri Lanka have been in serious breach of their obligations to ensure to all individuals subject to their jurisdiction the rights recognized by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

He said "In the very recent past, we have seen two separate incidents concerning another dimension to freedom of expression. In November 1998, as the General Secretary of the oldest Tamil recognized political party in Sri Lanka, I was interviewed in Sinhala over the Swarnavahini television's Sinhala channel, where, although not being a spokesperson for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), I said I support their political ideology.

Immediately thereafter there were slanderous written and verbal attacks and threats on me, emanating from the racist section of the Sinhala Nation. Their cry was encouraged enthusiastically by the Sinhala pro-Government print media. Soon the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was involved and visited my home twice and I was interrogated for many hours.

"Though the LTTE is a banned organization in Sri Lanka at the moment, the LTTE's political wing, the People's Front of the Liberation Tigers (PFLT) is yet a recognized party in Sri Lanka and has been so since 1987 and the PFLT has not been banned.

"In contrast, in February 1999, a number of members of the Buddhist and Christian clergy went into the jungles on their own and met with high-ranking members of the LTTE and had discussions. Thereafter, there was wide publicity to this meeting in the print and electronic media. But there wasn't a whimper from the extremist section of the Sinhala for going to meet a banned organisation, perhaps because all who went were Sinhalese," he said.

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