The Political Column

13th June 1999

Alarm bells over the JVP

By our Political Correspondent

An 80-year-old grandmother voting in the southern provincial election on Thursday walked up to the senior presiding officer and said in a ringing tone – "Can you help me to vote for the bell." All in the booth heard it loud and clear but there was not so much alarm as there is in political circles VIP these days when they hear the letters J. V. P.

There was a time when people gave immediate attention to any VIP. Now it seems that political VIPs are giving urgent attention to the JVP.

So it was at a recent VIP wedding of an editor's daughter at a VIP hotel, the Hilton. Again the talking point among lots of political VIPs who gathered at the table was the JVP. Among those present was UNP opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who had come to the Hilton so that he could go back to Matara for a meeting as soon as possible. At the same table was Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, who also had cut short his campaign schedule in Hambantota to attend the wedding. Mr. Rajapakse is known to be in troubled waters these days with his fisheries ministry being eyed by former JVPer and now deputy minister Mahinda Wijesekera. More alarm bells from the JVP – past and present.

Minister G. L. Peiris with his wife, Minister Kingsley Wickremeratne and the UNP's A. C. S. Hameed also came to the same table.

Mr. Wickremesinghe looked relaxed and casual despite the obvious campaign tension. He invited Mr. Hameed to sit at Mr. Rajapakse's right while he sat on the left, remarking that it would make an alarming picture for President Kumaratunga and might expedite the cabinet reshuffle she was known to be planning. But amidst laughter, the seating arrangement did not quite work out the way the opposition leader wanted it to be and finally Prof. Peiris ended up next to Mr. Rajapakse.

With key advisors Milinda Moragoda and Rohitha Bogollagama seated with him, Mr. Wickremesinghe threw a line, apparently intending to strike a conversation on a fishy topic, but the first dish was not palatable to the Fisheries Minister. The topic was the meeting that President Kumaratunga had at Temple Trees with millionaire fishing industry mudalalis, including one who came in an Intercooler Pajero. The secret meeting which later received wide publicity apparently through a 'reporter' was known to be arranged by Mr. Wijesekera while Minister Rajapakse did not even know about it.

But the fisheries minister, apparently wanted another course of conversation – some thing like devilled fish. So the VIPs took up the topic of the JVP's emerging role in the country and particularly in its heartland of the south.

Making passing remarks rather than any policy statements, Mr. Rajapakse predicted five or six seats for the JVP while the UNP leader's prediction was seven which turned out to be more accurate. Mr. Rajapakse said some leaders thought the JVP was strong only in Hambantota, but now the party appeared to have much influence in Colombo-based trade unions, apparently taking over where the old left had failed.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said that while he did not fully agree with the workers' charter, he felt the working class would have stood by the PA if the government had approved and implemented the charter if there was a strong minister in the cabinet to give leadership to the workers.

Mr. Rajapakse nodded quite seriously. He said he pushed for the workers' charter to give a better deal to the workers but some people thought he was trying to cut a figure or get a power base for himself. Mr. Wickremesinghe also made a serious analysis of the JVP. He said the results of the Western provincial council elections marked a milestone for the JVP. But its present stand of not supporting either of the major parties was not practical or realistic. He said that if the UNP tried to topple the PA administration in the Western province, the JVP which had a decisive vote would need to either go along with the UNP or support the PA. Somewhere somehow, the JVP would have to take a stand rather than sitting in the middle.

Minister Peiris had a word of praise for the JVP. He said he was impressed by the integrity of most JVP members and the manner in which they steered clear of any internal fight over preferential votes – an ailment that has seriously affected both major parties.

Ministers Rajapakse and Kingsley Wickremeratne were however sceptical. They said the JVP might be practising high principles in Pradeshiya Sabhas or even provincial councils but they wondered how far the principles would last if and when the JVP came to national office.

Enter Vasudeva Nanayakkara – widely admired or despised as a maverick, a radical or a rebel. He was forthright and full-hearted in his praise of the JVP. He believed the results in the south would take the JVP even higher than it had gone in the western province.

Then the picture got more complicated and there was hardly even room at the table for the latest entrants – former first lady Hema Premadasa and son Sajith Premadasa, the key UNP figure in Mr. Rajapakse's domain of Hambantota.

The young Mr. Premadasa joining the conversation said the answer to lots of the country's problems would come if politicians put the country before personal or party interest. This view was supported by backroom political operator M. Muzammil who said that was why he felt the UNP should back the government's devolution package. The UNP's Mahinda Samarasinghe also called for a joint approach by the two major parties on the ethnic conflict. Minister Peiris and Mr. Wickremesinghe were seen nodding in agreement – perhaps a good sign for a PA-UNP meeting which the business community is hoping to arrange this week.

As the political drama at the wedding table continued, Attorney General Sarath Silva stepped in not to talk but to excuse himself and leave. Meals were about to be served Justice Minister Peiris told the Attorney General to savour the super meal before leaving. But the duty-conscious AG quipped that working was more important than eating for a public servant. The laughter around the table was testimony to the general view about the public service and bureaucracy today.

The scene ends with a hackneyed but appropriate quote about Hamlet, Denmark and all that. Though the core of the omlette was the JVP, the party's spokesman Wimal Weerawansa was not at the Hilton. He declined the invitation apparently giving priority to party work in the south. Indeed it was testimony to JVP principles and the alarm bells were valid.

More serious than the Hilton discourse on the JVP was a high-level confrontation that took place at the main police co-ordinating centre in the south on polling day. The protagonists were Education Minister Richard Pathirana who led the PA campaign in Galle and Deputy Inspector General Bodhi Liyanage who headed the Police election secretariat in the south.

On the eve of the southern elections, DIG Liyanage had in an interview with our sister paper, the Lankadeepa, pledged that the police would carry out their responsibilities fully and implement the law equally to all, irrespective of party politics.

His assurances coming in the aftermath of the scandalous fraud in Wayamba were views with a large degree of scepticism. But DIG Liyanage kept his word to a large extent and if the campaign in the south was relatively more peaceful than in other provinces, much credit must go to him.

But an irritated Mr. Pathirana apparently did not feel that way on polling day. He stormed into DIG Liyanage's office and accused the police of favouring the UNP. This is a charge Mr. Pathirana's lady boss has regularly thrown not only at the police but also at judges.

But a tough DIG Liyanage was apparently taking no nonsense. He looked Mr. Pathirana straight in the eye and said that as a policeman, his duty was to obey the law of the land and not of any politician. Mr. Pathirana was surprised and shocked as the DIG hammered on.

He said he had served for several years amidst the guns and bombs of Jaffna and he was ready even to go back there to do his duty.

Mr. Pathirana was equally tough, but apparently realising he has run into stiff resistance from an officer with moral courage, changed his line of attack. The Minister said some officers under DIG Liyanage were promoting the UNP line. The DIG replied that the minister like any citizen could make an official complaint against any such officer and he would inquire into it.

As a backdrop to the confrontation, Minister Pathirana had told state radio 'Lakhanda' 'that the DIG was not doing his duty properly. The DIG was equally forthright in his denial on the radio.

In 1994, the PA rode to office promising openness, transparency and a new era where public servants like police officers would be allowed and encouraged to act fairly. But now that appears to be another one on the long list of broken promises. Thus it was not surprising to hear of a significantly large number of deliberately spoilt votes in the southern province. Like in the western and other provinces, the voters in the south were saying in ringing tones that they are losing faith in both major parties. More alarm bells.

Not only the police, even election officers appeared to have acted with more courage. At a polling booth in Deniyaya, one politician is reported to have come in a motorcade and tried to enter the booth. The senior presiding officer warned that if the politician interfered, he would close the booth and move out. The politician then retreated amidst jeers from the voters in the queue – and cheers for the officer.

Situation Report

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