By
Sathya Liyanasuriya
Mangala Samaraweera M.P.
Opposition Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera, never out of the limelight for long, was the focus of attention this week when he made startling accusations about the Army’s alleged involvement in the communal riots that engulfed Aluthgama and its neighbouring towns recently.
Samaraweera was to say that military intelligence officers were responsible for the riots. Samaraweera could have opted to make the statement in Parliament where he would have been protected by Parliamentary privilege. Instead, he chose to do so at a media briefing, inviting intervention.
Samaraweera’s accusations also mentioned the names of three officers. This prompted a swift riposte from military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya who said that legal opinion was being sought on the issue as the lives of the officers were at risk due to Samaraweera’s allegations.
Courting such controversy has been Samaraweera’s style. Last October, an arrest warrant was issued on Samaraweera for allegedly masterminding an attack on a rival faction of the United National Party (UNP) at Matara which was staging a protest march against Ranil Wickremesinghe’s leadership.
Samaraweera was also in the news earlier this year when his residence at Panadura was robbed. That ended in a media fiasco with the alleged suspect in the robbery making allegations about Samaraweera’s personal life-which the State media pounced on and gave maximum publicity to.
Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera, now fifty eight years old, hails from a political family. Mahanama Samaraweera, his father, was Minister of Local Government, Housing, Posts and Telecommunications in Sirima Bandaranaike’s government. Mother Khema was a member of the Matara Urban Council.
Mahanama Samaraweera left the SLFP in 1964. He then formed the Sri Lanka Socialist Freedom Party and contested the Matara seat under the symbol of the rising sun at the 1965 general elections-although it did enter into a ‘no-contest’ pact with the UNP. He lost to B.Y. Tudawe by some 900 votes. He was to pass away shortly afterwards.
Mangala Samaraweera’s entry into politics came twenty years later. He had just returned to Sri Lanka from England where he had completed a degree at London’s St. Martin’s School of Art. Harbouring no political ambitions, he was making a name for himself as ‘Mangala Innocence’, a fashion designer.
Sirima Bandaranaike persuaded him to become the SLFP organiser for his father’s seat, Matara. When he took up the post, the J. R. Jayewardene presidency was on its last legs. There were rebellions in the North and South- and Matara was bearing the brunt of the latter. Samaraweera was then instrumental in the formation of the ‘Mothers Front’ protesting against the disappearances of youth.
It was also a time when the SLFP was having internal disputes. Ms. Bandaranaike was ailing and the battle for succession was on between her two children, Anura Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga, for the party leadership. Samaraweera openly sided with Kumaratunga in this dispute.
Samaraweera first entered Parliament representing the Matara District at the1989.
Samaraweera’s loyalty to Kumaratunga was rewarded five years later when the Peoples’ Alliance emerged victorious at the elections. He was appointed as Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in Kumaratunga’s Cabinet. Moreover, he emerged as a key figure in the government and was known to be in Kumaratunga’s inner circle of advisors.
When the UNP briefly wrested control of Parliament, Samaraweera served as Chief Opposition Whip. When Kumaratunga regained control of the legislature three years later, Samaraweera was appointed as Minister of Ports, Aviation and Media and became the public face of the government.
Samaraweera was to have conflicts with Kumaratunga as well towards the latter days of her presidency, especially after he decided to endorse Mahinda Rajapaksa’s bid.
In the 2005 presidential election Samaraweera played a crucial role as Rajapaksa’s campaign manager ironically portraying his present leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as being weak and incompetent and tagging him with the Tiger labels because of the failed Cease Fire Agreement.The ploy worked and Rajapaksa won the election narrowly.
Samaraweera was rewarded with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a portfolio coveted by Anura Bandaranaike. However, being outspoken and at times critical of the President, his relationship with Rajapaksa was becoming strained.
In January 2007, Samaraweera was replaced as Foreign Minister, but remained Minister of Ports and Aviation. Weeks later, he was sacked from the Cabinet together with Ministers Anura Bandaranaike and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi. He then formed a new political party styled the SLFP (Mahajana) wing. The fledgling party merged with the UNP in August 2010 and Samaraweera has remained a vociferous critic of the government he was once part of and of President Rajapaksa in particular, accusing him of being authoritarian.
Some in the UNP argue that Samaraweera was a key architect of the UNP’s defeat at the 2005 Presidential Election and that he could revert to the SLFP, especially if the Kumaratunga faction were to re-emerge in that party. As such, they believe Wickremesinghe is naïve to trust him.
Even Samaraweera’s harshest critics concede that he has always been outspoken about his political views. He is also one of a handful of ministers to leave the Rajapaksa government when others are queuing to join it. Clearly, Mangala Samaraweera will be a name in the news in the weeks to come.
Courtesy:Daily Mirror