BY

Shalika Wimalasena

Last surviving member of the first Presidential Election, Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara told Ceylon Today that his Party forced him to contest that election although he did not want to do so.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q:
You are the only living candidate of Sri Lanka’s first presidential election. Tell us how you became the presidential candidate.

A: The Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP) decided to contest it. But I was undecided. The reason was, I was undecided about contesting against Hector Kobbekaduwa. But I bowed to the Party decision.

Q:
What was the reason for the confusion? Why did you have doubts even though there was no barrier for you to contest separately?

A: As an anti-UNP activist, I was of the mind that the UNP had to be defeated in some way. That mindset was due to protests and understanding. I always thought of joining with the middle path of Hector Kobbekaduwa. He was in the centre left.

Q:
That means you repented over that decision?

A: Yes. It was a serious error on our part.

Q:
Were you repenting about it continuously or was it an instant thought?

A: I was repenting and today I am sorry about that decision more than I was before.

Q:
You could have discussed the issue with the Party Central Committee?

A: I raised the issue. I asked if we were contesting against Kobbekaduwa, like Colvin did.

Q:
Was there no change in the decision?

A: There was a change. We compiled a new formula through which we urged people to give us the first preference and to give the second preference to Kobbekaduwa. I agreed to that.

Q:
How did the proposal for second preference materialize?

A: We thought that there would be a balanced fight and the winner would not be elected from the first preference. We expected a count of the second preference. Large crowds gathered for our meetings. We did not ask to be elected President. No one asked people for the second preference.

Q:
Why did the party field a candidate against the left oriented Kobbekaduwa?

A: We wanted to set forth our programme, which was different from that of Kobbekaduwa’s.

Q:
Why didn’t you form an Alliance?

A: I tried it, but I was not allowed to do so.

Q:
Who obstructed it?

A: Comrade Vickramabahu was on a hardline and he had the majority support.

Q:
What happened to that second preference formula?

A: We carried forward the campaign. The most popular candidate against JR was Kobbekaduwa. We attacked JR hard and a lot of people rallied to our meetings. We understood that there was no need for a second preference and that we could defeat JR. After that we gave up the second preferential vote demand and urged people to vote for Kobbekaduwa to defeat J. R. Jayewardene.

Q:
Did the Central Committee agree to it?

A: No. We started to urge the people to vote for Kobbekaduwa. People had determined then too to give Kobbekaduwa the first preference and to give us the second preference. We were aware of it.

Q:
Did you get a lot of second preferences?

A: Yes. If the second preference was counted, we could have been in a very good position. We received a large number of votes in Jaffna and we came second in Vadukkodai.

Q:
You gained only 17,000 something votes, which was utterly insufficient.

A: But we said from the beginning of our campaign that we would support Hector Kobbekaduwa. We did not target the presidency.

Q: You could have come to an agreement with Kobbekaduwa after Wickramabahu also agreed to support Kobbekaduwa. Wasn’t there a discussion on that?

A: I am very sorry. Kobbekaduwa called me before the nominations were filed but we did not talk after that.

Q:
What did he say?

A: He asked me what difficulties we had in supporting him. He pointed out how he took over land as Lands Minister and rallied the people’s support for it. He spoke of the land reforms we did together.

Q:
What did you say then?

A: I said it was a Party decision. I said we would ask people to vote for him, while contesting ourselves.

Q:
Why didn’t you quit the party and support Kobbekaduwa, like politicians do today?

A: Our Parties did not have such traditions. We implemented the Central Committee decision.

Q:
Why did Colvin R. de Silva contest that election?

A: Colvin’s role was pathetic. He expected to be the common candidate and publicized it. It was not the reality and he could not see it, although he was an intelligent person.

Q:

What was the reason for it?

A: Colvin thought from the beginning that he was more popular than Kobbekaduwa.

Q:
Is it unfair to think like that when considering his history?

A: No. But we were aware that he had no such attraction since he was a leftist. Only a centrist candidate could rally the support of the people at that time. We wanted to find a radical centrist and he was Kobbekaduwa.

Q:
Didn’t you explain the matter in that way?

A: We said that Colvin’s candidature was misplaced.

Q:
Then why did you contest?

A: Colvin contested to be the President. But we did not target the presidency. That was the difference. We contested to support Kobbekaduwa.

Q:
But you finally denied Kobbekaduwa of 17,000 votes.

A: Yes. I am sorry for that.

Q:
Did you tell that to Colvin directly?

A: We did not speak directly. But his approach was wrong. We did not have unity. The Communist Party also protested against Colvin. The Athauda group of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party also opposed it.

Q:
Was it an obstinate decision of Colvin?

A: It was revealed that it was a Party Central Committee decision. But Colvin influenced it. Finally he paid for it.

Q:
Did Vickramabahu admit later that the previous decision was wrong?.

A: No. He opposed joining Chandrika too. I pointed out to them that we had learnt a lesson. I went to England and invited Chandrika. We wanted to go for a radical solution regarding the ethnic problem. But Bahu opposed it joining with the capitalist class. But, he also said that he would join if 10 seats are offered to contest. I directly took the stand to join Chandrika to defeat the UNP.

Q:
NSSP was split as a result of it.

A: Yes. I and the group that held that stance had to quit.

Q:
Did you quit or were you sacked?

A: Something in between.

Q:
When did you go to England to meet Chandrika?

A: I went in 1991 and asked her to come to Sri Lanka and to engage in politics.

Q:
What was her reply?

A: She asked if it was safe and if she could proceed and so on. We liked Vijaya and thought of going some distance with Chandrika.

Q:
What do you think about it now?

A: A totally wrong decision. We could not move a foot with Chandrika.

Q:
Who else met and invited her?

A: Raja Wijetunga went. I think S. B. Dissanayaka also went.

Q:
Do you remember the first amendment to the 1978 Constitution which was brought before the 1982 presidential election?

A: I don’t remember it.

Q:
Did you discuss with the other sections, like Sirima Bandaranaike, also before you discussed with
Kobbekaduwa?

A: Both Sirima and Anura disrupted Kobbekaduwa’s campaign. I pointed out to Bahu that the rightist elements of the SLFP, like Anura, were also against Kobbekaduwa and we had to be with him.

Q:
What did Anura Bandaranaike do?

A: He was a born rightist and against the left. Hector Kobbekaduwa was not like him. He was an honest radical.

Q:
What did Anura do against Kobbekaduwa?

A: He spoke to certain SLFP organizers and prevented them from supporting Kobbekaduwa.

Q:
To whom did he speak like that?

A: To all the SLFP MPs he could influence.

Q:
Was Mahinda Rajapaksa an SLFP MP then?

A: He spoke to Mahinda Rajapaksa also.

Q:
What was his response?

A: He supported Kobbekaduwa. Mahinda was Anura’s friend. I once asked Mahinda how he could be friends with both, me and Anura. He said it was a personal friendship with Anura and the friendship with me was political.

Q:
What did Sirimavo do?

A: I don’t remember exactly. She also opposed Kobbekaduwa because the Bandaranaikes could lose their position if he won.

Q:
How was the Naxalite conspiracy story built up.

A: Kobbekaduwa and Vijaya led a very radical campaign. We supported it from a separate stage. We too were accused of being Naxalites. The UNP Government accused us of creating confusion in the country. JR was afraid of Vijaya and Kobbekaduwa tilting towards the left.

After the Presidential Election, people were arrested and accused of being involved in a Naxalite conspiracy. Naxalite was then substituted for terrorist.

Q:
Premadasa directly told newspapers then, that there was a conspiracy to assassinate JR if Kobbekaduwa won the election.

A: Such allegations were levelled after the Presidential Election. Vijaya and some others were arrested. Kobbekaduwa was summoned to the fourth floor and questioned. They alleged that Vijaya tried to cover Kobbekaduwa. They also said the plotters had connections with the military as well.

Q:
Were there such connections?

A: Yes. I know them very well.

Q:
What kind of connections were they?

A: Those relationships were for providing security to Kobbekaduwa. There were discussions with certain sections in the Army.

Q:
Who were in the discussions?

A: Vijaya was there. He had lot of attraction in all social strata.

Q:
Why wasn’t Vijaya fielded as a candidate at the presidential election?

A: He was not matured enough and ready for that.

Q:

Did you associate with Vijaya closely during the Presidential Election campaign?

A: Yes. We held discussions often. The stand of the party changed due to these discussions.

Q:
Was he so powerful that he could influence the Party?

A: Yes, Both Vijaya and Kobbekaduwa could influence us.

Courtesy:Ceylon Today