By

Rasika Jayakody

On May 01, 1977, the late J.R. Jayawardene led the biggest May Day rally in the history of the United National Party.

JR’s mammoth May Day rally, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of party supporters, was a prelude to the General election which secured an overwhelming Parliamentary majority for the United National Party.

The UNP May Day rally in 1977 took place amidst a heated political situation. The United Front government, led by the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was on a desperate mission to postpone the General Election by two years.

SLFP stalwarts such as T.B. Ilangaratne, D.M. Jayaratne and H.M. Nawaratne argued that Bandaranaike should be the head of state until 1979 as she was the head of the Non-aligned movement for three years starting from 1976. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, which was a key stakeholder of the United Front government, had walked out of the ruling coalition in protest of the conduct of the Prime Minister and the popularity of the government was plummeting.

The government was facing the threat of a no-confidence motion in the House and the Parliament had been prorogued until May 19, 1977. At the same time, the opposition was strongly pressing the government to announce a Parliamentary election without consuming more time. Both J.R. Jayawardene and Dr. N.M. Perera had declared war on Prime Minister Bandaranaike stating she was attempting to circumvent the election in 1977.

The May Day rally was the ideal opportunity for J.R. Jayawardene to demonstrate the strength of his party. It was his fourth year as the leader of the UNP and the party had shown remarkable progress under his watch. Since 1973, the party had won almost all the by-elections- except Mulkirigala – and the ground level machinery of the party was in full swing.

Jayawardene increased the membership of the party in an unimaginable way and his aim was to have 1.2 million UNP members across the country before the General Election. The party had a formidable and highly effective second tier leadership which included the likes of the late Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamini Dissanayake and Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Jayawardene’s giant rally sent shock waves across the political circles of the country. Addressing the rally, the party leader, who is widely considered as the most astute politician in the country’s political history, unveiled the theme of the party’s election campaign which ran as “Nivahal Dharmishta Samaajayak.” As a result, Prime Minister Bandaranaike was compelled to dissolve Parliament 18 days after the May Day rally.

The UNP May Day rally on Friday was second only to the one in 1977. This May Day rally was also held under similar circumstances as the elections were around the corner and the party’s intention was to demonstrate its strength before the Parliamentary election. Electorate organizers across the country were expected to deliver the ‘numbers’ for the rally.

All the roads leading to the Campbell Park in Borella were flooded with UNP supporters wearing green caps and T-shirts. It showed that the party machinery was in full swing after the Presidential election which ensured victory for the candidate backed by the party. Most of the UNP supporters in the rally carried pictures of President Sirisena alongside those of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. It symbolized the spirit of the national unity government which came into being following the January 08 polls.

It was clear that the UNP supporters were in a slumber of some sort over the past 10 years. Those who did not attend May Day rallies in the recent past due to various reasons were present at the UNP rally this time. The UNP, for so many years, was the largest political entity in the country and the party lost that status after the landslide election defeat in 2010. The May Day rally on Friday was suggestive of the fact that the party has regained its position after the presidential election. Ironically, other political parties are now undergoing what the UNP went through for nearly 20 years.

Divisions clear at SLFP May Day rally

For instance, at the SLFP May Day rally at Hyde Park, a section of the SLFP supporters hooted at former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga when her name was announced. The crowd presence at the SLFP rally was very low and it was clear that the party machinery was in disarray.

A section of the crowd was hell-bent on shaming the present leaders of the party as they cheered wildly whenever former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s name was announced. It was the same group who howled at former President Kumaratunga when her name was mentioned by the speakers. The former President stayed less than 45 minutes at the venue and her name was not even included in the list of speakers. It was quite evident that the group who howled at the former President was “planted” at the venue by pro-Rajapaksa MPs of the SLFP.

Hyde Park is not the biggest of stadiums in Colombo and the giant stage of the SLFP rally covered nearly one third of the ground. It was an indication that the party was not expecting a massive crowd for the rally. Interestingly, some of the MPs and supporters who took part in the rally also attended the May Day event organized by pro-Rajapaksa group at the Lalith Athulathmudali ground in Kirulapona.

It was during the same May Day rally that former President of the University Teachers’ Association Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri came under an unexpected attack. Dewasiri, a prominent political activist who supported Maithripala Sirisena at the presidential election, had visited the venue to listen to the speakers who addressed the event in support of Rajapaksa.

He had been spotted by a group who was among the crowd and the university lecturer had been beaten mercilessly for attending an event that was “prohibited” for him. Dewasiri was rushed to the Colombo National Hospital following the incident and he later lodged a complaint with the police over the attack.

MR stays away

The Kirulapona rally also had a relatively low turnout. They also chose a relatively smaller venue for the event and it was quite clear that the organizers were competing with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in the “numbers game”. SLFP MPs such as Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Kumara Welgama, Dilum Amunugama, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Salinda Dissanayake and Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga were present at the rally and in their speeches they stressed the importance of making Mahinda Rajapaksa the Prime Ministerial candidate of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party at the next election.

Interestingly, former President Rajapaksa was not present at either of the rallies. The former President sent messages to both rallies indicating that he was keen on keeping his options open. Rajapaksa did not want to risk his party membership by attending a May Day rally organized by another political group on his behalf. But, the MPs supporting Rajapaksa had no qualms about jumping into the fire to protect the political future of their former Leader.

Pro-MR groups infiltrates into Maithri camp

An interesting development had taken place in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party after the MPs supporting Rajapaksa voted in favour of the 19th Amendment to the constitution. It painted a picture that the large majority of the SLFP Parliamentary group have aligned themselves with President Maithripala Sirisena. However, informed sources of the SLFP told the Daily News on Monday that the pro-Rajapaksa group has used this opportunity to infiltrate into the Sirisena camp and wage a battle from within.

In the guise of reconciliation, they will hold their positions in the decision making bodies of the party and scuttle the whole process. That will hamper the plans of President Sirisena who took over the leadership of the SLFP to rescue the party, especially its old guard, from the clutches of the Rajapaksas.

“President Sirisena and former President Kumaratunga had a plan from the very outset. They had an agreement with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to form a national government after the next election for a period of two years. Irrespective of the outcome of the General Elections, both parties will share ministerial portfolios and other responsibilities of the government.
President Sirisena wanted to use this interim period of two years to ‘clean’ his party and free it from the grip of the Rajapaksas. Even if the party loses the next election in the process, it will be covered up because of the national government plan. So, no one will be able to blame President Sirisena saying he kicked his own party out of power.

During the interim period, President Sirisena and former President Kumaratunga will resurrect the party and transform it into a formidable political force. What the pro-Rajapaksa group now trying to do is to scuttle this entire process in the guise of ‘party unity’ and ‘reconciliation’.

They know President Sirisena’s original threat poses a grave threat to their existence in Politics,” a senior Parliamentarian of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, who aligned himself with President Sirisena at the last presidential election, told the Daily News, on Monday.

“The pro-Rajapaksa group,” he said, “will act as an internal pressure group operating under the instructions of the former President. They will not follow the party line. They will only act to serve the agenda of the Rajapaksa and this will create serious issues in the party.

It was against this backdrop that President Sirisena gave the green light for a meeting with former President Rajapaksa. Many thought President Sirisena’s decision was a suicidal act as the former President, over the past three years, never showed any real intention to work for the betterment of the party, leaving aside his personal interests.

Three majors issues to be taken up at MR-MS meeting

According to sources close to Rajapaka, the former President will take up three major matters at the discussion with President Sirisena.

Firstly, he will urge Sirisena to forgo his national government plans and form a government with the SLFP after the next election.

Secondly, he will push for a ‘quota’ for pro-Rajapaksa MPs to contest at the next election under the UPFA or SLFP ticket. In other words, he will request President Sirisena to grant nomination to die-hard Rajapaksa supporters to contest the election, despite bribery and corruption allegations leveled against them.

Thirdly, he will raise concerns over possible arrests of certain top echelons who worked under his administration. It does not require Einstein’s wisdom to understand that the Rajapaksas and their supporters have an axe to grind with the Bribery Commission and the Police Financial Crimes Investigations Division as they have already started investigations into some alleged ‘mega-deals’ which took place under the watch of the previous government.

According to details received by the Daily News, investigations are already underway into the conduct of former Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and former President’s second son Yoshitha Rajapaksa. Weeratunga is under investigation by the Police Financial Crimes Investigations Bureau for siphoning off Rs. 620 million from the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to distribute ‘Sil Redi’ among Buddhist devotees four days prior to the Presidential election, in January.

Police sources told the Daily News last week that Lalith Weeratunga, former TRC Director General Anusha Palpita and former Presidential Advisor Watinapaha Somananda Thera would be questioned soon in connection with the case.

Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is in hot waters over the floating armory belonging to the Avant Garde private security firm which functioned under the blessings of the former Defence Secretary. The law enforcement authorities had received complaints that Rakna Lanka security company, which was a brainchild of former Defence Sectretary Rajapaksa, had entered into an agreement with Avant Garde over maritime security without any approval from the Cabinet.

Investigations are underway to ascertain whether this move had deprived Sri Lanka Navy of a large sum of money which they previously earned by providing security to merchant ships. The Colombo Telegraph website has already published a leaked report obtained from the Attorney General’s Department in which the Attorney General recommends to arrest Gotabaya Rajapaksa and four others for committing offences pertaining to the Unauthorized Importation of Fire Arms to Sri Lanka (Under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Fire Arms Ordinance), Possession of Fire Arms and Ammunition Without Valid Licenses (Under the Fire Arms Ordinance and Explosives Ordinance) and conspiracy, aiding and abetting to commit the above offences.

Former President’s second son Yoshitha Rajapaksa is also under investigation over multiple charges including the issues relating to the Carlton Sports Network (CSN) and violating standard procedures of the Sri Lanka Navy. The CSN sports channel was previously headed by his ex-girlfriend Yasara Abeynayake and the Rajapaksa’s alleged involvements with the channel have come under scrutiny as part of ongoing investigations into the sports network which operated with the blessings of the previous regime. One has every reason to believe that these are the investigations that have become ‘pain-points’ of the former President.

The discussions also come in the wake of the controversy surrounding Namal Rakapaksa’s bodyguard who walked towards President Sirisena during a public event, with a weapon. Corporal Senaka Kumara attached to MP Rajapaksa’s security detail was arrested on Saturday by the police Special Task Force over the incident and he was later handed over to the CID to investigate whether he intended to harm the life of President Sirisena at the event held in Agunakolapelessa – a stronghold of the Rajapaksas. The army commando was later produced before the Angunakolapelessa Magistrate and remanded till May 12.

President’s security chief in hot waters

This controversy followed with another incident involving Senior DIG S.M. Wickremesinghe who heads President Sirisena’s security unit. It was widely reported that the senior Police officer attempted to eavesdrop on a crucial discussions which took place between President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with regard to the 19th Amendment.

The discussion had been held at a chamber in Parliament just a day before the vote on the 19th Amendment and the senior DIG had been caught red-handed by the President when he attempted to eavesdrop on the conversation. Sources from the President’s office said that President Sirisena lashed out at the senior Police officer for acting in an unprofessional manner and warned him of possible action.

DIG Wickremesinghe is a Police officer who worked very closely with former President Rajapaksa and President Sirisena’s decision to retain him as the head of the President’s security staff raised many eyebrows.

In a context such as this, it is hard to argue that President Sirisena will place his trust on Rajapaksa who is considered to be a shrewd political animal. With the way he has carried himself so far, President Sirisena has demonstrated that he is an astute politician who cannot be foxed according to the whims and fancies of the rebel groups in the SLFP camp.

He walked a very tightrope between warring groups in Parliament and ensured the passages of the 19th Amendment with a resounding majority in Parliament. Even if he meets with the former President, Sirisena will be extremely careful when making decisive political moves.

Geneva challenge

Apart from the forthcoming election, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government has another challenge in the form of the 30th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council which is scheduled to take place in September. At the last session, UN HRC Chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein recommended the Council to delay the tabling of the long-awaited OISL (OHCHR investigation on Sri Lanka) report on the investigation into the final phases of the war in Sri Lanka, for six months until September. The UNHRC Chief added that it was a ‘one-time only’ deferral while stating it was a “difficult decision” for him.

From a political perspective, it is important to see whether the tabling of the report would clash with the Parliamentary election which is already on the cards. At this point, one can assume that the present Parliament will be dissolved following the passage of the 20th Amendment and the draft will be presented to Parliament when the House recommences its sessions on May 19. It is hard to speculate that the 20th Amendment to the constitution, which deals with extensive reforms to the country’s electoral system, will have a smooth passage in the House. Therefore, the timelines of the dissolution of Parliament and the subsequent election are still unclear.

The pro-Rajapaksa group prefers an election after the Geneva session in September as they expect a damning OISL report on the Human Rights track record of Sri Lanka, under the Rajapaksa government. The group is of the belief that the Geneva session this year will lay a platform to a paint the “electric chair” bogey at the Parliamentary election. They will urge the Sinhala-Buddhist electorate to make Rajapaksa the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to rescue the country from the war crimes investigations.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Maithripala group) too wants to delay the General Election until the end of the Geneva session. They think a UNP-led government is in a better position to handle the Geneva issue than an SLFP-led government. “We should get the UNP to do the hard work and handle the Geneva session. At the same time, we should push for speedy implementation of the 20th Amendment. If we manage to hold the next election under the new system coupled with a satisfactory outcome from Geneva, the SLFP, under President Sirisena, will be in a position to form a majority government after the election,” a senior Parliamentarian of the SLFP told the Daily News on conditions of anonymity.

However, the UNP is not naïve enough to swallow this bait. The Party is strongly pushing for early dissolution of Parliament which looks like the most practical option at the moment.

Although the party has given the green light for the passage of the 20th Amendment, it has already stated that the next election should be held under the present system as the public requires more time to familiarize themselves with the new system.

When the matter was raised at the Cabinet meeting last week, President Maithripala Sirisena gave an “open-ended” answer that kept everyone guessing.

“Let’s work together to pass the 20th Amendment. After that let’s make a decision on the next election,” President Sirisena said with an enigmatic smile on his face.

Courtesy :Daily News