{"id":42234,"date":"2015-07-18T19:11:45","date_gmt":"2015-07-18T23:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=42234"},"modified":"2015-07-18T19:11:45","modified_gmt":"2015-07-18T23:11:45","slug":"maithripala-betrays-his-loyalists-in-the-slfp-and-strenghens-mahinda-further-by-his-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=42234","title":{"rendered":"Maithripala Betrays his Loyalists in the SLFP and Strenghens Mahinda Further by his Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

C.A.Chandraprema<\/strong><\/p>\n

The UPFA\u2019s inaugural rally in Anuradhapura was a big event. It was certainly bigger than either the Nugegoda and Kurunegala rallies of the bring back Mahinda campaign. It was at least as big as the previous rally held in Matara, if not slightly bigger. As far as inaugural rallies go, size does matter. One thing that can be said is that last Friday\u2019s UPFA show was way bigger than the UNP\u2019s inaugural rally in Kandy. The UNP prefers to kick off their campaigns either in Kandy or Colombo because that is where they are strongest and can ensure the biggest participation. But this time, the UNP\u2019s show in Kandy was not up to scratch. One of the highlights of the UPFA meeting was the attendance of the former Chief Justice Sarath N.Silva who occupied one of the front row seats.<\/p>\n

Janaka Bandara Tennakoon who until recently was a Sirisena loyalist but with the latter\u2019s controversial speech last Tuesday was the first to call for an emergency Central Committee meeting (obviously meant to remove Sirisena from the party leadership) also occupied a front row seat. He was well received by the people present. What made this rally different to the others was the presence of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Susil Premajayantha on the stage. The latter three gave the rally the feeling of an official UPFA event, but the format was the same as the past bring back Mahinda meetings.<\/p>\n

President Sirisena is officially the UPFA leader but his photograph was not displayed anywhere and not a single speaker made even a passing reference to their leader. Nimal Siripala de Silva, Susil Premajayantha, and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa all pledged to make Mahinda Rajapaksa the prime minister with Nimal Siripala saying that it will be he who makes the official declaration that Mahinda enjoys the confidence of the UPFA parliamentary group to appoint MR as the prime minister in the event of a UPFA victory. The Anuradhapura rally went on for more than four and a half hours and people lost track of how many speeches were made. Everyone was exhausted by the time it ended. The first few bring back Mahinda rallies were short and crisp with only a few speeches being made but gradually as it gathered momentum, protocol requirements made more and more speeches necessary until the absolute limit was reached in Anuradhapura.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The most fearsome \u2018threat\u2019 of sorts was made against the powers that be, was by one of the unlikeliest of individuals \u2013 the soft spoken intellectual Prof. Tissa Vitarana when he said that once Mahinda wins, they will take steps to completely abolish the executive presidency. That would have set the alarm bells ringing in the Sirisena camp. At present the only hold that President Sirisena seems to have on the SLFP is an enjoining order preventing the party central committee from convening without the permission of the party leader. How long Sirisena can hold on in that manner is a moot point. After the statement that he made last Tuesday, it will be virtually impossible for Sirisena to go before an SLFP audience and he can\u2019t avoid holding an SLFP CC meeting forever.<\/p>\n


\nSirisena\u2019s controversial speech<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Sirisena\u2019s much awaited speech explaining his decision to give nominations to Mahinda Rajapaksa was delivered last Tuesday at around 5.00 pm. When this speech was reported on in the evening news bulletins that day, it became an incendiary bomb that set the political system on fire. The speech itself was a one hour long, meandering, rambling speech addressed to those who elected him into power. At the outset, he compared this address to the speech he made after crossing over from the SLFP to establish a kind of rapport with the intended audience. From that point onwards, he gave a long winded justification for his having taken over the SLFP leadership and also given Mahinda Rajapaksa nominations.<\/p>\n

He said that while some people were blaming him for having taken over the SLFP leadership, he pointed out that he was able to make the leader of a party that had only 47 MPs in parliament the prime minister only because he took over the leadership of the SLFP which had 135 MPs and kept them in check without allowing them to vote the UNP government out. His argument was that the UNP was able to implement its 100 day program only because he kept the SLFP on a leash. He also said that as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had a reputation for being a clean politician, he had suggested that the Governor of the Central Bank be asked to resign.<\/p>\n

Explaining why he gave nominations to Mahinda Rajapaksa, he said that he had told the leaders of the UPFA point blank that he is against giving MR nominations to contest at the next parliamentary election, the position of group leader or the prime ministership. He said that after that meeting, the leaders of the UPFA had left cursing him. He said that the same situation prevailed in the SLFP. In this situation he was left with two alternatives. One was to give up the leadership of the SLFP and the UPFA. If he had given up, Sirisena said they would have appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as the leader in one second (eka thapparayakin). And he justified his decision not to give up the SLFP leadership by saying that if he had resigned Mahinda Rajapaksa would have come for this election as the president of the SLFP and the UPFA and he would have had complete control over nomination lists. He said that he doesn\u2019t believe that MR would win even in such circumstances but if he had the leadership of the SLFP and the UPFA, he would be stronger than he is now.<\/p>\n

Sirisena explained that if he had refused nominations to MR, the Mahinda loyalists had made plans to contest separately and that they had prepared nomination lists, and policy declarations and all that. He also stated that even if they did not have nominations through the UPFA they would have come into parliament through another party. He stated that he did not want to end up leading a part of a party. Sirisena also launched into a long explanation why it was necessary to preserve the two party system. He said that every time one of these parties was weakened, democracy in this country was endangered and he launched into a long explanation of what happened after the elections of 1970, 1977 and 2010 to show how a breakdown of one of the two main political parties led to a breakdown of democracy. Sirisena explained that all the leaders of the UPFA constituent parties had asked for Mahinda in one voice and that 99% of the SLFP parliamentary group had also wanted nominations for MR. He had told the SLFP to take the majority decision and that was why Mahinda was given nominations.<\/p>\n

At pains to state that though he allowed Mahinda to get nominations, he does not want Mahinda to win, Sirisena stated that what he wants from the next parliament is a majority that upholds the January 8 mandate and that he does not care from which party wins, provided that one objective is achieved. He also stated that just as Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated at the January 8 election, he will be defeated again. Speaking further Sirisena revealed that he had dissolved parliament before the no-confidence motion against the prime minister could be taken up and that had the dates been set to debate the no confidence motion against the prime minister, a national list MP would have resigned and MR would have come into parliament and they would have formed a government. Sirisena claimed to have defeated that attempt as well.<\/p>\n

Sirisena said that in the election campaign he will have nothing to do with Mahinda Rajapasa and he will remain neutral. He explained that his opposition to Mahinda remains the same as it was before January 8. He said that if the UPFA wins there are many seniors who can be appointed as prime minister and that MR is trying to deprive the others who are suited for the position of the chance of becoming prime minister. President Sirisena said he will be neutral at the elections without supporting either party.<\/p>\n


\nSLFP leader rooting for the UNP!<\/strong><\/p>\n

In analyzing the implications of this speech, the following points should be noted.<\/p>\n

* This speech was obviously made to pacify those who had been taken aback and even angered by his decision to grant nominations to MR.<\/p>\n

* Sirisena\u2019s argument that had he not taken over the SLFP leadership he would not have been able to ensure that the UNP would rule the country for six months is indeed true. This argument of his will no doubt pacify the UNP but it will anger members of the SLFP as it clearly indicates that his objective in taking over the SLFP was not to help the SLFP of which he had been a member for over four decades, but to help the UNP. He may have pleased the UNP with the logic of this argument, but it has serious implications for his continued role as leader of the SLFP.<\/p>\n

* The fact that he said that he had told Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to remove the Central Bank governor so that he (Wickremesinghe) does not get tainted with the treasury bond scandal, confirms that Maithripala himself has misgivings about the bond issue. This will no doubt be made use of by the UPFA, the JVP and Sarath Fonseka on the election platform and will place the UNP in a spot because it is the very president who they elected into power who has expressed his misgivings about the bond issue.<\/p>\n

* In explaining to the yahapalana constituency why he was forced to yield to demands to give nominations to Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sirisena has told the whole world that Mahinda enjoys overwhelming support within the UPFA and the SLFP and not just that of a vocal minority. He in fact said that ALL the leaders of the constituent parties of the UPFA wanted nominations for MR as did 99% of the SLFP parliamentary group. This public admission of the overwhelming support that Mahinda enjoys within the UPFA and the SLFP by Sirisena himself is useful to the Mahinda camp though it is a case of stating the obvious.<\/p>\n

* By saying that what he expects from the parliamentary election is a reaffirmation of the January 8 mandate Sirisena has set himself apart from the overwhelming majority of the UPFA and the SLFP which by his own admission, is almost completely with Mahinda Rajapaksa. By saying that he does not care through which party this mandate comes, he has undermined his own position as the leader of the SLFP and the UPFA. That statement alone is enough to ensure that even the little control that he has over the SLFP is weakened further.<\/p>\n

* In addition to the above, his public admission that he had held on to the SLFP leadership in order to prevent Mahinda Rajapaksa from coming forward at this election from a position of strength as the leader of the SLFP and the UPFA sends the message to the party rank and file that Sirisena is a UNP \u2018agent\u2019 in the SLFP.<\/p>\n

* By saying that Mahinda Rajapaksa will not win this election, what he meant was that his party the UPFA will not win this election. Mahinda will always win a seat in parliament. What Sirisena meant by saying that Mahinda will lose is that the UPFA will lose. This reveals his secret wish and the point will not be lost on the rank and file of the party. None of this will conduce to his greater acceptance within the SLFP\/UPFA.<\/p>\n

* By saying that he will remain neutral at this election without working for the victory of the UPFA as he had pledged before the SLFP central committee, Sirisena has basically cooked his goose as far as his leadership of the SLFP is concerned. For this and the points highlighted above Sirisena will now not be able to go before any SLFP gathering.<\/p>\n

* Sirisena also said that if the UPFA wins by some chance, he will not appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister, but this is an area where Sirisena has no discretion as the constitution says very clearly that he who should be appointed prime minister is the individual who commands the confidence of the majority in the parliament. However by saying that he will not appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister, he was deliberately trying to undermine the UPFA campaign because at a parliamentary election campaign, it is one prime ministerial candidate against another and by saying the MR will not be prime minister he has given the UNP a point to raise at every platform.<\/p>\n

The perils of being loyal to Sirisena<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first sign that Sirisena has completely lost control over the SLFP came from Janaka Bandara Tennakoon who summoned a press conference within an hour of president Sirisena\u2019s speech where he called for an emergency meeting of the SLFP central committee (obviously to remove Sirisena from the leadership.) Up to that moment, Tennakoon had been one of Sirisena\u2019s closest loyalists. All those who crossed over from the SLFP with Sirisena opted to join the UNP the moment Mahinda Rajapaksa was given nominations because they knew that the Mahinda loayalists on the lists of every district will get the majority of the preference votes and they may fall by the wayside. However there were people with stronger bases who thought they may be able to survive despite a reduction in preference votes, and opted to remain in the UPFA.<\/p>\n

The political prospects of the Sirisena loyalists who opted to remain in the UPFA was seriously undermined by President Sirisena\u2019s speech which is why Janaka Bandara was the first to react. Three other Sirisena loyalists, Sudarshanie Fernandopulle, Eric Weerawardene and Lasantha Alagiyawanna resigned from their deputy minister portfolios in protest. Galle district ex-MP Ramesh Pathirana who was a middle of the roader till Sirisena\u2019s speech put the situation in perspective when he said that while there may have been some uncertainty and confusion among members of the SLFP as to whom they should follow, Sirisena\u2019s speech has now made everything very clear \u2013 by which he meant that the only leader they should look up to is Mahinda Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n

If the objective of Sirisena\u2019s speech last week was to pacify the UNP and the other forces that voted for him, he has certainly succeeded in that. But one consequence that he obviously did not anticipate was the virtual undoing of all his remaining loyalists in the UPFA. The latter were already facing an uphill struggle with the possibility that many UPFA supporters would cast their preference votes only for pro-Mahinda candidates. Sirisena\u2019s speech made this a certainty, and some Sirisena loyalists were compelled to renounce their loyalty to Sirisena if they were to survive this election. That certainly was not an outcome that Sirisena would have expected.<\/p>\n

As we said earlier, the objective of his speech was to pacify the UNP. He did manage to do that during the first 54 minutes of his speech without doing too much damage to himself or to his loyalists within the UPFA. At this point he even gets his documents together as if to conclude his speech. If he had ended it at that point, the present fallout may have been avoided. It was mostly in the last six minutes or so of his speech where he said things that have virtually ended the political careers of his loyalists. Whether Sirisena actually wanted the outcome that his speech has generated is in doubt. Even during the election campaign, he once said that the airport would be closed on the night of election day so that the corrupt would not be able to flee the country. When confronted by reporters about this statement he was later to say “Why would I say something like that? I\u2019m not mad!”<\/p>\n

So it is more than likely that Sirisena may be asking himself now whether he really said some of the things that the TV news bulletins showed him saying. Be that as it may, the events of the last few days clearly showed that it is far more dangerous to be a Sirisena loyalist than a Mahinda loyalist. Those who were closest to Sirisena had to flee in all directions when Sirisena gave nominations to Mahinda Rajapaksa. Now many of them have ended up in the UNP which they had antagonized earlier by fighting to retain the powers of the executive presidency in order to ensure that Sirisena\u2019s powers remained intact. Only the most fortunate of them will survive a battle for preference votes within the UNP. Now with his speech, Sirisena has endangered the political careers of even his remaining loyalists in the UPFA.<\/p>\n

One matter that will need to be discussed is whether anything that President Sirisena says will really have a negative impact on Mahinda Rajapaksa. In this context, we have to realise that the Mahinda camp was never really dependent on what Sirisena said or did. In fact the whole bring Mahinda back campaign went against everything that Sirisena stood for. All the pro-Mahinda rallies were held against Sirisena\u2019s wishes. His bans on SLFP members attending these rallies were openly flouted. As we pointed out in an earlier, column, when the first meeting between Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala took place in parliament to discuss his re-entry into politics, Sirisena refused point blank to give MR even nominations much less the prime ministerial candidacy. The pro-Mahinda meeting in Kurunegala took place barely 48 hours after Sirisena turned Mahinda down flat, but the Kurunegala meeting was even bigger than the Nugegoda meeting and whereas there had been 29 parliamentarians at the Ratnapura meeting held earlier, the Kurunegala meeting was attended by 56 MPs. Thus Sirisena\u2019s attempts to thwart Mahinda only increased support for him.<\/p>\n

Now that Sirisena has openly declared himself an enemy of the SLFP\/UPFA, he will become even less relevant. Sirisena said during his speech that he had refused to give MR nominations, the group leadership or the prime ministership. However, as of now MR has got nominations, and the group leadership has been assumed by him. If the UPFA wins Sirisena will have no alternative but to appoint him PM just as President Wijetunga had no option but to appoint CBK as prime minister in 1994 and CBK in turn had no option but to appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as PM in 2001. The fact that a Sirisena loyalist has taken out an enjoining order preventing the convening of the SLFP central committee is in itself a strange situation. It is usually an ordinary member who takes out enjoining orders against the leadership. The leadership does not take out enjoining orders against his own decision making bodies.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:Sunday Island<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By C.A.Chandraprema The UPFA\u2019s inaugural rally in Anuradhapura was a big event. It was certainly bigger than either the Nugegoda and Kurunegala rallies of the bring back Mahinda campaign. It was at least as big as the previous rally held in Matara, if not slightly bigger. As far as inaugural rallies go, size does matter. …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Maithripala Betrays his Loyalists in the SLFP and Strenghens Mahinda Further by his Speech’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42235,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42234\/revisions\/42235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}