Will Ranil At Least Now Rise To The Challenge?

Ranil Wins But Will He Heal Wounds? “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Martin Luther
King, Jr.

Ranil Wickremasinghe as expected retained his leadership title of the United National Party at an election prompted by a challenge through the Sajith Premadasa faction who thrust Karu Jayasuriya as the alternative. The working committee, according to the UNP Constitution is tasked with the nomination of  key office bearers who in turn would be confirmed at a convention which follows soon after. The working committee is heavily laden with nominees of the party leader and it was “mission impossible” to expect Karu to come through this route.
Ranil Wickremasinghe has been put on notice before too when Sajith Premadasa aired his intention to contest him for the leadership prior to the last convention but pulled out and accepted the position of Deputy Leader. Sajith  was coerced into sharing a co-deputy leader position with Karu Jayasuriya at the insistance of the senior members of the party. The other senior positions of the party were largely filled with acceptance by all but the bone of contention was the post of National Organiser. Ranjith Madduma Bandara was favoured by the Sajith faction but Ranil wanted it for Ravi Karunanayake who stood with him through this campaign. Eventually it was Ravi Karunanayake who was appointed as the National Organiser. The dust was expected to settle but the antiRanil groups had no wish to let up. The rumblings continued only to be intensified with the dismal showing at the last local government elections. Save for the Colombo Municipal Council the rest went the UPFA way. Grist to the mill for further agitation by the anti-Ranil faction.

Ranil Must Lead

The UNP is floundering and there is no quarrel on that score. The government’s faltering on many fronts in the recent past has not been made use of by the principal opposition party which has led to futher  frustration amongst the grassroots UNP party cadres. The UNP vote bank has shrunk to 29 percent from a high of 60 percent, not mainly due to them turning to the UPFA, though this may have been true singularly of the election which followed the war victory. They (the UNP voters) simply do not turn up at the polling booth. It is much like the Sri Lankan Cricket lovers of late. Who wishes to participate at an event where their favoured team is destined to lose? It is this sentiment that has led to the present imbroglio within the UNP. As this column did highlight last week it is upto the Leader of the party to muster his troops to show at least a hint of aggression to make the voters feel that there is a possibility of his party returning to power. Ranil has failed to do so and must share the blame for the recent events at Siri Kotha. During the days of J. R. Jayawardene, R. Premadasa and even D. B. Wijeytunge, none would have dared to attack the party Head quarters. There was open antagonism between R. Premadasa and the Lalith Athulathmudali – Gamini Dissanayake duo which did not degenerate to that what was seen on the 19th of December.

Forgone Conclusion

That being so it was a foregone conclusion that Ranil would emerge victorious over Karu simply because the majority of the Electoral College (working committee and the parliamentary group) were his appointees.
On 22nd December the group that was remanded for allegedly throwing stones at Siri Kotha were produced before the Gangodawila Magistrate on a motion for bail filed on their behalf and the Police too were present in Court. After hearing Attorney-at-Law Ravi Mathugama for the defendents, the Magistrate released all on surety bail of Rs. 10,000/+ each.
The canvassing for positions started early with Ranil and the Sajith Group focussing on the ninety plus “men of the moment”.

WORKING COMMITTEE – UNP

Members of Parliament
1    Ranil Wikcremasinghe
2     Karu Jayasuriya
4    Jayawickrema Perera
5    Tissa Attanayake
6     Ravi Karunanayake
7    Joseph Micheal Perera
8     Lakshman Kiriella
9     A. Haleem
10     Kabir Hashim
11    Wasantha Aluvihare
12    Buddhika Pathirana
13    Dilip Wedarachchi
14    Rosy Senanayake
15    Wijeyadasa Rajapakse
16    Gayantha Karunathilake
17    Mangala Samaraweera
18    Sujeewa Senasinghe
19    Jayalath Jayawardena
20    Ruwan Wjeyawardene
21    John Amaratunga
22    Dayasiri Jayasekara
23    Palitha Thewarapperuma
24    Ajith Perera
25    Akila Viraj Kariyawasam
26    Ashoka Abeysinghe
27    Ranga Bandara
28    Niroshan Perera
29    Chandrani Bandara
30    P. A. Harison
31    Hareen Fernando
32    Ranjith Madduma Bandara
33    Thallatha Athukorale
34    Ranjan Ramanayake
35    Dunesh Gankanda
36    Champika Premadasa
37    Harsha de Silva

NON-MPs
1    Mrs. Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake
2    Mrs. Renuka Herath
3    Velaudan
4    Senarath Kapukotuwa
5    Daya Gamage
6    Daya Pelpola
7    Sagala Ratnayake
8    Manjusiri Arangala
9    Siri Wijewickrema
10    K.K. Piyadasa
11    K Anuradhanayaka
12    Shamal Senarath
13    A.A. Wijetunga
14    Upali Samarweera
15    Vajira Abeywardena
16    Edward Gunersekere
17    Lakshman Wijemanne
18    Sasitharan
19    Kings Nelson
20    Malik Samarawickrema
21    Thilak Marapane
22    Chanaka Desilva
23    C.P.Y Ram
24    Sunethra Ranasinghe
25    Ananda Kularathne
26    Suranimala Rajapaksa
27    Dr. K. Kodithuwakku
28    Srinal De Mel
29    Milroy Perera
30    Ronald Perera
31    M.A. Thasim
32    Gowri Thawarasa
33    Shanthini Kohongahage

 

( The balance vacancies were filled by Ranil prior to the WC meeting)

Three Positions Contested 

The Working Committee of the UNP met on the 18th December and ratified that the elections to the positions of Party Leader, Deputy Leader and National Organiser would be conducted the next afternoon at Siri Kotha (19th December). It was all systems go and the Sajith faction was under the illusion that Karu would emerge victorious. Why?  A secret ballot was mandatory and they expected the party seniors to vote with them. Mistake number one.

The 19th December saw the electoral college gather at Siri Kotha  in the afternoon to conduct the poll. Karu Jayasuriya left his home at Amarasekera Mawatha for Siri Kotha at the auspicious time of 11.21 am and Sajith from Royal Park at 11.40 am. In the meanwhile D M Swaminathan tha Ranil faction stalwart had performed three poojas invoking the Hindu Gods to favour Ranil and Renuka Herath had done likewise but at Vedihitikanda.

The voting took place as scheduled for the three positions. Party Leaders Post was between Ranil and Karu. National Organisers was between Daya Gamage and Dayasiri Jayasekera. Deputy Leaders post was between Sajith and Ravi Karunanayake. With the poll being conducted within closed doors confined to members of the electoral college, a crowd was building up outside the premises. Asoka Abeysinghe UNP MP for Kurunegala District had brought his supporters in five busloads and ranjith Maddumabandara UNP MP for Moneragala had financed one bus load.

The first election was to appoint a National Organiser. Daya Gamage emerged victorious giving a hint of the events to follow.  Daya Gamage received 56 votes to dayasiri Jayasekera’s 36. The majority indicated that Ranil had overwhelming support of the Working Committee and the Parliamentary Group. Next was the election to one post of Deputy Leader. Sajith Premadasa receoved 50 votes to Ravi Karunanayake’s 42. Interestingly the earlier election trend was broken sending a ray of hope for the big one to follow. Events unfolding later revealed that the Party Seniors had not voted for Ravi breaking the “collective group vote” theory. The final election to the Leaders’ post was a cake walk for Ranil. Ranil pocketed 66 votes to Karu’s dismal 26.

A Not So Secret Ballot

The ballot though touted to be secret was far from it. Each ballot paper had a serial number on it and the random calls that were made to members to hand over the ballots were marked  with the serial number against the respective names. Vajira Abeywardene was the only member to openly mark his vote for Ranil. Though there was a move to get members to show who they were voting for Ranil’s camp abandoned this option since the ballots were numercally marked.

Mayhem At Siri Kotha

Word trickled out to the restless Sajith Group crowd that had gathered outside and all hell broke loose. The crowd, mainly from Kurunegala were incensed with the members of the electoral college for bringing Ranil and his aides into office. Mob mentality prevailed. They started hurling stones at the Siri Kotha entrance and windows. Several window panes were shattered. They proceeded to force themselves into the compund by pushing the few policemen guarding the entrance. Tissa Attanayake’s official vehicle was parked in the porch and this was damaged by stoning. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s official bullet proof Mercedes Benz was the next target. The elephant symbol mounted on a dais was broken. White flags were hoisted . The near five hundred mob became riotous. Several buddhist monks amongst the mob, were seen throwing stones. Mediamen gathered to cover the event had a feast. Thie UNP showed that the eroding standards of civil conduct was not confined to the government. The chaos that took place seemed spontaneous as there was no visible leadership. Extra police personnel were brought in to quell the disturbance and vehicular traffic around Siri Kotha ground to a halt for well over two hours. Disciplinary and other action was to follow.

Rounding Up

On the night of the Election Day, December 19, 2011, the rounding up began. Lal Perera, the trade union activist loyal to Karu/Sajith group was taken into the Mirihana Police Station and detained. Lal initiated a telephone call to Sajith Premadasa and requested that Sajith contact Maithri and ask him to come to the Mirihana Police Station. Sajith made the call to Maithri and asked him to proceed to Mirihana. Maithri Gunaratne, attorney-at-law and a staunch Karu/Sajith loyalist, accompanied by his elder son Charith, visited the Mirihana Police Station. This was about 1:00 a.m. 20th morning. When Maithri visited the Mirihana Police and identified himself, he was taken into custody as his name was at the top of the list that was furnished by Medagedara, Administrative Secretary UNP of the Sirikotha in his complaint to the Police. At that time Lal, Nayanjith, Kotte Mujnicipal Council member, and Aruna Dahanayake from Moratuwa area were already in custody. They were looking for Attorney at Law Ravi Jayawardene, Horana UNP organizer and Shiral Lakthilaka also Attorney at Law. The Police asked Lal to get into the jeep to proceed to Horana.  But they did not proceed to Horana, instead went to Welikadawatte looking for both Shiral and Ravi.

In the meantime the Police were looking for Shirantha Amarasekera, Gampaha Provicial Council member who had come to watch the proceedings to Pita Kotte. He had already left for home long before the commotion started, and taken off to Trincomalee with his family on a vacation trip planned well prior to these incidents. Shirantha is one of the die-hard supporters of the KJ/Sajith group and John Amaratunge loved to hate him as both of them came from the Wattala area..

As dawn broke, both Shiral and Ravi surrendered themselves to the Mirihana Police Station. The total number in custody now was about 10, Maithri, Shiral, Ravi and Lal. The others were Nayanajith from Kotte, Aruna from Moratuwa and some Pradesheeya Sabha members from Kurunegala district. Asoka Abeysinghe, MP for Kurunegala district is a staunch Karu/Sajith supporter and those who were taken into custody were Asoka’s loyal supporters.

When they were produced before Gangodawila Magistrate Herath the next morning, they were represented by Anil Silva, PC, Upul Jayasuriya, R J de Silva, Thisath Wijegoonaratne assisted by Vishwa Gunaratne, Maithri’s younger brother and a whole lot of other lawyers. The courtroom was packed to capacity and among the UNPstalwarts  were Karu J, Sajith, Rosy Senanayake, Thalatha Athukorale, Dayasiri Jayasekara and Asoka Abeysinghe.

When the lawyers argued for bail, the judge did not hesitate to refuse bail and ordered that all the accused be kept in remand until January 2, 2012.

Back Room Moves For Bail

Backroom moves were made to get bail for those remanded and a retired planter connected with the UNP who ia also an acquaintance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa appealed to him to intervene. President Rajapaksa has flippantly told this friend that Karu/ Sajith Group acted in an infantile manner to defeat Ranil at the working committee when the WC was heavily loaded in favour of the current UNP leader.

A motion was filed in court on 21st December to seek bail but the Magistrate was not inclined to change his original decision prefering to call the case again on 22nd December. Meanwhile the hunt for many others who were said to be in the mob continued with the Police now armed with graphic evidence supplied by SiriKotha.

On 22nd December the group that were remanded were produced before the Gangodawila Magistrate on a motion for bail filed on their behalf and the Police too were present in Court. After hearing the Attorney at Law for the defendents the Magistrate released all on psurety bail of Rs 10,000/+ each.

Ranil’s Ire

Ranil Wickremesinghe fresh from his victory, called a press conference at the Opposition Leaders Office to bring to book all those who were involved in the unruly incidents at the party office. He made a veiled but easily identifiable attack on Shiral Laktilleke when he said foreign funded NGO’s were also involved against him. Ranil’s take was that the media had no role to play in electing or changing of a Leader of a political party. Strange words coming from a veteran politician who knows too well that it is the very same media that they and particularly he turns to in getting elected. Wickremesinghe was to name the Sirasa Group and the owner Killi Maharaja by name in his special statement in parliament on 21st December for being overtly involved in the attempt to defeat him. The Maharaja Group who owns the Sirasa/ MTV combine was bombed in 2009 just a few days prior to the murder of the Editor of this newspaper Lasantha Wickrematunge. Many who were considered to be enfant horribles , have since become good mates of this organisation and Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot be unaware. Taking on a media organisation has never brought favourable results to a politician. It does however work in reverse proportions. People want to know what the particular media arm that comes under fire from a politician has to say.

Can Ranil Heal The Wounds

The elections to key offices in the UNP is done with. Whether the Working Committee decision is right or wrong is for party cadres to worry. The bigger challenge for Ranil and the UNP is to let bygones be and strengthen the party. More so to play the role expected of the principal political party in opposition in keeping an autocratic government in check by constructive means. This column by no means condones the ugly actions that the mob unleashed at Siri Kotha on Monday the 19th December, but healing within those who opposed Ranil must take place swiftly and the catalyst to set that in motion has to be Ranil and no one else. There will have to be planty of “give and take”. Is he upto it? The coming weeks will cast the shadows of content or discontent.