cohabiting with the UNF government, prompting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to consider his own options for the long-term stability of his administration.

Apart from the confrontationist posture of the president, what got the prime minister, who was resisting moves by several ministers to oust  Kumaratunga, activated were intelligence reports that the People's Alliance (PA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) were acting in concert to destabilise the economy and plunge the country into chaos in a bid to prevent the advantage of economic stability flowing from the ceasefire agreement.

Furthermore, the tough stance taken by the president in consciously delaying nominating her appointee to establish the constitutional council and thereby the independent police, public service, elections and judicial service commissions were also indicators to the prime minister that Kumaratunga was working to her own agenda with a view to recapturing power in the short term.

Disadvantage to the PA

For, though it is to the advantage of any opposition to have the independent commissions in place, the president is working on the premise such commissions will not only dilute her authority but also be disadvantageous to a future PA government where the party will be constricted in its manoeuverability on key appointments.

The president has thus realised that if the constitutional council is in place, then key appointments to the judiciary such as the chief justice and the armed services would be out of her control, resulting in a serious setback to push her political agenda prior to dissolution.

In this context, the silence of the JVP over the president's delay, having earlier insisted on the establishment of the independent commissions as the basis for entering into a probationary government with the People's Alliance, has also convinced the prime minister that a sinister plot between the PA and the JVP was underway to sabotage the peace process and plunge the country into economic chaos.

The developments last week where pro JVP and PA university students demonstrated outside the commerce ministry and Temple Trees, going to the extent of burning the effigies of the prime minister and Minister Ravi Karunanayake demanding enhanced payments from the Mahapola fund, further underscored intelligence reports that the first line of attack by the JVP-PA combine was to disrupt the universities and bring about a closure of the institutions.

Given this backdrop, the prime minister last week sat with several senior ministers including Finance Minister K.N. Choksy and Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris and decided the government must move its political agenda into top gear no sooner the local elections are concluded.

It is as a result of these discussions Minister G.L. Peiris himself hinted at a press conference, on Wednesday, March 13, the delaying tactics of President Kumaratunga relating to key appointments were viewed as an act of hostility that could lead to the end of cohabitation between the UNF and the president.

Firm resolve

In fact, the government is now firm in its resolve to impeach Chief Justice Sarath Silva by end April, having taken the view, the president is banking on a friendly supreme court to block any challenge to her authority. The prime minister however is now convinced that with a resounding victory at the local elections on March 20, he will be able to lift the proscription on the LTTE to facilitate the peace talks and marginalise both the PA hardliners and the JVP by forging ahead with his political agenda.

Apart from dealing with President Kumaratunga, the prime minister however, is having problems in his own ranks due to allegations of impropriety and attempts at corruption both at ministerial level as well as in corporations, prompting him to warn members he will not hesitate to take action against any miscreant.

In fact, one case in point that has been brought to the notice of the prime minister involves Cooperatives Minister A.R.M. Cader, who having summoned a meeting of officials, expressed the need to purchase new lorries for the cooperative movement, stating the present fleet were run down.

Having said that, the minister proceeded quite candidly to inform the officials present he was the agent for Tata and could get new lorries at a reasonable price, a suggestion the prime minister not only frowned upon but has immediately vetoed on being brought to his notice. And it has now transpired, Minister Cader has defaulted payment to the tune of over Rs. 192 million to a private bank, with the bank deciding to foreclose on his properties.

To the prime minister's credit, having appointed a honest John in Charitha Ratwatte as finance ministry secretary, any complaints of impropriety are brought to his notice without delay, as was the case with the Indian wheat deal enabling quick action.

Yet another incident to which the prime minister's attention was drawn last week was a complaint against a corporation chairman who had allegedly solicited a million dollar gratification from an investor to sell a tea estate.

The investor concerned had promptly brought the alleged solicitation to the notice of a confidante of the prime minister, who has wasted no time in calling for an inquiry to ascertain the veracity of the allegation.

Furthermore, the prime minister has to also contend with the sensitivities of UNPers over the induction of former PA supporters to government positions, which has led to quite a bit of heartburn.

This has also resulted in clashes among ministers, and a case in point is between Minister G.L. Peiris and Rohitha Bogollagama as underscored by Bogollagama's letters published below:

The letter to the prime minister states thus:

4th March 2002

Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe

Prime Minister

Prime Minister's Office

Colombo.

Dear Sir,

Appointment of chairman, Ceylon Ceramics Corporation (Brick & Tiles Division)

This was one of the corporations that came under my supervision in terms of distribution of functions between Hon. G.L. Peiris, minister of enterprise development, industrial policy & investment promotion & constitutional affairs and the undersigned. Hon. G.L. Peiris agreed with me on the nomination of the chairman of the above corporation to be one of my nominees. Accordingly, I nominated Mr. Namalsiri Ekanayake, Attorney-at-Law and former provincial council member from Wayamba to be the chairman of the above corporation. But to my surprise, I found that Mr. Upali Senaratna has been appointed as the chairman of the said corporation by Minister G.L. Peiris.

I regret to state that Mr. Upali Senaratna is not a suitable person to hold the above office due to his antecedence in the People's Alliance administration. He was the chairman of the land reform commission and the coconut development authority under the previous government and has brought about untold misery to sections of the UNP supporters both in the Colombo district and those out in his administration at the two corporations. Already, Hon. Gamini Lokuge, minister of tourism, has complained to me the manner in which he has conducted himself at the previous parliamentary elections in supporting the People's Alliance party. Workers at the ceramics corporation (brick & tiles) are dismayed with this appointment when in fact they looked forward to an appointment in keeping with the qualities and traditions of the United National Party.

Hence I would request your intervention to remove Mr. Upali Senaratna from the chairmanship and to appoint Mr. Nimalsiri Ekanayake for the above post.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

Rohitha Bogollagama.

Minister of Industries.

The prime minister in a bid to diffuse tension has now agreed to speak with Minister Peiris and have Senaratne removed.

These are but three instances with many no doubt going unnoticed and it is such incidents that can quickly bring a government to disrepute and reduce to naught the good work done by Wickremesinghe and fully realising the dangers in such developments, the prime minister has put in motion a plan of action where any allegations of corruption and impropriety can be brought to his notice for necessary action.

In fact, the prime minister has told party Chairman Malik Samarawickrema and close confidantes that it is due to President Kumaratunga consciously turning a blind eye to corruption that brought her government and herself into public ridicule and he will ensure such a fate will not befall his administration. And Samarawickrema and Charitha Ratwatte, both with unimpeachable reputations for integrity, have been requested by the prime minister to keep an ear to the ground and report any acts of impropriety on the part of UNF members.

Shady deals

Be that as it may, the prime minister last week also got cracking on shady deals entered into by the previous government of President Kumaratunga given the growing public demand for justice and sent out instructions that the activities of Kumaratunga's close buddy, Ronnie Peiris' business activities be inquired into.

This followed representations made by Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake on the Kotte golf course deal, where the BOI and the urban development authority on a cabinet paper originally submitted by the president and later Mangala Samaraweera had granted the necessary approvals and Ronnie Peiris acting as a middle man collected huge commissions, details of which apart from being earlier published in this newspaper have now been brought to the notice of the minister by some of those involved in the project itself.

With Karunanayake bringing these facts to the prime minister's notice in the presence of UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrema, the minister was told to speak with BOI Chairman Arjuna Mahendran and cancel the project if there is evidence of impropriety and nonfulfillment of the conditions of approval.

Accordingly, Minister Karunanayake immediately called the BOI chairman and discussed the issue after which Prime Minister Wickremesinghe himself spoke to Mahendran and said the project should be cancelled if there is evidence of corruption and nonfulfillment of the conditions of approval agreed to by the parties.

With that out of the way, the green light was also given for a full scale investigation into the business dealings of Ronnie Peiris including his links to the Bahamas based Blueclass Incorporation company, his involvement in the Colombo-Katunayake expressway deal amongst others, including his stake in the ABC radio network.

In fact, Ronnie Peiris is holding shares in ABC radio network through his Bahamas based Blueclass Inc and attempts were recently made through ABC to operate a television station as well but Mahendran, turned down the request stating there was no basis to give ABC such approval.

Furthermore, with ABC not having brought in the monies pledged in terms of the approval granted by BOI during Kumaratunga's tenure, Mahendran has now informed the company, they will be given two months from the time the new telecommunications regulatory commission is nominated to bring in the pledged capital, failing which, the approvals would be cancelled.

Peiris' dealings

What has added fuel to the fire of the Ronnie Peiris business dealings is the open manner in which he has been pushing business deals and lobbying for commissions, quite openly touting President Kumaratunga's name. And some of the investors so approached have brought it to the notice of  Prime Minister Wickremesinghe no less.

In fact, Peiris has reportedly solicited as much as one million US dollars from an investor in the Middle East seeking to purchase the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation just to give an introduction to President Kumaratunga and the investor has informed the prime minister he was prepared to divulge all particulars at an inquiry.

And having discussed the project, Peiris has gone so far as to demand US$ 40 million once the deal is concluded, terms with which the investor has refused to comply.

The Sunday Leader is now in possession of documentary proof of this deal, one copy of a fax which is published below.

In that fax dated May 26, 2001, sent by the foreign investor to the London fax number 0044 1923853100 of Ronnie Peiris, it is stated thus:

"Ronald:

Confirming our recent phone conversation. I am somewhat disappointed at your consultancy terms to assist us in the development of a power project in Sri Lanka.  .............. (name of company withheld) is unable to provide a retainer agreement as we normally pay consultants on a success fee basis upon the reaching of certain milestones in a project. Likewise, the net profit fee of 2 1/2% is much higher than normally acceptable in the Middle East.

Unless we are able to reach an agreement on other terms, we regret that we will not be able to use your services for this project,

Best regards,

SS (name withheld)

Regrettably for Peiris not long after, the PA government collapsed and he was not in a position to renegotiate his commission and push the deal through.

Interestingly, several PA top notchers themselves have now urged the prime minister to probe the business dealings of Peiris and trace where the blessings came from in a bid to have their names cleared from any taint of corruption during the seven-year PA rule.

Not stopping at that, serious negotiations are also underway between several PA members and the UNF for a national government to address the burning issues of the country whereby the government can obtain the 2/3rd majority necessary to move ahead with its political agenda.

In this respect, the necessary legislation is already being drafted by Finance Minister K.N. Choksy and Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris, to ensure members who join the government do not lose their parliamentary seats. Movement in that direction will be expedited after May especially in view of the president's refusal to nominate the constitutional council.

This talk of a national government of course is causing serious concern within the PA, with the pro-Kumaratunga group targeting Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapakse in the belief, he is spearheading the campaign.

And giving vent to this line of thinking was Kumaratunga loyalist Sripathy Sooriyarachchi to PA Colombo district MP, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, a Rajapakse loyalist, during a party to celebrate the launch of the two party newspapers Lakmina and Dinakara.

It was Premachandra who broached the subject inquiring why the Lakmina was attacking Rajapakse when he has being elevated to the post of opposition leader and Sooriyarachchi was not averse to making his mind known.

"Why, he is for a national government. We have no problem in him being the opposition leader for one year after which we can make him prime minister under President Kumaratunga. But he can never be our presidential candidate," Sooriyarachchi said.

Possibly taken aback at revelation, Premachandra asked whether the president was thinking of Anura Bandaranaike as the candidate, adding he and a number of other members would oppose Bandaranaike's candidature.

On that score however, Sooriyarachchi did not commit himself, simply stating the president has her own strategy of dealing with the situation.

Contemplating a high jump

But the PA is in such a state of disarray, even Bandaranaike is contemplating a high jump once again though publicly he is taking the position of being the party's presidential candidate.

In fact, Bandaranaike is quite critical of sister Kumaratunga now in private conversations with his friends, particularly due to her failure to appoint him as opposition leader and has made no secret of the fact he was prepared to consider any attractive offer from the UNF government.

While publicly rejecting any attempts at joining the UNF, Bandaranaike has being heaping lavish praise on the prime minister's handling of the peace process and said to friends and confidantes, the PA is looking at a long stint in opposition.

He has however expressed concern whether there will be strong opposition to his re-entry from the likes of Ministers Karu Jayasuriya, Ravi Karunanayake and Rajitha Senaratne, a matter the prime minister in fact discussed in passing with Minister Rajitha Senaratne last week.

As for the prime minister, he is working on the basis that the government needs a 2/3rd majority to push ahead with the peace process and economic reforms and given Kumaratunga's intransigence on cohabitation, the numbers must be got irrespective of the individuals concerned to ensure the overall national interest is advanced and stability restored.

And in anticipation of a huge mandate at the local authority elections for the political and economic process he has set in motion, the prime minister has decided to up the tempo after the Sinhala and Tamil new year with drastic reforms in the pipeline.

The question however is whether Wickremesinghe's own members will support him in the task of nation building or distract the prime minister by indulging in corruption practices and petty bickering.