Countdown to the split in government

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe recently made a statement that the government, which was trying to ensure that the UNP was down with the flu, has now contracted the chikungunya virus.

By likening the government's ailments to chikungunya, Wickremesinghe only showed the gravity of the crisis brewing within the government, which in a few days could result in a huge split within the government's rank and file.

Events that took place on Friday, February 9, brought into the open the clashes within the government, which until then were taking place behind the scenes.

The President's decision to oust Mangala Samaraweera, Anura Bandaranaike and Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi from their portfolios brought into the open the split within the government.

Bandaranaike's stance

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake who approached Bandaranaike in parliament before he was to make a speech advised him not to go ahead with the speech. "Don't make the speech. If you do so, there are chances of you losing your portfolio," he said.

However, Bandaranaike responded, "I don't need his portfolio. He has already hit us. I will make this speech."

Bandaranaike therefore made the speech ready to face the consequences.

The following day Sooriyaarachchi heard the news of the President's move to appoint a new organiser for the SLFP Kelaniya electorate. This led Sooriyaarachchi and Samaraweera to believe that the President was preparing to make a political move.

On Thursday (8), Samaraweera left for Singapore on a personal visit.

It was Sooriyaarachchi who first heard the news of the trio being sacked from their portfolios. He heard the news even before the letters sacking them were ordered to be typed.

Sooriyaarachchi immediately informed Samaraweera in Singapore and Bandaranaike of the President's move. Upon hearing the news, Samaraweera had told Sooriyaarachchi that since the President had the right to make any decision that pleased him, there was no need to be overly worried about it.

However, Bandaranaike's response to it was rather different. "I don't believe it. Mahinda is never a man who can make a decision alone. This can never be," he said.

Be that as it may, the first letter sacking the trio reached Bandaranaike at Visumpaya around 5 p.m. The letters then reached Samaraweera's and Sooriyaarachchi's residences respectively.

Sooriyaarachchi immediately called Samaraweera in Singapore and informed him that letters sacking them from their portfolios signed by the President had been delivered to their residences. He also informed Samaraweera that the SLFP Executive Committee was summoned for a meeting at Temple Trees the following day.

Samaraweera advised Sooriyaara-chchi that the President was exercising his powers and that irrespective of this; they should carry on with their political battle.

By the time Sooriyaarachchi got through to Bandaranaike, he had already given interviews to weekend newspapers.

Sooriyaarachchi inquired from Bandaranaike the nature of the statements he had made to the media. Bandaranaike said that he made statements against the President and the government.

Celebrations

Meanwhile, Samaraweera celebrated the news in style. Hearing the news that he was sacked by the President whom he was instrumental in bringing into power, Samaraweera got down a special bottle of champagne and celebrated with his friends until late.

Sooriyaarachchi and Samaraweera's confidants, who were updating him of the latest developments in Colombo, got the feeling that Samaraweera was in fact celebrating the news. Upon being questioned on the matter, Samaraweera said that he was celebrating and advised them also to follow suit, as this was good news for him.

The President who sacked the Ministers by 5 p.m. directed the Defence Ministry by 7 p.m. to withdraw their security personnel and ordered the ministry secretaries to immediately recall the official vehicles and the staff given to each minister.

Following orders of the President, security personnel attached to the Ports Authority surrounded an official residence belonging to the Authority down Bullers Road, Saturday morning. The house was considered an important place, as it was the headquarters used by Samaraweera during the last presidential election to carry out Rajapakse's campaign.

Samaraweera's Coordinating Secretary, Ruwan Ferdinands was in charge of this residence then and it was here that all the campaigns against the UNP and its Leader Wickremesinghe were carried out.

During the last presidential election, the UNP wrote to the IGP on several occasions requesting him to take over this residence down Bullers Road citing that the residence was being used illegally to support President Mahinda Rajapakse's campaign.

Bullers Road house issue

Soon after the presidential election the house was abandoned, but it was Presidential Advisor Dulles Alahapperuma who reminded the President of this house. He pointed out that since Ferdinands used the residence as the campaign headquarters during the election, they would be able to find secret documents that could be held against Samaraweera if the house was raided.

During the presidential election, over 102 public servants worked around the clock tirelessly at this venue to ensure Rajapakse's victory. Alahapperuma who visited the house once during the election had even praised the workers there.

The workers requested Alahapperuma to ensure that they would be paid their relevant salaries from the institutions they were assigned to even though they were at the time engaged in election propaganda work.

Alahapperuma immediately told Ferdinands, "Machang, we have to do the right thing by these people as soon as we win. You make a list, we will do it."

Rajapakse won the election and Ferdinands sent the list of 102 names to Alahapperuma to get what they were entitled to, but what happened was quite to the contrary.

The 102 persons were identified as Samaraweera supporters and were continuously attacked. This was the beginning of the cold war between Samaraweera and Rajapakse.

It was in this backdrop that Alahapperuma ordered the Bullers Road house to be raided. The SLPA security personnel who surrounded the house asked the official present where Ferdinands was. The security personnel were informed that Ferdinands had not sighted the house after the election.

Futile search

However, the security personnel who entered the house a while later saw posters of Rajapakse printed during the last presidential election pasted on every wall and they also witnessed that the house had not been cleaned in a while. The security personnel informed the higher authorities of their find.

All attention was then focused on Samaraweera's arrival in the island. Many were curious about what Samaraweera would say following his sacking.

SLFP supporters from the Matara District were angered by the President's move and they raised black flags in the town on Friday night. These supporters made various proposals to Sooriyaarachchi and Samaraweera's secretaries - "Sir, let's start a fast unto death. Let's have a protest march to Colombo."

Samaraweera who was in Singapore said that he did not expect the SLFP supporters to launch any fast unto death campaigns and protest marches right now.

At one point, Samaraweera told Sooriyaarachchi over the phone, "These people are acting like they have gone insane. Tell our people not to create any trouble. If they do so they will be attacked regardless of the fact that they are SLFPers. Then our people will get hammered by our own government. So don't allow them to do anything unwanted."

However, the day Samaraweera reached the island, a large number of SLFPers were at the airport to greet him.

Hearing this news earlier, orders were sent to the security personnel from above asking them to prevent the SLFPers from reaching the airport. However, due to the large crowd that gathered, the security personnel were unable to control them.

Rousing welcome

Samaraweera was greeted by the crowds near the Katunayake milepost. The security personnel around had to finally force Samaraweera into the vehicle.

Samaraweera who was on his way to his official residence at Stanmore Crescent had to undergo a different kind of experience at the Bauddhaloka Mawatha security post.

The gates that are usually opened for Samaraweera's vehicle to pass through on other days did not open that day. The security forces personnel at the post stopped the vehicle and told Samaraweera, "Sir, there is nothing we can do. We are sorry. Orders have been sent from above to permit only you and your close family members into your house. We have been ordered not to send anyone else inside."

Samaraweera questioned as to how such a thing could happen. "So does that mean I am under house arrest?" Samaraweera asked.

"We don't know sir. We just told you the order that was sent to us. We do not like doing this," the security personnel said.

Samaraweera then inquired as to who had made the order. The response made him realise that the order was made by a highly placed official in the Defence Ministry.

House arrest

Sooriyaarachchi then shouted, "This government was brought to power by Minister Mangala. It was he who made Mahinda the president. Are they now attacking this very same man?"

However, Samaraweera decided not to make an issue of it and made his way to his residence with his family members. At home, Samaraweera received an emotional welcome from his mother.

Samaraweera's security personnel had already been removed by then. Many who made their way to Samaraweera's residence were turned away at the security posts saying they did not have permission to proceed. By evening news was out that Samaraweera was unofficially under house arrest.

In order to know the real situation, JVP Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake called Ferdinands and Sooriyaarachchi and was informed that it seemed as if Samaraweera was indeed under house arrest.

"How can that be? Has the government fallen so low as to keep Mangala under house arrest? Okay, we will see. I'm coming at 8 p.m. You also come," Dissanayake said.

At 8 p.m. Dissanayake made his way to the security post. The security personnel gave their usual speech, but Dissanayake did not turn away.

He continued to argue with the security personnel and it was witnessed by everyone present. Orders were immediately sent from higher authorities to allow him to pass through. Dissanayake, Sooriyaarachchi and the crowd then made their way to Samaraweera's residence.

"What do you think of Mahinda Rajapakse's work?" Samaraweera asked Dissanayake while welcoming him into the house.

"That is something we should be asking you," Dissanayake said.

"Why is that?" questioned Samaraweera.

Ungrateful

"Why do you ask that? It was you Sripathi and Ruwan who asked us to help Mahinda win. You asked us to work for Mahinda. Didn't you know that Mahinda Rajapakse was a man who did not know the meaning of the word gratitude?" Dissanayake said, and Samaraweera could only smile in agreement.

From then on until about 1:30 a.m., Samaraweera, Sooriyaarachchi and Dissanayake were engaged in discussion.

"When Mahinda Rajapakse made this decision on Friday, our party also decided that we could no longer go ahead with him. We have decided that Mahinda is now going on the wrong path. We took several decisions. The party asked me to meet with you. It is my duty to inform you of the decisions," Dissanayake said.

From thereon, the conversation was a politically decisive one.

The JVP put in place its machinery and started its first poster campaign against Rajapakse Monday night. The first line on the poster was, "Government on the wrong track" and the posters said that a massive rally where the JVP leaders would address the nation would be held on February 15 in Nugegoda.

The Dulles plan to drum up media support

Stories behind the SLFP Executive Committee meeting, which was held soon after Anura Bandaranaike, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi were ousted from their portfolios, have now surfaced.

President Mahinda Rajapakse initially decided to call the SLFP parliamentary group to brief them on his decision soon after ousting the ministers. However, Ministers Maithripala Sirisena and Dulles Alahapperuma advised the President against the move.

They explained that since they believed at least 11 to 14 MPs were supportive of Samaraweera, meeting first with the parliamentary group soon after the move would be unwise. Sirisena and Alahapperuma told the President not to summon the parliamentary group.

Strategy

Rajapakse on the other hand believed that such a move would help him identify the Samaraweera supporters, which would help his future course of action. Sirisena and Alahapperuma insisted that such a move would be quite dangerous.

Alahapperuma then proposed that the newly elected SLFP Executive Committee, which consists mostly of members supportive of the President, should be summoned first. Rajapakse also agreed.

Alahapperuma then called the heads of the state run media, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and ITN and asked them to collect statements from parliamentarians against Bandaranaike, Samaraweera and Sooriyaarachchi by visiting their homes. The President too agreed to this proposal.

However, both these state media institutions experienced something unexpected. Most of the parliamentarians refrained from making any statements to the two media institutions, leaving the head of ITN no option but to call Alahapperuma and inform him that most parliamentarians had refused to make any statement against the ousted ministers.

Alahapperuma met with the President to inform him of this development. The duo then discussed at length how best to address the situation. The President told Alahapperuma that it clearly indicated that most parliamentarians were having secret dealings with Samaraweera.

Alahapperuma however said that regardless of the situation, some action should be taken to get some parliamentarians to make statements against Samaraweera and the rest even by force.

Alahapperuma's proposal

Alahapperuma then came up with a brilliant proposal. That was to hold the SLFP Executive Committee meeting at Temple Trees and to get ITN and Rupavahini to be stationed with two camera crews outside the exit, so that the MPs would be forced to make statements soon after the meeting at Temple Trees itself. Rajapakse agreed at once.

"That is good. Then they will make statements out of fear. I too can come out occasionally and have a look and see for myself who would make statements and who would avoid doing so. Write down the list of names of those who avoid giving any statement," the President said. Alahapperuma immediately called the two media institutions and informed them of the plan.

A few minutes later, Sooriyaarachchi and Samaraweera confidants learnt of the President's plan to force statements out of ministers at Temple Trees. Most ministers were then informed to make statements and pretend to be aligned with the President.

Seeing the taped comments of the ministers telecast on the state media institutions may have misled the public, but the President and Alahapperuma, the masterminds behind the plan, would in the next few weeks realise all is not well in government. When parliament meets this week, new alliances will be formed and new trends will emerge and many changes are likely to take place within the government and opposition ranks.

Claims defectors have ruined their political futures

SB vows to make Ranil, President

The UNP Working Committee met last Thursday evening at party headquarters, Sirikotha, under the chairmanship of Party Leader Ranil Wickreme-singhe.

After reading the agenda, the first matter to be taken up were the letters of explanation sent by the 18 UNP MPs who defected to the government. Legal Secretary Daya Pelpola presented the letters of 17 defectors sent to the party, which were all written in the same format.

Navin Dissanayake however, stood out from the rest of the 17 members as he decided to send a different kind of letter to the party. In his letter, Dissanayake had advised Wickremesinghe on how to take the party forward.

Dealing with the defectors

The other 17 defectors had not accepted the party's decision to sack them from the Working Committee, claiming they were unaware of the party's authority to do so and said the party had not given them an opportunity for an explanation.

They had also requested to know the reasons behind the party's decision to sack them from the Working Committee.

After discussing the matter, the Working Committee decided to send the defectors letters outlining the reasons for the party's decision to remove them from the Working Committee. It was also decided to allow them the opportunity to come before the Working Committee to present their explanations. Wickremesinghe agreed to the proposals.

S. B. Dissanayake then requested time to make a statement. In his statement, Dissanayake spoke of the party reforms, their implementation so far and the party's special convention planned for March.

Dissanayake commended Wickremesinghe for giving the freedom to implement the party reforms and pledged his support to the Party Leader in the future. Dissanayake also pledged to safeguard the Party Leader.

He then made a proposal on behalf of Wickremesinghe. Dissanayake observed that Wickremesinghe should be made president by mid next year.

Dissanayake then analysed the deteriorating situation of the government. He observed that the government could not continue with the war adding that the country's economy had now fallen into the doldrums.

Making Ranil president

"The 18 who defected to the government now regret making that decision. They fell into a mess. They have no salvation. There is no point talking about it. Now we have to work with Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. I will give my fullest support to make him president," Dissanayake said.

It was Lakshman Seneviratne who addressed the gathering after Dissanayake. He commenced his speech by leveling several allegations against Dissanayake.

He charged that it was Dissanayake who created the whole mess by bringing forward party reforms. Seneviratne said that the final result of the reforms was the defection of 18 members to the government. Alleging that Dissanayake had to bear the responsibility for all these issues, Seneviratne said that it was Dissanayake who started to challenge the party leadership.

Vajira Abeywardena, Johnston Fernando, Renuka Herath and Jayalath Jayawardena also blamed Dissanayake for the issues faced by the party. Jayawardena charged that Dissanayake could not be trusted and Herath charged that Dissanayake during his days in the PA government constantly harassed her supporters in the electorate.

Call for unity

Fernando who also found fault with Dissanayake finally said that all differences had to be cast aside as they had to now work together.

Abeywardena made a proposal to Dissanayake. He said that if Dissanayake was genuinely interested in developing the party, then he should do so by putting aside all posts and privileges.

The first to speak on behalf of Dissanayake was Opposition Leader, Uva Provincial Council, Upali Samaraweera.

"Why is everyone attacking one person? This is a time when we all have to come together. I thought all other issues were sorted, but still there are problems. This effort is to chase another set of members away and not to work together," he said.

It was Ravi Samaraweera who spoke next. He recalled various incidents that took place in the party since 1990. He spoke of the period when Gamini Dissanayake was appointed opposition leader and Wickreme-singhe was defeated for the post. He noted that Wickremesinghe at the time operated from an office down Jawatte Road.

"You won't have any of these things if Gamini was here today," Samaraweera said. In an indirect manner he said that the party would have been different if Gamini was alive today.

Annamalai Kathiresan then said that it was time for unity among party members and Sarathchandra Rajakaruna endorsed the statement.

Dissanayake's stance

Wickremesinghe then requested Dissanayake to make the final points of his speech.

"I accept certain allegations. But I did not start the reforms, I was in jail then, I joined later on. I did not leave the party even though I was not offered any post," Dissanayake said.

However, John Amaratunga requested Dissanayake to make the statement on oath. Dissanayake said that he had made the statement on previous occasions as well, but Amaratunga said, "No, say it properly."

"John don't try to walk all over me," Dissanayake said angrily.

However, everyone prevented the issue from being dragged any further.

Wickremesinghe then appointed the heads for the party's district committees and appointed Dissanayake as the national organiser. Sarath Ranawaka was appointed as the deputy national organiser.

The first to wish Dissanayake were Ravi Karunanayake and Sajith Premadasa.