• Mahinda hugs Anura on birth day
• Mangala under virtual house arrest
• JVP backs SLFP dis sidents
• SB under fire at UNP Working Committee

The curtain rose on the Bandaranaike circus this week with the chief protagonist Anura Bandaranaike deciding to join the Rajapaksa bandwagon without so much as a murmur.
It was a display of how fickle the Sri Lankan political arena is. In any case the swift shifting of alliances by Anura Bandaranaike was not a surprise to many who know his nature and his maverick ways.
The first reaction of Bandaranaike when he heard the President had stripped him of the ministerial portfolio on February 9, was to lash out at President Mahinda Rajapaksa in anger.
“I’m glad to be out of the carnival of clowns,” was his immediate reaction. But later when he was confronted with the consequences of losing his ministerial perks, Bandaranaike was writhing in pain.
The removal from his ministerial portfolio brought Bandaranaike many hardships including the withdrawal of his security and that he would be compelled to vacate his official residence Visumpaya at very short notice.
Bandaranaike contacted Defence Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to clarify the actual situation with regards his security. On Saturday last week the sentry point at his gate was reduced to just one policeman. This was the normal security provided to every parliamentarian.
As the drama was unfolding a business tycoon who is a mutual friend of both Rajapaksa and Bandaranaike sprang into action. He telephoned the President before the President left for Male and asked him as to why he stripped Bandaranaike of the portfolio when they were such close friends at one stage during their early political career. He requested the President to restore Bandaranaike’s portfolio and take him back to the cabinet.
The President was also amenable to the proposal and did not mind mending fences with Bandaranaike who had been his “close buddy” for many years, at least until Rajapaksa was nominated as the Presidential candidate.
Soon after the President gave his green light the business tycoon phoned Bandaranaike and told him that the President was ready to accommodate him and he should be ready to make up with the President.
Bandaranaike had a sigh of relief on hearing this, but told the friend that he would think over the matter and get back to him later. Thereafter Bandaranaike was busy consulting various people including a member of his family who told him that it was his call and he had to take a decision accordingly. The family member had also told him that he should remember that the SLFP was founded by his father and sustained by his mother.
By this time Mangala Samaraweera who returned to the country had not spoken to Bandaranaike on his future plan of action and Bandaranaike felt that he had been left out by Samaraweera, but on hearing that Samaraweera was virtually under house arrest Bandaranaike phoned him to clarify matters. This was the last occasion these two spoke since Samaraweera was cautious not to reveal his plans to Bandaranaike.
Bandaranaike who was happy to hear that the President was ready to mend fences with him had actually told a go-between after the sacking that he could become the Foreign Minister and that Rohitha Bogollagama should move out to another ministry.
When this was conveyed to the President, he rejected the proposal saying that it would be unfair on other senior SLFPers who had abided by the party whip. The President had said that he would be accused of giving plum jobs to those who revolt against the party whip if he was to give Foreign Affairs to Bandaranaike. However the President had said that the maximum he could give to Bandaranaike was the Aviation Ministry. It too would have nothing much with only the Civil Aviation Authority coming under it and not even the Airport. The main work being signing treaties with foreign countries.
However when Anura Bandaranaike was told that the Foreign Ministry was out of the question he opted to have the Ports and Aviation Ministry that was held by Mangala Samaraweera. Bandaranaike did not have much concern for his colleague as long as his grievances were addressed. A senior SLFPer who had closely associated Bandaranaike had quipped “That is the way of the Bandaranaike’s.”
In trying to patch up with Anura Bandaranaike, President Rajapaksa got over the accusation of being unfaithful to the Bandaranaikes who had formed the SLFP. Political critics were hurling accusations that Rajapaksa was hell bent on dispatching the Bandaranaike’s to the political wilderness since he was not comfortable with the Bandaranaike’s being around him.
In actuality, President Rajapaksa who proclaimed that he was the son of Bandaranaike policies was being quite sympathetic towards Anura Bandaranaike who was his longstanding friend. He was aware that the political path taken by Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike had paid him dividends fifty years later. But his instincts showed that he was strong man with qualities of a typical southerner.
In fact Rajapaksa told a gathering of SLFP organizers that he could very well be the “Meda Mulane Rajapaksa” opening a window as to what Rajapaksa could be. However he also had the utmost respect to the two senior Bandaranaikes who maintained high standards in politics.
Quite contrary to their parents, the Bandaranaike children did not follow such high standards and traditions in politics, and at times gave heartaches to the mother Bandaranaike when they acted in their own maverick ways. Mother Bandaranaike even kept her son in the darkness when it came to crucial political decisions. One such instance was when they moved an impeachment motion against then President Ranasinghe Premadasa with the help of former Ministers Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali.
In the present context it could be said that Minister Mangala Samaraweera followed in the footsteps of mother Bandaranaike when he kept his colleague in total darkness when he did not inform Bandaranaike of his political plans on his arrival in the country. Bandaranaike was lamenting over Samaraweera’s failure to contact him on his plan. But Samaraweera was acting wisely knowing very well the ways of Bandaranaike as a politician.
Samaraweera’s failure in fact was one reason for Bandaranaike to contemplate on joining with the President. Bandaranaike brought in various arguments to justify the re-entry to the cabinet of President Rajapaksa and finally decided to join back than expediting his march into political oblivion.
By this time arrangements had been made for Bnadaranaike to meet the President as soon as he returned to the country from the Maldives. The plan was that his friend from school days Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Western Province Governor Alavi Moulana to talk to Bandaranaike before he met the President on Wednesday.
As scheduled the President and Bandaranaike met at Temple Trees and spoke for a very long time where they buried the hatchet.
“You could have been my Prime Minister if not for Chandrika’s dead ropes,” the President told Bandaranike during the conversation. At the meeting the President was willing to give back only the National Heritage Ministry which was given to him after the cabinet reshuffle. The President had however said that he would give him more responsibilities depending on his performance.
Meanwhile rumblings within the SLFP that came to a head with the sacking of the three Ministers continues with Mangala Samaraweera having secret deliberations with the JVP and a section of the UNP. The idea that is being toyed is to moot an alliance of the UNP, the JVP and the TNA. The objective is to change the constitution of the government and stake a claim for the premiership.
The understanding is that once such an alliance comes into being the CWC and the SLMC too would pull out of the government and create further problems to President Rajapaksa. However some of the CWC members had assured the President that even if Arumugam Thondaman pulls out of the government, they would not.
Mangala Samaraweera was disturbed with the government on the accommodation of UNP crossovers in large numbers because it diminished the clout of the JVP with the President. Samarawera was the SLFP’s link with the JVP and he too lost his bargaining power with the President with the JVP losing its clout in parliament.
Even during the former President Chandrika Kumaratunga regime it was Samaraweera who struck deals between the SLFP and the JVP. The extent to which the Samaraweera-JVP relationship went could be seen from the fact that although he was for federalism and devolution of power, Samaraweera opposed former President Kumaratunga’s P-TOMS proposals for tsunami rehabilitation work sharing agreement with the LTTE, to get more close with the JVP.
When Samaraweera was ousted from the government, the JVP came out strongly against it but not so for Anura Bandaranaike. Even at the JVP meeting on Thursday at Nugegoda, it could be seen clearly by anyone reading between the lines that the JVP was furthering the cause of Samaraweera.
Although Samaraweera makes some valid points in the letter he wrote to the President replying allegations leveled against him by the President, it all boils down to a power struggle. Samaraweera says that the MoU between the UNP and the government should be restored because the Ranil Wickremesinghe would support the government from outside and it would not upset the JVP’s power balance in parliament.
The government is vigilant on the moves by Samaraweera and is also involved in the numbers game and is hatching plans to further pull UNP MPs. Various names are being mentioned in this regard including Mohamed Mahroof, Chandrani Bandara of Anuradhapura and Champika Premadasa of Kegalle district, Earl Gunasekera and Ranjith Madduma Bandara.
It has now come back to the parliamentary chess game of moving the pieces around and it remains to be seen who will checkmate whom. Whether Ranil Wickrmesinghe and Mangala Samaraweera would outsmart President Mahinda Rajapaksa or whether it would be the other way round.
On Sunday when Mangala Samaraweera arrived in the country from Singapore a large crowd was gathered outside the airport to welcome him. It was mainly organized by Sripathi Sooriaratchchi.It is now learnt that the majority of the crowd were JVP supporters.
On Samaraweera’s arrival in the country, strict orders had been sent from the presidential secretariat and the security establishment to have a security blanket laid around the official residence of Samaraweera at Stanmore Crescent. Nobody was allowed to go into Samaraweera’s premises by the security other than close family members and friends and he was virtually kept under house arrest and close surveillance.
When JVP MP. Anura Kumara Dissanayake went to meet Samaraweera on the instructions of his party, he was prevented by the security from proceeding towards Samaraweera’s residence. Dissanayake first kicked up a row for preventing a Parliamentarian and later telephoned Samaraweera from the sentry post at Stanmor Crescent and finally Samaraweera had to send his vehicle to get Dissnayake in.
On hearing of the security blanket laid around Mangala Samaraweera’s residence Anura Bandaranaike called him and asked whether he was under house arrest. Samaraweera had replied that he was not under house arrest but the security was carrying out strict checks on those who were coming and going from his residence.
The official vehicles used by Samaraweera were also recalled and when officials went to get back the vehicles, Samaraweera refused to hand over saying that the vehicles were given by President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga. Later on the vehicles belonging to the ministry were taken away by the officials on Wednesday. Officials had also taken steps to remove items belonging to the Ministry from Samaraweera’s official residence including intercom telephones and computers.
The harassment meted out to Samaraweera by the Rajapaksa regime continued as the venue of the much publicized press conference by Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriaratchchi had to be changed from the Galle Face hotel to the Parliamentary complex in the morning of the scheduled day. The hotel had refused to be the venue for the press conference allegedly on pressure exerted on them from powerful quarters.
Although the President had indicated that he would like to discuss the matter and take the three Ministers back into the fold on his terms, Mangala Smaraweera continued to stick to his guns. In the previous week too just before the three Ministers were sacked the President made repeated attempts to reach Samraweera and discuss matters but Samaraweera continued to refuse to come to the phone. The President wanted to settle the matter and get Samaraweera to remain silent without issuing statements and leaking out letters he had written to the President criticizing the government policies.
After failing to get through to Samaraweera over the phone the President sent an ASP attached to the Presidential security division with a message. But Samaraweera’s aides had said that he was not in when there were indications that Smaraweera was indeed at home. Thereafter he flew to Singapore knowing well that there would be a tough reaction from the President. Even when Samaraweera was informed of his sacking from the cabinet by a close friend, he had remained calm and cool as if he was expecting an act of this sort. Samaraweera had also assured the caller that everything will be over in six months.
Not only Samaraweera was sacked but Sooriaratchchi and other confidantes of Samaweera too were under the close scrutiny of the government on hearing that they were soliciting support of the other disgruntled SLFPers to pull down the government. A security outfit belonging to Sooriaratchchi had been under government surveillance for alleged links with the Karuna group. Another close friend of Samaraweera, who had been targeted, is former Airport and Aviation Authority Chairman Tiran Alles.
It has been revealed that several big names had also transpired in the government’s investigations into the killing of TNA MP Nadarajah Raviraj as well. They are investigating whether a big time businessman had a hand in the killing of Raviraj, to appease the LTTE that was not too happy with the moderate stance taken by Raviraj.
Besides all that Samaraweera was planning his own strategy with the UNP and the JVP. They were sending out devious signals saying that the UNP would not agree to the requests put forward by Samaraweera and that the JVP would not deal with the TNA whom they consider as Tiger proxies. All these signals were to mislead the government until the UNP sponsored plan is put in place.
Samaraweera’s was a plan to claim the Premiership by forging an alliance among the UNP, JVP and the TNA. He gave hints of such a move when he delivered the Lal Bahadur Shastri memorial lecture in India several weeks ago while he was still the Foreign Minister. He said that a ‘radical centre’ needs to be forged between the extremists and moderates to provide a solution to the North East crisis. “I am of the opinion that the only way to resolve the conflict situation in Sri Lanka, or for that matter any of the myriad of other similar situations around the world, to a sustainable peace, is by developing the concept and practice of a “Radical Centre”.
This would entail the creation of a centrist middle way where dissenting voices and opinions from every part of the political spectrum would have a place within a democratic framework through the decentralization of governance and the devolution of power to all stakeholders. It would be a place where the years of deep mistrust would lose their sting within a non-violent, democratic system where pluralism and secularism flourishes. The radical centre should be a place where the intolerant find that those they hate are in fact, quite similar to themselves and have the same dreams and aspirations as well as fears and concerns.”
Samaraweera on his return to the country was also in contact with people connected to the UNP as well. Backdoor negotiations were underway and confidentiality of people carrying out the negotiations had been assured.
In a separate development President’s special adviser Basil Rajapksa and Defence Ministry secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa undertook a mission to India just before the crisis within the SLFP came to the open. During their tour the two Rajapaksa brothers met the top brass of the Indian bureaucracy. They discussed about the current situation in the country with India’s Foreign Ministry secretary Shivshankar Mennon and security adviser Narayanan.
The Indian bureaucrats had been pleased with the President’s Independence Day address where he mentioned that it is necessary to give a solution to the North-East crisis while dealing with terrorist problem. President Rajapaksa in his address said: “I wish to re-emphasize that the most reliable weapon against terrorism is to do justice by the innocent Tamil people. I know that the Sinhala people in the South are ready for this. We are not ready to give in to the blood thirsty demands of the LTTE. However, at the minimum we should be reasonable and honest enough to agree with Mr. Anandasangaree or the Hon. Douglas Devananda.”
The Indians had given a clear message to the Sri Lankan government that they should not do anything to upset the South in India and especially the political concerns of Tamilnadu. The Indian bureaucrats had appreciated the fact that there were no civilian casualties during the taking of Vakarai. As long as the harm to civilians is minimized the Indians are not worried. It is the influx of refugees from Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu that worries the Central government as it leads to turmoil among the polity in the southern states.
After the taking of Vakarai, the main concern of the government is to resettle the displaced civilians in the East. For this the government is planning a crash program and a competent authority is also expected to be appointed to deal with the resettlement issues. It is the thinking of the government that the civilian population should be distanced from the LTTE by providing them not only the political freedom but also other basic infrastructure facilities. The government feels that it is paramount to liberate the Tamil civilians from the dictatorial clutches of the LTTE and win them over to enable a political solution to come through.
As the government was planning another offensive in the North-East, they were also concerned of the claims by the JVP that the Opposition Leadership should come to them with the departure of a sizeable number of MPs to the government from the UNP.
In the meantime the opposition leader post has become the centre of argument with the JVP making moves towards claiming the post saying that if the number of UNP MPs goes below 32, if there are more crossovers, then the JVP has a claim for the post. The JVP has 32 members in parliament at the moment.
The government however is clear that the opposition leadership should remain with the UNP and has also sought legal advice in this regard. The government does not want the more radical and extremist JVP to take the opposition leadership from the hands of the moderate UNP.
Also it is technically not possible for the JVP to make a claim as they are not a separate entity in parliament. The JVP members contested from the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) ticket and they are UPFA representatives. This was the same opinion given by the Attorney General when the JVP staked a claim for the representative of the minor parties in the constitutional council. The government also thinks that although the UNP MPs have crossed over to the government side, they contested and got elected to parliament from the UNP and since the crossover MPs had not technically left the party, its numbers are still in tact. In any case if such a problem arises in parliament the Speaker would seek the opinion of the Attorney General.
Nevertheless Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had obtained a copy of the letter sent by the UNP crossovers to the Speaker requesting for separate seating arrangement in the House. The leader of the group, Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister Karu Jayasuriya had described themselves in the letter as the UNP democratic group.
Ranil Wickremesinghe met the Speaker after the Jayasuriya group handed over the letter and had a look at it. He also took a copy of the letter probably to substantiate his claim that they had left the party when it comes to a court case on the party membership and office. The thinking is that it would help Wickremesinghe to expel the crossover MPs as well.
Be that as it may, when the UNP working committee met on Thursday it had been noted by many that the seating arrangement had been changed in the working committee room at party headquarters Sirikotha. Sri Lankan politicians being gullible and strict believers of astrology is nothing new and many had been saying that Sirikotha being built facing the West was not good. In the earlier seating arrangement the chair and the head table was facing the West and when the working committee met this week it was seen that the arrangement had been made so that the chair and those at the head table were facing the North.
The same change had been done in the Party Chairman’s office as well after Rukman Senanayake assumed the post. Seeing the change senior party member and former Minister Dr. Karunasena Kodituiwakku had quipped: “This seems to be like Rukman Senanayake reforms to the party,” to which Senanayake himself had burst out laughing.
The working committee meeting was opened by S.B. Dissanayake who made a non-committal statement regarding the party reforms process.
He said that although many people were under the impression that the party reforms were a brainchild of his it was not so as there were many people involved in it. He said that the reforms process was underway even while he was in prison. He said although many were clamoring for reforms for genuine reasons there were some others who had joined the reformists with other intentions.
Rising to his feet thereafter, Badulla District MP Lakshman Seneviratne went on an attack at S.B. Dissanayake and said that Dissanayake did not crossover with the others for the simple reason that he was not an MP. He said that posts in the party should not be given to newcomers. He further said that Mahinda Wijesekera who was great friend of Dissanayake was now with the government and Dissanayake too would follow.
Folowing Lakshman Senevirate and speaking on the same lines was Johnston Fernando who said that Dissanayake had told newspapers that the UNP leader did not have a spine and he should withdraw these statements now.
Interjecting at this moment was Upali Smaraweera who was not pleased with the attack on Dissanayake and said that there were others who tried to oust the leader at various times in history, hinting at Lakshman Seneviratne’s close links with Gamini Dissanayake during that time. The Samaraweera said that once Lakshman Senviratne was collecting signatures and it was him who alerted Wickremesinghe through Sagala Ratnayake. Samaraweera said on that occasion Ranil Wickremesinghe had phoned him to find out what was happening.
At this moment Johnston Fernando quipped that Samaraweera was also involved in a signature campaign as well.
Then Renuka Herath also took on S.B. Dissanayake in a mild manner and Wajira Abeywardena too continued on the same lines but the overall mood of most in the working committee was that Dissanayake bashing should not continue.
Then Ravindra Samaraweera stood and said that at some point in time everyone would have dissented and what is wanted at the moment is not to create problems. Sarthchandra Rajakaruna too agreed with him.
Thereafter John Amaratunga asked for a categorical assurance from S.B. Dissanayake that he would not continue to attack the party leadership.
To which Dissanayake replied that he had not given an interview after December.
Amaratunga further pressed Dissanayake for an assurance and Dissanayake shot back saying not to exert pressure on him like that.
At this moment Ranil Wickremesinghe interjected and said that everyone should work as a together as a team and take the party towards victory and S.B. Dissanayake added saying that he was also saying the same thing and what he wanted was to take Wickremesinghe to the pinnacle of this country.
The matter came to a rest with Wickremesinghe appointing Dissanayake as the National Organiser of the party along with several other district appointments.

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Anura’s birthday bash

Anura Bandaranaike who was at the centre of the political drama unfolding in the country celebrated his 58th birthday on Thursday in style in the company of many friends and politicians. President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was invited to the party on the previous day when Bandaranaike patched up with the President at the Temple trees, arrived at Visumpaya – Bandaranaike’s official residence- around 7 pm. Former President Chandrika Kumaranatunga was also to arrive around that time but Anura Bandaranaike had arranged it such that his sister would arrive after the President left.
Bandaranaike was jubilant and hugged the President on his arrival. The President was at Visumpaya chatting with Anura till 8.30 pm and left.
Soon after President Rajapksa left former President Kumaratunga arrived. At the same time, UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake and Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickremetunga walked in. Among the guests was Advertising Agency chief, Pradeep Amirthanayagam and UNP Western Provincial Councilor and Dompe organiser Gamini Gunaratne.
Wickremetunga was seen in deep conversation with Chandrika Kumaratunga. Shortly afterwards, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived and everyone got up and welcomed him. Speculating on Wickremesinghe’s presence at the party, some wondered whether Wickremesinghe’s presence was to give the impression that Bandaranaike was still in truck with the UNP while having patched up with the President. There were concerns among Bandaranaike’s friends as to whether attempts were underway to stop him from joining the government.
At the dinner Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremesinghe were seated at the same table and they engrossed in conversation for more than an hour.
After dinner it was time to cut the birthday cake. The Birthday boy fed the first piece to his sister Chandrika Kumaratunga, the second piece to Ranil Wickremesinghe and the third piece to Lasantha Wickremetunga.
With the cake having been served, now it was time for the dancing session to begin and the first to take the floor was Anura Bandaranaike accompanied by his sister. With more joining in, Kumaratunga told Anura Bandaranaike to get Ranil Wickremesinghe on the floor, even pulling him by his hand. However Wickremesinghe declined.
As the dancing proceeded the sing song session began and Chandrika Kumaratunga was seen gyrating with gusto as the song “Rejina Mamai Ape Rajje” (I am the queen of my kingdom) was being played, while others were circling and dancing around her.