The Political Column

25th February 2000

Anura to run for Ranatungas

By our Political Correspondent

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Britain's new anti-terrorism legislation came into force on Monday but Sri Lanka's hopes were dashed when London failed to issue a list of banned terrorist groups.image

While the LTTE and other foreign dissident groups operating from London lobbied heavily to prevent them from being banned under the Terrorism Act 2000, countries including Sri Lanka, India and Russia also exerted diplomatic pressure urging the British government to ban these organisations.

In the end, the terrorist groups emerged victors with the British government unmoved by the external pressure.

Diplomatic sources say the British move is an indication that the new legislation is largely an instrument to deal with groups inimical to British interests.

But groups that called for the ban on the LTTE argue that Britain has a moral duty to help Sri Lanka because it was due to its divide-and-rule colonial policy that the country has been plunged into a crisis situation.

The Sinhala hardliners argue that under this policy the colonial rulers discriminated against the majority Sinhalese by preferring Tamils for government sector jobs. Even today, most of the Sinhalese who make up at least 74 percent of the population of Sri Lanka, believe that Britain is continuing that policy and hence it would not name the LTTE as a banned organisation.

They say it is very doubtful the British will follow the American example in banning the LTTE.

However, Sinhala hardliners have not given up their ban-LTTE campaign. They planned to get worldwide publicity for their cause by making their presence felt at the Galle Stadium where the first England-Sri Lanka cricket Test is being played. They planned to hoist their banners at the stadium with the hope that they would be captured by the cameras telecasting the live coverage of the match.

The Cricket Board which got wind of the plans of the hardliners acted fast and took measures to keep politics out of the match venue.

The board gave strict instructions to police and the security forces not to allow anybody carrying political placards into the grounds.

They also told security officers at the gates to frisk every spectator. But the Cricket Board was put in a difficult position when some ministers began to back the protesters. They asked board officials permission to stage a demonstration. The officials told them that it was not possible because it might disturb the play and foreign teams would be discouraged to come to Sri Lanka.

The British High Commission office in Colombo was inundated with petitions supporting and opposing the LTTE ban. Some analysts say the British government's decision not to issue the list of banned groups is linked to domestic political exigencies, especially a possible general election in May this year. They say the British Labour Party is dependent on minority Asian votes in many constituencies and it is the MPs from these electorates who are lobbying against a ban on the LTTE at the behest of their Tamil constituents.

Another reason for the British action is that it does not want to make British citizens and British missions abroad vulnerable to attacks by these groups. In the case of the LTTE, its argument that a ban on it would hinder peace talks with the Sri Lankan government may also have influenced the British government decision.

Political analysts who saw the merits of the British decision said Sri Lanka was calling for British action as though the government there had to deal only with the LTTE, but the reality was that it had to deal with hundreds of such groups operating in London.

Rather than banning the organisations, the British government is likely to use it as a lever to check these organisations and their activities, including fund-raising campaigns.

But the British government's decision has come under much flak from the Conservative Party which accused the Blair government of being lenient with the terrorist groups operating in London. Their view was not different from the Sinhala hardliners who planned to use the Galle Test to take their campaign to British viewers.

More on cricket and cricket politics of a different kind. The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka is going ahead with its plans to open the controversial Rangiri Dambulla Cricket Stadium on schedule. The construction work on the pavilion and the stadium is going on at rapid pace to make the ground ready for the big match between England and Sri Lanka on March 23.

In the meantime, Board president Thilanga Sumathipala had personally lobbied at the Melbourne meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Cricket Council to have the next meeting in Colombo. Mr. Sumathipala moved an unexpected resolution at this meeting requesting that the next meeting in October should be held in Colombo.

Mr. Sumathipala who is vying for the next chairmanship of the International Cricket Council is keen to have the ICC Executive Committee meeting in Colombo. He allayed some of the delegates' fears about safety in Colombo. The BCCSL has appointed several committees to make necessary arrangements for the meeting which is expected to be held at the Hilton.

The Cricket Board is saddled with many problems. One of the most pressing problems is the suspension of Chief Executive Officer Dhammika Ranatunga. The other problems are related to the next elections to the board in May. The elections were to be held in February but they were put off due to the English tour of Sri Lanka.

A surprise entry in the fray could be Speaker Anura Bandaranaike who is expected to contest for the presidency.

Mr. Bandaranaike, a top rung UNP member and brother of President Kumaratunga, wields much power and could be described as the best person to hold this coveted post under the present circumstances.

Former Sri Lankan test captain Arjuna Ranatunga who met Minister Mahinda Rajapakse recently told him that the Ranatungas were instrumental in sponsoring Mr. Bandaranaike for the board presidency. It is believed that the Ranatungas are promoting Mr. Bandaranaike to settle a score with the present board president Thilanga Sumathipala.

Arjuna Ranatunga had apparently told Mr. Rajapakse that Mr. Sumathipala had gone out of his way to remove him from the panel of commentators for the current English tour.

Minister Rajapakse in turn telephoned Mr. Sumathipala to inquire into the matter. Mr. Sumathipala said he had no influence over the selection of commentators as it was handled by the television firm, World Sports Group Nimbus, which has won the TV rights till 2003 for matches to be played in Sri Lanka.

The Bandaranaike factor and the Ranatungas' role also came to surface at the recent Cricket Board meeting too, when it took up the Dhammika Ranatunga issue. Some members suggested that Mr. Ranatunga should be asked to resign as a face saving alternative to his expulsion from the board. Mr. Sumathipala said anyone could negotiate with Mr. Ranatunga and get him to step down if they so wish. One member then said he had already spoken to Mr. Ranatunga and he had asked for time to consider the offer.

Then this member narrated his conversation with Mr. Ranatunga. The member said Mr. Ranatunga had told him that they would be putting forward Mr. Bandaranaike as a candidate for the Board Presidency. The member told the meeting that he expressed the view that even Mr. Bandaranaike would find it difficult if Mr. Sumathipala intended to contest. Mr. Ranatunga had in turn said that "if Madam wants Mr. Bandaranaike in, the clubs will vote for him."

The member had then told Mr. Ranatunga that the President would not interfere in the affairs of the Cricket Board and pointed out that she did not use her influence to back her uncle Clifford Ratwatte's candidacy two years ago.

Mr. Ranatunga also told this member that he had not been given an opportunity to go before the Board's disciplinary committee. But the member told Mr. Ranatunga that he had been informed of an inquiry through telephone calls and through registered posts but the board received no reply.

The Cricket Board has now decided to grant Mr. Ranatunga time till March 2 to take a decision.

While the board is taking a tough stand against Dhammika Ranatunga, it is trying to woo Arjuna Ranatunga with Mr. Sumathipala offering the former captain a match referee assignment. Arjuna Ranatunga after giving it much thought had said he would consider the offer and inform the board of his decision. But the Board has not received any response from Mr. Ranatunga.

Mr. Sumathipala has laid down one condition — Arjuna Ranatunga should give it in writing that he is willing to take up this post. Mr. Ranatunga is having second thoughts about the offer. He probably does not want to be in the camp of Mr. Sumathipala whom the Ranatungas were trying to oust.

Mr. Sumathipala who has created more enemies than friends in his march towards success is an ambitious man. He is now eyeing the ICC top post. Whether he will succeed in this endeavour has yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, a group promoting Mr. Bandaranaike's candidacy hosted him to dinner last week at the residence of Upali Dharmadasa, a one-time president of the Cricket Board when Mr. Sumathipala held the vice-president's post. There were several cricketers representing more than 20 clubs at this meeting. Mr. Bandaranaike said he liked the assignment but on condition that he is uncontested.

Mr. Bandaranaike knew that any contest would erode the confidence placed by the people in him. He became the Speaker of the House uncontested. So he believes he should be elected to other posts as well uncontested.

Mr. Bandaranaike said he would also like to speak to Mr. Sumathipala on the matter.

The Dharmadasa camp had supported the candidature of Clifford Ratwatte. On that occasion the matter went before a court after allegations of malpractice at the Cricket Board elections. But now in Mr. Bandaranaike they have found a more powerful candidate acceptable to both the UNP and the PA.

There were rumours last week that Mr. Sumathipala would step down to pave the way for Mr. Bandaranaike.

While the battle for the Cricket Board presidency is assuming a bigger proportion, the political battle between two ministers from the hills is hotting up with President Kumaratunga appointing a retired Supreme Court judge to probe the allegations and counter allegations by the two PA bigwigs.

During the campaign and in the wake of last year's general elections, PA General Secretary and Minister D.M. Jayaratne accused Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte of indulging in malpractices in the Kandy district from where the two heavyweights contested. Not only Mr. Jayaratne, but Minster Rauf Hakeem also blamed Mr. Ratwatte's supporters for the malpractice and violence in the district. However, despite these allegations, Gen. Ratwatte was given the ministerial portfolio and the powerful deputy defence minister post. Soon he took control of the SLFP Kandy district office as its leader. And made these successes a platform to take on Mr. Jayaratne.

He charged Mr. Jayaratne had brought disrepute to the party by making an open allegation against him. He said if there were any allegations they could have been discussed at party level. The President has now decided to probe both allegations and counter allegations by these politicians. She has reportedly written to Mr. Jayaratne indicating that she would be appointing a retired Supreme Court Judge to inquire into the allegations and counter allegations.

Minister Jayaratne had written to the President requesting her to appoint a committee of three retired judges representing the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities.

At the weekly meeting of the ministers, Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella submitted a memorandum which seeks to preclude coaches from holding positions in sports bodies. Former Sports Minister S. B. Dissanayake opposed this suggestion but some other ministers saw the positive side of it.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake who chaired the meeting at this stage appointed a committee comprising Lakshman Kiriella, S. B. Dissanayake, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and Mahinda Rajapakse to further study this proposal and make recommendations to the government.

When the President took the chair, she took up the new school admission policy to be implemented from next year. She appointed a committee headed by Education Minister Susil Premjayanth to study the new admission scheme devised by the National Educational Council. According to the scheme, a large percentage of the admission to Grade One in public schools will be done on a random selection of applications while the other 50 percent will be allocated to children of old pupils and government servants and siblings of present students. Only four per cent will be admitted on an area basis and they would have to live within a radius of 500 metres from the school. The committee met on Thursday and decided to implement the proposals from next year.

In the opposition UNP, there appears to be problems in the rank and file. Insiders ask whether these squabbles have now come to the open after UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe spoke about them at the parliamentary group meeting last week.

"It is all right by any means to have rivalry in the party. Any party is bound to have this kind of squabbles. You should not go beyond the limit. It will affect the unity of the party," the UNP leader told the MPs.

His words could be a danger signal to many UNPers who are involved in internal fights and bickering over petty issues. But it has now grown out of proportion which could break the party into various camps.

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