| The struggles within the main opposition United National Party (UNP) took a public appearance once again last week when an influential group of party members extended their support to the commencement of an islandwide campaign to “Safeguard and Secure victory for the UNP”.
The campaign, led by the likes of former UNP Chairman Rukman Senanayaka, former MPs Imtiaz Bakeer Markar and Western Provincial member Shiral Lakthilake, held its inaugural meeting in Colombo on Wednesday, where the list of invitees included Deputy Leader of the UNP Sajith Premadasa.Mr. Lakthilake said that the campaign is aimed at restoring democracy and accountability within the Party and installing a “marketable” leader.
Those who addressed the meeting had their own ideas of how best the Party should move forward, after the uneasy compromise that was reached at the UNP convention held in April, where Ranil Wickremesinghe was endorsed as the Party leader and Sagith Premadasa, who was threatening to challenge the leadership, taking a step back and accepting the post of Co Deputy leader along with MP Karu Jayasuriya.
Mr. Premadasa explained at the meeting that the reason he decided to take a few steps backwards and accept the post of Deputy Leader was due to requests made by several party seniors who said any challenge to the leadership would lead to a break up of the Party.
“I did it for the unity of the Party, but today, those who asked for reforms within the UNP are being hounded and treated in a vengeful manner,” he lamented.
The common grouse among many of the speakers at the meeting was that, while the UNP spoke against the 18th Amendment, called for transparency and accountability within the Government and asked for human rights and media freedom, none of these were put into practise within the Party.
“We ask for freedom of speech, but those who have aired differing opinions within the UNP have been marginalised,” former MP Bakeer Markar, who was recently removed from the Working Committee of the UNP, said.
He, along with MP Dunesh Gankanda, was allegedly removed from the Working Committee because they proposed the name of Moneragala MP Ranjith Maddumabandara to the post of national organiser. Subsequently, MP Ravi Karunanayaka was appointed to the post, but Mr. Premadasa said this has been done in contravention of the UNP Constitution.
Kurunegala district MP Dayasiri Jayasekera told those present that he was neither in the “Ranil camp” nor the “Sajith camp”, and would work for the success of the Party. “Our enemy is Mahinda Rajapaksa and not Ranil Wickremesinghe,” he said.
Fomer MP Rukman Senanayaka said that, unless there was a change in the leadership of the UNP, the Party would not succeed at future elections. “The people have rejected the present leader. If the UNP wants to win power, it has to have a new leader,” he said.
The next in this series of programmes will be held in Kandy and Anuradhapura. |
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