The Political Column

16th January 1999

Crossover circus in the balance

By our Political Correspondent

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The government's attack on the independent media has come under some criticism from many civic-conscious people.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga in her January 3 talkathon on state TV took media personnel to task using a language that was questioned even by those who voted for her.

The President's attack was aimed at journalists, some of whom at one stage had a good working relationship with her. But now it appears that the President's statement has been taken by the state media as an open licence to hit all round the wicket.

The state media takes an almost daily swipe at journalists who are not toeing the government line. The Editors Guild which met on Tuesday to discuss this problem at length saw the barrage of attacks on the independent media as an impending danger on media freedom in Sri Lanka.

Some analysts point out that the government-media relationship had been rather strained under SLFP-led administrations. It all began when in 1964 the government of Sirima Bandaranaike attempted to introduce a press council bill to curb the independent media. This eventually caused the downfall of the SLFP government when some SLFP MPs headed by C.P. de Silva crossed over to the opposition. The press bill came to a halt.

Though some of the present day politicians described it as a back-stabbing by some defectors, it showed that in the'60s politicians who were elected to the august assembly held democratic principles aloft. The press in the 1960s was vibrant enough even to bring down governments but things are different today. Politicians who fight for democratic principles are a rarity today. Most of the politicians today are driven by self-serving interests — a phenomenon that is observed in the past four decades. The reasons attributed to this unhealthy change in the political culture are the events that took place in 1962, 1971, 1983 and 1987.

In 1962, we saw the country's first coup aimed at overthrowing the legally elected government of Sirima Bandaranaike. It was aborted and those responsible were charged with treason. Later, they were released by the Privy Council.

The second government of Ms. Bandaranaike which was elected in 1970 made arrangements to introduce an autochthonous constitution breaking away from constitutional links with Britain.

But before the 1972 constitution was promulgated, we saw the JVP uprising which could be described as the second major political event after the 1962 coup.

The 1972 constitution helped Ms. Bandaranaike to extend the term of her government by two years without the consent of the people. These developments made politics a tough game in Sri Lanka.

With the 1978 constitution and the communal riots that took place, the J.R. Jayewardene era brought about new dimensions to Sri Lankan politics.

The emergence of the LTTE as a militant group in the north further changed the political landscape of the country, bringing in gun-culture to the Sri Lankan politics. The new constitution and the election laws banned crossovers and the right to parliamentarians to vote according to their conscience was taken away.

However, the Jayewardene regime made an exception through the second amendment to the constitution, enabling new members to crossover to the government benches. This amendment only provided for one-way traffic — from the opposition to the government. The bill was introduced mainly to facilitate the crossover of C. Rajadurai. However, the amendment was restricted only to the first parliament under the 1978 constitution.

Today, the government of President Kumaratunga is trying to revalidate the same provisions in a bid to encourage more dissident UNPers to crossover to the government side. The government is justifying the move on grounds that it is being tried to achieve a good end — to push the constitutional reforms through parliament and end the ethnic conflict. It is learnt, some MPs from both sides of the divide were ready to support this bill provided that the life of parliament is extended through a referendum. If the President manages to obtain the required two thirds majority to pass the crossover bill in parliament, political wisdom could demand that she extend the life of parliament rather than go for fresh elections which could also mean fresh problems.

The dissident group of the UNP was busy last week canvassing the support of UNP MPs for the crossover bill. Susil Moonesinghe, Sarath Amunugama and Wijeyapala Mendis played a prominent role in trying to bring in UNP votes.

Mr. Moonesinghe has gone to the extent of hosting a dinner to some UNP MPs in this regard. One UNP MP who has decided to back the crossover bill met UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to inform him of the decision. Mr. Wickremesinghe told him that if the government wanted the UNP support, it should have approached the party directly and officially. Had such an invitation come, the UNP working committee would have taken a decision.

The government is confident that it can muster the required strength with the help of some UNP MPs, but its main worry at the moment seems to be the stance of the SLMC and other minority parties such as the TULF, EPDP and the PLOTE. These parties are said to be opposing the move.

Analysts say the SLMC's opposition stems largely from its belief that its clout with the government could erode if the government is able to ensure a working majority without its support. Other minority parties may also be entertaining a similar fears.

SLMC leader M. H. M. Ashraff expressed reservations about the crossover bill when he met the President recently.

Taking a cue from the SLMC, the UNP also says why should it support such a bill when a constituent party of the PA itself is opposing it. In the circumstances, it is unlikely that the crossover bill would be tabled in parliament on Tuesday. The delay in presenting the bill in the meantime has placed the fate of the UNP rebels in the balance.

This does not mean the PA is giving up. It is continuing its efforts to get the required number of votes. But analysts believe that though the minortiy parties were opposing the bill, they may back the government at the right time.

In this backdrop, Mr. Moonesinghe made a surprise visit to the Park Road residence of the UNP MP and Hambantota strongman Mervyn Silva. Explaining the modus operandi, Mr. Moonesinghe told him that the life of parliament would be extended for two years through a referendum if the UNPers backed the bill.

Claiming that eleven UNP MPs would be supporting this bill, Mr. Moonesinghe invited Mr. Silva for dinner with some of these UNPers. Mr. Silva responded positively. His response should be seen in view of ground realities in his Hambantota electorate. He feels his position is threatened by Sajith Premadasa, son of former president R. Premadasa. He is probably thinking that the only way to keep Mr. Premadasa out of parliament is to support the crossover bill and thereafter the referendum to extend the life of parliament.

Mr. Silva and six other UNP MPs went to Mr. Moonesinghe's house for dinner. They were Susantha Punchinilame, Vincent Perera, Upul Amarasiri, Nihal Bakmeewawa, Chandradasa Galappathi and Ariyapala Walpitagama. At the Moonesinghe residence were Wijeyapala Mendis and Nanda Mathew.

The dissident group told the newcomers that it was their duty to support the government when the country was going through a crisis.

Apart from Mr. Galappathi and Mr. Bakmeewawa, the others supported the idea. Some of them however, pointed out that the UNP should discuss this matter at Siri Kotha on Friday while one MP said that they had been advised by chief opposition Whip W.J.M. Lokubandara that they should stick together as a party rather than splitting into various groups. He said if they wanted to support the bill, they should first inform the party leader. Thus the dinner meeting ended without these MPs making a firm commitment.

It is now said that Mr. Silva soon after the dinner had met with some of the UNP top-rung members. He also met UNP advisor Bodhi Ranasinghe and explained his position and problems he was facing in Hambantota. As a compromise formula, he is suggesting that Mr. Premadasa is appointed to parliament on the national list while he is given the total control of Hambantota.

Later, Mr. Ranasinghe at a dinner hosted by him to some twenty UNP members, told them to thrash out their problems. After a frank discussion, most of the members thought that they should not support the bill without informing the party leadership.

As a sequel to this, Mr. Silva and several others met the UNP leader separately. Mr. Wickremesinghe told them if the UNP MPs wanted to support the government's move, they should take a decision after discussing it at a parliamentary group meeting.

Mr. Wickremesinghe was diplomatic when talking to the members on the issue. They are now scheduled to meet on Monday to decide whether they should support the bill.

Also linked to this crossover bill matter is complaints made by some UNPers about the manner the party led the campaign at the presidential polls.

Two parliamentarians from the Ratnapura district have complained to the party leader about the undercurrents that hindered their progress at the elections. They said they were unable to face another election under the prevailing conditions and they wanted to support the government on the crossover bill.

In another development, UNP's Polonnaruwa parliamentarian Rukman Senanayake met Mr. Wickremesinghe. Mr. Senanayake, who had also been critical of the party machinery, is said to be advocating the concept of a national government.

As it stands today, a referendum to extend the life of parliament is likely. Most of the parliamentarians are comfortable with this idea which if implemented would be a victory for the UNP rebels.

The crossover bill is expected to be presented in parliament before February 6- the legal deadline for a supreme court decision regarding the expulsion of the UNP rebles.

Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva who headed the bench along with Justices Ameer Ismail and Shirani Bandaranayake in this case to determine whether the expulsion of the dissidents from the UNP is justified has now withdrawn. He has asked Justice Ranjith Amerasinghe to head the Bench.

While Mr. Wickremesinghe is trying to keep his party together, the government is said to be determined to split the UNP — a retaliation of a sort for what the UNP did to the SLFP after 1977. The objective of such a move is for the SLFP to win the general elections with much ease. But the UNP being well established, it is unlikely that any split could veer the voters away from the main block.

According to the general voting patterns, the UNP has a big chunk of voters behind it. At the recent presidential poll, 43 percent of the voting population threw their weight behind the UNP.

But what the ruling party strategists do not realize is that the UNP's setback is only temporary. What the UNP requires at the moment is revitalisation of the party with a new outlook and a vision which could propel the UNP engine again into action. People should be made to understand that a strong opposition is a vital part of any vibrant democracy. But this does not mean an opposition that would oppose everything for the sake of opposing.

If the UNP is not for a national government, the people expect it to adopt consensual politics instead of confrontational politics to solve the country's problems.

The importance of an independent and free media cannot be negated. It is unfortunate that the government has launched an attack on the free press. The Editors Guild, too, says that the government should not bludgeon the free press and eventually "kill the messenger."

If the government feels that the media are unfair in their criticism, methods that are practised in vibrant democracies such as Britain could be used to deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, the conspiracy theory put forward by the government alleging that certain businessmen and two editors were involved in a plot to assassinate the president reminds people of the 1982 scenario of the J.R. Jayewardene government.

The UNP unearthed an alleged Naxalite plot in 1982. Citing this plot, the UNP government moved against its political opponents. Vijaya Kumaratunga, the late husband of President Kumaratunga was in custody for months under a detention order in this connection.

No Naxalites are present in the conspiracy of which the PA alleges. Instead, there was the LTTE. The government, it appears, is trying to link some elements opposed to it in the south with the LTTE in the assassination plot.

In a separate development, the government is now contemplating handing over 2 1/2 acres of prime land in the port to set up a flour mill similar to the Prima Flour Mill in Trincomalee. The area has been earmarked and orders have come down to the Ports Authority to remove a historic statue of former prime minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike from the site.

Mr. Bandaranaike's statue was set up in the port in recognition of his efforts to nationalise the ports in Sri Lanka in 1956.

In another development, Sports Minister S. B. Dissanayake had made a political speech at the opening of the under 19 youth world cup cricket tournament. Diplomats present on the occasion are said to have been taken by surprise at the outburst of Mr. Dissanayake. He has made it a real political occasion and the invitees seemed to be disturbed.

However, Speaker K.B. Ratnayake came to the rescue of the government and made a well balanced speech.

Beside all these, a decision taken by the authorities not to allow the ministers to enter the premises of Temple Trees, the official residence of the president, in their own cars had created ripples in government circles.

The new arrangement is that all ministers and officials entering Temple Trees would have to go through a shuttle service from a point near the entrance. All these steps have been taken as security precautions.

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