Marching orders for CBK
By Our Political Editor
During an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) just a month ago, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was asked whether she enjoys the trappings of power.

"Power is a joke," she shot back. "But it gives me the authority to do what I think I need to do to the country", she quickly clarified. Then, she embarked on one of her more famous attributes of running down others. This time it was the "selfish" Sri Lankan politicians. They had no care or concerns. Politics, she has long declared, was her family business. She was dedicated to fulfilling the mission they had embarked on to save the miserable people of this country.

Unfortunately for her, the TV interviewer, Michael Maher had separately asked the President's elder sister the same question, about her fondness for power, only to be told that sister Chandrika "thrives on it".

Maher had gone one step further and suggested to President Kumaratunga that Sri Lankans consider her to be the Eva Peron of Sri Lanka, the controversial First Lady of Argentina some decades ago. Kumaratunga parried the question with a "history will tell" answer.

Maher got off to air his programme, but before that he had also interviewed some others in Sri Lanka, one of whom was Fr. Harry Miller the well-known Jesuit priest in Batticaloa who compared Kumaratunga to the infamous French monarch, Louis XIV (1638-1715) who is debited with the infamous quote. "I am the State", when told to divest himself of full authoritarian rule and enter into a separation of powers.

Maher had ended his interview with the remark to Kumaratunga, "It seems to me that you have no intention of going anywhere". On Friday, how she wished she was "the State", that all laws flowed from her reign, and that there was no such thing called the separation of powers, with a judiciary. Her trusted Chief Justice was to give her marching orders. She must now go, by December 22, she must leave President's House (unless her successor allows her to stay). Maher is wrong, she must go.

For almost eleven years now, unbridled power and privilege came to Kumaratunga from the 1978 Constitution. In one of her many loquacious pursuits she once termed it the "Bahubootha Constitution", but now the joke seems to have misfired on her.

She tried to stick to that very 'Bahubootha Constitution' which of course she took oath not twice, but thrice to uphold, to cling on to another year. She unleashed her lawyers to argue on a comma in that 'Bahubootha Constitution' to remain in power for just another year.

After winning the Presidential elections in 1999, in the immediate aftermath of a dastardly attack on her life by the LTTE, she had a swearing-in for all the world to see. Later, she had another, a private purported swearing-in which the public came to know about more than a year later through 'an inspired leak', so to say.

Then, she declared that she would remain in power as President until 2006. All others who differed from her learned interpretation of the Constitution were chided publicly. Come what may, there would be no presidential polls in 2005, she declared with Presidential authority.

But on Friday, Chief Justice Sarath N. de Silva and four other judges of the Supreme Court declared unanimously that the presidential polls will have to be held this year. It came on a fundamental rights application filed by the Jathika Hela Urumaya's Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera. It came as one of the biggest blows to Kumaratunga's political career. In fact, it marked the virtual end of it, with other side-attempts like bringing in last ditch amendments through Parliamentary motions from ruling party MPs to abolish the Presidential system which she, promised to do on July 15, 1995 - ten long and turbulent years ago. All the back room campaigns and lobbying by billionaire businessmen and millionaire Lankan diplomats tasked with special assignments in Colombo, failed.

Alas, there were things even a seemingly all-powerful President could not do. Instead, her span as President has been reduced to just over three months. Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, summed up the outcome in just two sentences - "Feudalism is now on the wane. People's power is now being strengthened." It was another way of saying the curtains had come down on the era of the Bandaranaikes. The new SLFP appears to have had no objections to this statement.

Only two days earlier, the last of the Bandaranaikes, brother Anura, declared after his first formal visit to the Foreign Ministry, "people thought the Bandaranaike era was over." He said his appointment as Foreign Minister, following the assassination of late Lakshman Kadirgamar, made clear it was not. The remarks came after he inappropriately indulged in Kiribath, a traditional local meal of milk-rice usually reserved for joyous occasions. Here was one where the previous incumbent had been killed, in the service of our Motherland, and the country's First Diplomat feasts on kiribath, while half the Ministry staff throwup.

The SLFP's Running Mate of Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse, now in New Delhi, just three days after taking his oaths as Foreign Minister, has scheduled trips to Beijing, London, New York and Washington in the coming weeks, jet-dashing the world, shaking the paws of world leaders, and being photographed, while poor Rajapakse must press-the-flesh of the yakko voters back at home, and bring home the bread for his party.

Even whilst the Supreme Court was deliberating on Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera's application, Kumaratunga believed in what she wanted -- the presidential polls to be held in 2006. A committee tasked with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse's presidential campaign was meeting at the Janadipathi Mandiraya last week. As usual Kumaratunga was late.

The meeting began with many others in attendance. There was Rajapakse, his brother Basil, Maithripala Sirisena, Mangala Samaraweera, Anuruddha Ratwatte among others. It was Rajapakse who dropped a bombshell. During a discussion on the media campaign, he said the most hostile response was coming from the state-run media. That seemed like an attempt at sabotage. Showing concern was Mangala Samaraweera, now Chief Campaign Manager for Rajapakse assisted by the PM's brother, Basil.

Kumaratunga walked in and began to speak about the development projects under way. She said it would be more appropriate if the presidential elections be held in 2006. By then, the development projects would have reached fruition. Rajapakse requested Kumaratunga to release her aide Mano Tittawella for his campaign.

Kumaratunga said Tittawella was going abroad. She said Tara de Mel carried out her campaign. However, she too was going abroad. The exodus seems to have begun. She said that if Rajapakse wanted Tittawella, he should approach him directly, but that she could not assure his availability. Rajapakse aides viewed the Kumaratunga response as lukewarm to say the least, and not encouraging, to put it at best. She left the meeting before it ended.

Rajapakse then summoned a meeting of all state media heads for yesterday at 'Temple Trees', his official residence. Chief Campaign Manager Samaraweera was to be in attendance and the participants were to be told what line to toe during the election campaign. Someone had told Kumaratunga on Friday night about the impending meeting. Still in a state of shock from the Supreme Court ruling, she was furious. She ordered that none from the State media institutions should attend the Rajapakse briefing scheduled for yesterday. An irate state media head who had already thrown his lot with the Premier remarked "for how long more can she play this dirty game? Like a candle burning at both ends, her time is coming to an end. So will her authority."

But the biggest thorn in the flesh for Kumaratunga loyalists appears to be the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), and the worry that they were getting closer to Rajapakse. At many a meeting chaired by Samaraweera as Chief Campaign Manager, the issue surfaced. Kumaratunga loyalists argue Rajapakse will not be able to win if he allied himself with the JVP. Towards this end, State media is being geared to slam the JVP through talk shows and other programmes.

Premier Rajapakse had to raise issue personally with the Director General of state run Rupavahini, Nishantha Ranatunga. This was over complaints he received that the SLRC was being told to go hard at the JVP. Some of the issues, like the assault reportedly by JVP activists on a Tamil language, Sudar Oli journalist was detailed out. Rajapakse spoke to Deputy Media Minister Dilan Perera, and urged him not to do this. Later, the Deputy Minister raised issue with Nishantha Ranatunga. The latter replied "Sir, I don't even know this. I will find out what has happened."

Kumaratunga herself joined the fray. During two separate programmes on education reforms on Rupavahini, she slammed the JVP. Rajapakse aides say the not-so-subtle campaign which is now snowballing is to keep the JVP from forging an alliance with Rajapakse, a move they believe would make him a winner. But Kumaratunga loyalists argue that would see the beginning of the end of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

In this backdrop, Rajapakse was the chief guest at the National Volleyball Championships. President of the Volleyball Federation, Dilan Perera was present. So was the Deputy Minister of Sports, Sripathi Sooriyarachchi. The final contestants were the teams from Walasmulla (in the Beliatte electorate, hometown of Rajapakse) and Attanagalla (home town of Kumaratunga). When the latter team won, Perera made a light hearted crack that the team from Beliatte could not defeat the one from Attanagalla. The corollary to the joke was that the Rajapakses from Beliatte were no match for the Bandaranaikes in Attanagalla.

The conversation turned to the Kinihira chat show in the Swarnavahini TV channel scheduled for that night. Rajapakse asked "who is going from us." He was told it was MP Chandrasena who was present at the event. The PM called for Chandrasena and asked him not to go on a collision course with the JVP. The orders were obeyed. He and the JVP participant at the show did not criticise each other.

Astrology was also playing its role with the impending elections being billed to take place on November 10, a Thursday. Tomorrow, the Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake is to announce the date for the nominations. Astrologers say a Wednesday is the best polls day for Wickremesinghe whilst for Rajapakse they forecast Thursday as the best, though of course, Rajapakse has also indicated that November 18, his birthday would also be nice, though it's a Friday.

An event crucial to Rajapakse's candidature took place this week. It was a meeting of the committee named by the JVP's Central Committee to determine whether or not they should back Rajapakse's candidature. Chaired by party leader Somawansa Amerasinghe those taking part included Tilvin Silva, Wimal Weerawansa and Anura Dissanayake.

The Committee has formulated twelve demands which they want Rajapakse to concede in return for JVP support. One main demand is that he should denounce the P-TOMS (or the Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure) which Kumaratunga has signed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The JVP is to hold a news conference tomorrow to announce these demands. This is after the Central Committee meets today to deliberate in detail over these issues.

The JVP wants to hold at least two to three more rounds of talks with Premier Rajapakse to reach finality. If these demands are not heeded, the JVP wants to field its own candidate. The JVP has said they will not insist on Rajapakse making public announcements over these 12 demands. The major demand -- the withdrawal of P-TOMS -- awaits a determination of the Supreme Court. If it questions the illegality of some of the provisions therein, the issue will not be burdensome for Rajapakse. But in this regard, the JVP feels Rajapakse should make clear that it was politically wrong for the Government to have gone ahead with the P-TOMS agreement.

A flip side of a JVP rapprochement with Rajapakse, it is now clear, will be the departure of at least some SLFPers to the UNP side. These are the anti JVP elements who have already initiated preliminary soundings with the UNP leadership, as the traditional Sri Lankan political game of 'vaasi paththata hoiya', or jump on to the winning side, is played out.

The UNP leadership is clearly upbeat for the moment. Its Presidential candidate was to say "Round 1 has been won" soon after the Supreme Court verdict. Wickremesinghe has reason to savour that victory, because he took the initiative in spearheading a Long March to mobilise mass support for a 2005 poll, despite nursing a swollen-foot resulting from his walking -- and then, he made an uncharacteristically good and forceful speech at the culmination of that event.

He has taken another correct decision to campaign in the provinces, where UNP support has eroded over the years. And still another right decision he has taken is to keep his one-time front-liners away from the public eye, or at least distance himself from them. His security, while keeping a watchful eye for those who might want to harm him physically, might also be told, to keep at bay, the friendly fire from his party, who want to impress on others their closeness to him, and in the process, harm him politically.

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