Political Column

Political Column

A presidential home truth
By Our Political Editor
The Presidential lunch at Temple Trees for the VIP visitor was elaborately planned but former United States President Bill Clinton arrived late. He was locked in conversation with former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarartunga, who cast aside protocol, to call on him at a suite in the Hilton Hotel. On hand with her was billionaire businessman Harry Stassen Jayewardena.

A cross section of the country's political leadership was waiting for Clinton to lunch. But there was an absentee - former President Kumaratunga. In fact, she was not among the invitees. There was Tamil National Alliance leader, R. Sampanthan, JVP's Somawansa Amerasinghe, Wimal Weerawansa, Jathika Hela Urumaya's Champaka Patali Ranawaka, EPDP's Douglas Devananda and UNP's Karu Jayasuriya among others. The businessmen present included Harry Stassen Jayawardena and Kumar Devapura of Tri Star Apparels.

In the middle of the dining table was a decoration that had all the parts of a coconut tree. In front of the chairs that lay lined up, were small silver ornamental elephants. "We see Aliyas even here," remarked UNP deputy leader, Karu Jayasuriya. It drew a quick retort from JVP's Wimal Weerawansa. He said that they had been kept to be eaten. Those jokes apart, Jayasuriya cleverly dodged a string of questions posed to him about the crisis within the United National Party.

As Bill Clinton arrived, they rushed straight into lunch. He had another engagement waiting - fly to the East before the weather takes a bad turn. Damsels in reddai - hetta (cloth and jacket) walked in rows carrying hoppers, katta sambol and seeni sambol. There appeared to be some confusion in Bill Clinton's mind about how to handle the hopper. Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was seated to his left and Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera (Minister in attendance) to the right.
He then saw a guest breaking a hopper and followed suit. Later Mangala explained what hoppers were and how it is eaten.

Clinton's attention went to Wimal Weerawansa. He asked Samaraweera who that young man was. Evidently he stood out among the elder crowd. He said it was the JVP parliamentary group leader. He also pointed to Somawansa Amerasinghe and said he was their leader.

The second course, mixed vegetables were served on a betel leaf placed on a plate. Karu Jayasuriya caught the opportunity. He told a JVP colleague seated next to him "Ha, there comes the Bulath Kolay. Looks like we have to eat that too."

Before tea or coffee could be served, Clinton got up to leave. As he moved away from the dining table, he noticed a portrait of the Rajapakse family. This prompted Clinton to ask Rajapakse "where is your wife?" The President explained that since Senator Hilary, Clinton's wife was not there, protocol officials did not feel his wife should be present. Later, Samaraweera was to point out that this practice should be changed.

When someone visits your home, our tradition is for the main occupant and the wife to greet them. We must follow that tradition," the bachelor Minister told Rajapakse. Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was to make a crack at that point. "Since we have not told Madam Rajapakse to attend the dinner, we have not told Madam Kumaratunga too," he said. If he was active during previous Clinton visits to Janadipathi Mandiraya, businessman Harry Stassen Jayawardena appeared subdued and withdrawn this time round.

In the meantime, Kumaratunga, as usual, was blowing hot and cold once again. This time about vacating the Janadipathi Mandiraya. She had now set her eyes on the official residence of the former Foreign Minister, late Lakshman Kadirgamar. At that residence, Mrs. Suganthie Kadirgamar, was emptying Mr. Kadirgamar's upstair office and planning to leave. President Rajapakse had learnt of it and sent word asking her to remain and not to leave. But Suganthie Kadirgamar, who learnt that Kumaratunga was in a mighty hurry, did not feel good staying behind. It seemed the sacrifices her great husband made were of no avail.

First lady Shiranthi Rajapakse had telephoned Suganthie Kadirgamar and wanted to call on her. The latter however said that it should be she who should call on her, and visited Temple Trees, instead. There she met with both President Rajapakse and his wife. The conversation at one point centred on the house. President Rajapakse said she should not leave the Wijerama Road residence. He said he and his Government had recognised the great contribution made by the late Mr. Kadirgamar.

Later, at Temple Trees, President Rajapakse also invited Sri Lanka Freedom Party district leaders for a discussion and dinner. He wanted to thank them for their support during last month's presidential elections. Minister Fernandopulle hit out at many SLFPers, whom he said, played a double game. In reality, he said, they did not extend any support to Rajapakse. Only a handful had worked wholeheartedly. "If not for the JVP, we will not be meeting here today. They enabled Rajapakse's victory," he said.

President Rajapakse said victory did not fall on his lap. He said there were lot of obstacles. What they did to Hector Kobbekaduwa, they did to me but I was able to overcome it. The former Agriculture and Lands Minister faced two challengers, the mighty UNP in front of him, and part of the SLFP which included Anura Bandaranaike & Co., behind him.

He was defeated very badly, and to add insult to injury when he went to vote at the Referendum on the extension of Parliament shortly thereafter, somebody even impersonated his vote. He died shortly thereafter, a broken man.

This week, Kumaratunga was determined that she should appoint herself to fill the vacancy caused in Parliament by the death of Lakshman Kadirgamar. Parliamentariana Mervyn Silva met to persuade her not to do so. He said if the matter comes up before the Central Committee, she would lose all the votes except his own. Similarly, if it came up before the Parliamentary Group, she could only count on his vote, Silva told Kumaratunga. "And I won't be there either," said Kumaratunga. Then, she added, "I will get Reginold Cooray appointed. He is having a lot of trouble with the JVP at the Western Provincial Council."

So, at the next Central Committee meeting she wants to get the name of Reginold Cooray proposed for the vacant seat in Parliament. Clearly, Kumaratunga is not giving in. She wants to now oppose Rajapakse's nominee, Dulles Allahaperuma, whom he wants desperately to appoint as Deputy Defence Minister.

Kumaratunga also chose to address the nation using the occasion of her exit from the Janadipathi Mandiraya as the reason. She had asked crew from the state run Rupavahini and the ITN to come over to record her speech. It soon dawned on senior officials at Temple Trees that Kumaratunga had no right whatsoever to address the nation. That was the prerogative of the President of the Republic, not of every former President. She was now a former President. Officials ruled that no live broadcast would be allowed and chose to wait till the recording was done. The word was sent around.

Now Kumaratunga turned to a private TV channel, for years one that had earned her ire. On November 30 they announced that an address to the nation would be broadcast on their channel at 7.30 pm. The address was not ready and hence it was not aired. Kumaratunga had by then only concluded her English speech. It ran the next day in this private channel. State media only made a fleeting reference to what she said. There was a humorous occasion at one point.

She charged some leftist parties opposed devolution of power (an obvious reference to the JVP because most leftist parties otherwise support devolution). Just then her pet dog's barking partially drowned her speech. A leading JVP er was to remark later that even her dog disagreed.
For Kumaratunga, the reality that she is no longer President appears to have still not dawned. Yesterday, she wanted the Sri Lanka High Commission in London to deny a UK newspaper report that she had purchased a Royal mansion and two flats in Paris. Government officials said since she was not the President, she had no right to give such directives. They said she should have made representations to the President or the Foreign Minister who had the authority to do so.

An avalanche of issues is confronting Kumaratunga. There is the question of her wanting more and more official houses and staff, she is yet to vacate the President's House, and it’s not that she does not have a place to go to. She has a house at Rosmead Place, and one at Attanagalla, but they seem not good enough for someone who has enjoyed the comfort of the President's House.

But arguably the biggest snow-storm gathering is how she virtually wrote her own cheques on the eve of the Presidential Elections, to the tune of Rs. 600 million for a Trust of which she is the Founder.

In the meantime, President Rajapakse began buckling down to running his new Administration. He invited all Colombo based diplomats for a briefing on his initiative especially towards the peace process. Accustomed to long years of taking their own cool times for scheduled meetings with the President of Sri Lanka, and then cooling their heals nevertheless waiting to be met, these diplomats, or some of them at least turned up late.

Rajapakse did not bother to wait for them, and rightly so. At the meeting, he made an important ground-breaking announcement. Something even the former populist peoples President Ranasinghe Premadasa did not do.
He said that in the future, when he speaks at such occasions, he would speak in the Sinhala language.

He said that Sinhala was his Mother tongue. There would, however, be a translator, he said, who would translate what he says into the English language. He said that he would do this on all important functions, and that he would be doing it as a matter of policy. The 1956 S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike 'Sinhala Only' policy, it seems, has now borne fruit.

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