We have always rendered a silent service to the young people of this land.
In the days of President J.R. Jayewardene, we did our best to solve problems relating to the youth. Edwin Ariyadasa knows well all the details of what we have been able to do in this regard, it was because Edwin Ariyadasa translated into English the letter I sent to President Jayewardene.
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| Ven. Galboda Siri Gnanissara Nayaka Maha Thera |
We convinced the President that youth unrest was brought about because their problems were not being addressed and solved. We made it clear to the President that what had to be done was not punishing the youth but helping dispel their fears and frustrations.
His reaction was positive. This ushered in a wholesome era for our country.
We never performed this service with praise or glory in mind. This was done entirely because it is the responsibility of the members of the Clergy.
Premadasa’s battle
An opportunity arose for Prime Minister Premadasa to contest the Presidency. The restlessness in the country and the downturn in the economy actually helped him to achieve success.
Still, youth unrest and the antipathy to the State were great obstacles to his candidacy.
Print media steps in
I recall an instance when the Government took steps to print a photograph showing those victimized by terrorists. Lake House accepted the responsibility to print this photograph but, the employees were reluctant to do this, fearing for their lives.
They tried the Youth Service Council. That too was in vain. A good devotee of mine and a very good friend of mine met me about this matter.
Many knew that anyone other than this friend would be given short shrift if they approached me on this matter. At his request, it was printed by the intervention of the trainees of the Sri Jinaratana Vocational Training Centre, Gangaramaya.
This was printed in hundreds of thousands, right in the open. General Parami Kulatunga, who fell a victim to a bomb, assumed the responsibility to distribute it.
An order was issued, prior to the Presidential Election that people should not step out of their houses to cast their votes.
Fear psychosis
But, my friend met me again. He brought along the following message: “The prohibition is cancelled. Go and cast your Vote.” Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.
Neither the State nor the whole of the Private Sector had the power to print this Order Paper. We performed this difficult task that no other could do. Under the leadership of Mr. Sirisena Cooray, this Order Paper was pasted all over the island in the night before the dawn of the next day.
The outcome of this was that the people, who had been afraid to step out of their houses, went out and voted and made Mr. Premadasa the President.
IPKF in Sri Lanka
Developments took place leading to the Indian Army coming over to Sri Lanka in a manner which was felt undermined the unitary state of the country. This set the whole country ablaze. The people of the country protested against this, irrespective of race, religion or political partisanship. We launched a ‘black flag campaign’ in Colombo as a protest against this Agreement. This was not opportunism but because of our genuine love for our country.
Possible deathknell of the UNP
At this time, Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa returned to Sri Lanka after his visit to China, exactly the day before the visit of India’s Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to Sri Lanka.
Many UNP members presented reasons to convince Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa why he should break away from the UNP and form a separate front, as the situation was propitious for such a move.
Many people were keen to see Prime Minister Premadasa breaking away from the UNP. But, we had the good fortune to protect the Party and Mr. Premadasa preventing him from falling into this trap.
Had it not been for this, that would have been the day the nail was driven into the coffin of the UNP.
Peaceful progression
Only a handful of persons worked with the farsightedness that the UNP should remain a major Party in this country. Many speak today about the effort made by Prime Minister Premadasa to build peace and economic stability in the country. But it was not always so.
Had it not been for the effort he made to repatriate the Indian Army, at that time, there could have been a permanent presence of a foreign army on our soil. Mr. Premadasa succeeded in persuading the LTTE in various ways to achieve this. But, at the end of it all, the honorific he was given was that ‘He supplied arms to the LTTE.’ Finally, he too fell a victim to the LTTE.
Premadasa’s demise
On that day, the Right Reverend Chief Prelates and I were in Singapore participating at a ceremony. Since I had a premonition that he might be in some danger that day, I made several telephone calls to reach him. I gave some instructions to his Private Secretary F.D. Balasuriya, but Mr. Premadasa never heeded any of those.
The assassination of Minister Lalith Athulathmudali was also done through shrewd stratagems. Since the responsibility for this assassination was attributed to President Premadasa, he was distraught. We knew that he was not in the right state of mind to make correct decisions at that time.
The terrorists, resorting to stratagems, got men like Babu to settle down at the President’s residence. Many are the lives they victimized this way.
Wijetunga’s bonanza
President Wijetunga who shone in the post of Prime Minister that fell into his lap and later as President, did not spend a 10 cents stamp to get these two posts and did not incur any expenditure to obtain these posts.
This was his great fortune. It was also the dawn of the misfortune of the UNP.
Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who had got close to President Wijetunga, shrewdly got him to dissolve the Southern Provincial Council, it was placed in the hands of the Opposition at the time.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was the top contender to be the UNP’s Presidential candidate, was displaced. Gamini Dissanayake who had formed another party, leaving the UNP, re-appeared. J.R. Jayewardene, who was a free citizen at this time, giving up the membership of the party, was also brought into the fray. Mr. Dissanayake was to be the chosen candidate.
The LTTE terrorists destroyed Mr. Dissanayake as well.
Part 2 next week
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