Mahinda the humanist
President Mahinda Rajapaksa
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POLITICS: I was born to a small time business family and my father at
that time owned a few lorries and vans.
From the time I came to know about politics and politicians I was an
UNPer, not by conviction but almost by birthright. I was a Sinhala
Buddhist because my parents were and I was an UNPer because my father
was one.
The Atapattus and Edirisooriyas, who represented the UNP, were family
friends. I also came to know of the Rajapaksas of Medamulla Waluawa in
Walasmulla. D.A. Rajapaksa, George and Lakshman were representatives of
the SLFP.
What amazed me was that Atapattu, being a decent old man, was always
defeated at the elections except on two occasions and Edirisooriya
suffered the same fate, winning only once. I as a child could not
understand why the people continuously voted for the Rajapaksas.
Thereafter, I came to know Mahinda, first as a law student and then
as a lawyer at Thivanka Wickremasinghe's Chambers. Mahinda was a good
friend of a friend of mine and we used to have our meals at Denzil
Gunaratne's place.
After some time I came to know that Mahinda was arrested in
connection with an incident of election violence connected to the
Mulkirigala by-election. He was remanded and charged with murder. We
were all disturbed as we knew it was a fabrication cooked up by the
government to stifle Mahinda's political future.
Tivanka and Denzil trekked to Matara to defend Mahinda, who at that
time had won many friends, not only in the Private Bar, but also in the
Official Bar. JRJ had wanted the best team of lawyers available in the
Attorney General's Department, at that time, to prosecute. But, most of
them refused the brief on personal grounds and Mahinda must thank his
lucky stars that we at that time had a Judiciary which was independent
of the Executive.
JRJ had absolute power then with a two third majority and often
boasted that he could do anything except change a man to woman and vice
versa. But there was another thing that he, with all his powers could
not do even if he tried and that was to control the Judiciary as the
Judges at that time were strongly independent.
Mahanama Tillekeratne heard the case at the Magistrate's Court and
after the Non-summary hearing, Mahinda was discharged. All efforts made
thereafter to indict him failed as the Attorney General steadfastly
refused to interfere with the order of the learned Magistrate. The fate
of the entire country would definitely have been changed had the
Judiciary of that time been politically biased.
In 1987, when the country was slowly slipping into the abyss,
considered to be the worst period in the political history of Sri Lanka,
I happened to be the Assistant Secretary of the Bar Association.
The JVP insurgency had once again begun and it was a period where no
one paid any attention or had any respect for life. On the pavements and
roads, in rivers and fields one could see partly burnt bodies eaten by
dogs and crows. People had completely lost their feeling of shock and
dismay and accepted it all as a natural day-to-day happening.
During that time I met a lawyer from Walasmulla whose name was
Wijedasa Liyanarachchi. He was the only lawyer who could articulate any
argument in fluent Sinhalese and for the first time I was fortunate to
hear the most difficult and complex legal arguments being presented in
pure and refined Sinhalese.
One day we heard that Wijedasa had been abducted from his boarding in
Nugegoda by unidentified persons. I immediately met Ranjith Abeysuriya
PC, who was Wijedasa's senior and we together frantically phoned all
authorities who denied any knowledge of the abduction.
Then Mahinda came to Ranjith's and told us that he had received
confidential information that Wijedasa was taken by Udugampola and his
gang to one of their safe houses in Tangalle. We immediately informed
the Inspector General of Police about our findings and wanted him to
order that Wijedasa be brought back to Colombo. But this did not happen.
Instead we heard that he had been taken to Sapugaskanda.
The Next day we received a call that Wijedasa had been murdered and
his body dumped at the Colombo morgue.
It was early in the morning and I rushed to the morgue after
obtaining permission to see the body. Everyone was trembling in fear and
even the man in charge of the morgue was shocked as they did not want
anyone to know that the body was there. I phoned Mahinda and but could
not reach him. Later when I spoke to him and said that Wijedasa was
killed and I heard him break down on the phone.
I do not know if he cried but his voice spoke volumes of the sorrow
he felt. He asked me what I was going to do and I replied that we would
move a resolution condemning the act. But he said "Every month the Bar
Association moves a resolution condemning killings but they continue."
He said that we had to do something different to get the message across
and I said I would consult the rest to get their views.
The BASL decided to give Wijedasa the highest honour and one which
had so far not been afforded to any other. It was decided to keep his
body at the BASL Headquarters, a plan approved by all.
We informed Jayaratna Florists to take extra precautions to keep what
we had planned secret. They took the body to Kalubowila near the Colombo
South Teaching Hospital and the next we heard was that it had been
forcibly removed from there and taken to Walasmulla.
This caused agitation amongst the membership and though some had
reservations about the government's hand in the affair and others
believed he was killed due to his being a politburo member of the JVP,
no one condoned what the Government had done.
It was later found that the body was removed at the insistence of a
great leader of the Bar association to prevent, in his words,
"Desecration of the Bar Association Headquarters."
The members revolted against it and decided to take an empty coffin
to the BASL Hq so that people could protest against the action of the
government. We inspired the lawyers to boycott Court and the members of
all Bar Associations came out and protested.
The next day Mahinda came to the Bar Association and spoke to me. He
was distraught but he was a fearless young man who was not ready to
compromise for the sake of the profession. He asked me to accompany him
to Walasmulla to bring Wijedasa's body back. I never stopped to think of
the repercussions and the danger or even that we could also be killed
and agreed to take the risk.
When we neared Kalutara Mahinda phoned home and was informed that the
army had surrounded the residence and was stopping all from going near
the coffin. Someone from thee Bar Association, who gave preference to
the political party in power than to his profession, had leaked out our
plans to the government. We returned to Colombo thoroughly disheartened.
This angered the membership so much that they all turned up in their
numbers to go to Walasmulla for the funeral.
A number of buses carrying lawyers from the entire country proceeded
to Walasmulla. On the way we told to stop at the Tangalle Rest house for
lunch which Mahinda hosted for all.
I never thought that he ever wanted to use that to gain political
mileage. He was being a good Southerner and treated his guest with Rice
and curry and Kiri, Peni as victuals.
Thereafter Mahinda was re-elected to Parliament and he was a friend
to all. He strongly detested the government's hand in the 1983 riots and
when one talks to him about it he would pour out his heart and soul and
tell you of his sorrow over the human rights abuses that occurred at
that time.
The only other politician to come to the BASL at that time was Nimal
Siripala De Silva another who deplored human rights abuses. I do not
think a human rights activist who strongly opposed dastardly acts
against human beings could metaphase into a different person.
During the last Presidential elections I supported Mahinda Rajapaksa
for many reasons but the main reason was that in 1994, we and several
other advocated the joining of the two major parties to solve the
national crisis. But Chandrika and Ranil only paid lip service to this
suggestion.
We believed that even Prabhakaran could be accommodated as Prime
Minister under the Leadership of one of them but not the other from the
southern divide. Such was the fate of southern people in the country.
There could never be consensus, compromise and conciliation. JR tried
to join the SLFP and was opposed, Premadasa tried and failed Chandrika
and Ranil both wanted absolute power and was not prepared to concede and
share power with the other.
Mahinda, always believed that there should not be any division. In
fact when he won the Hamabantota convincingly he should have been the
automatic choice for premiership, when there were backroom manoeuvres to
install Lakshman Kadirgamar as Prime Minister the UNP was keen to
support Mahinda. Then I knew if there was anyone who could make these
parties to work together the only man was Mahinda.
He was sincere, and meant what he said and never had Machiavellian
political cuthroatism. Therefore I sincerely believed that he should
become the President both the UNP and the SLFP could join forces to iron
out a formula acceptable to all, including the minority, to put an end
to the unnecessary bloodletting and bloodshed that has been going on for
well over two decades.
Within a year of being elected President Mahinda has fulfilled part
of our dreams and brought together the two major political parties in
the country to find a solution to the nagging problem and his move has
been readily accepted by a majority in his own party.
I believe a solution to the ethnic conflict and the ushering in of
peace would be the greatest present Mahinda could give to the South and
for that matter the entire country.
It would bring back the smile on millions of now suffering faces. |