Overcoming adversity
Rasika Somarathna
This
article is written based on the views expressed by Public Utilities
Commission Chairman Dr Jayatissa de Costa PC.
When Mahinda Rajapaksa entered Parliament in 1970 as its youngest
member he also became the youngest Lawyer MP in the house. Ever the
activist and man of initiative, he formed the SLFP Lawyers’ Association
in 1973. In the mid 1970s he began his practice as a lawyer. His main
interest was in criminal law. At times he appeared free for his clients
in courts. He was a fearless fighter for his client’s cause. Even at a
tender age, he was able to cope up well with the highly demanding
responsibilities of being a lawyer cum politician.
Dark days of the Opposition – 1977
In 1977 began the long period of political marginalization of the
SLFP after the UNP scored an unprecedented electoral victory, securing a
five-sixths majority in Parliament leading to a new constitution and the
creation of an Executive Presidency. Those were dark days for the
opposition. It was the hour for the stoic, the strong-willed and the
determined. That period saw the political brooding of President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, which included a three-month incarceration in the Magazine
Prison in 1985.
As the Deputy Chairman of SLFP Union in the 1970s, Rajapaksa did
yeomen service to the victims of political violence. He appeared free
for clients in courts. When the original split in the SLFP in the 1980s
took place he advised party President Sirimavo Bandaranaike and fought
to forge unity within the party in adverse times. He fought to restore
her civic rights under constitutional methods.
Dr Jayatissa de Costa PC |
He was a leading parliamentarian for Human Rights, and in the days of
grave human rights violations under the UNP government in 1988/89 took
the lead in agitating in defence of human rights, taking the issue
before the international community. He had the added responsibility of
being the Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee to foster human
rights during the period.
He also functioned as the Director of Human Rights and Legal Aid
Centre. He had many obstacles when he was to go to Geneva to present a
report before the Working Group of Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances; an ASP forcibly examined his baggage. He took into
custody some documents which were to be presented at the sessions.
However, this could not stop him from presenting a very effective report
before the committee. On his return he filed a fundamental rights
petition on the matter. Even though the court did not give any relief it
passed certain strictures.
He played a major role in mobilizing people’s action against the then
government, especially in defence of the democratic rights of the people
that were being gravely endangered. Among the campaigns he led was the
hugely successful Paada Yaathra, a pilgrimage of protest on foot from
Colombo to the southern shrine of Kataragama, which saw a massive
participation by the people; he also took the lead in organizing several
other public protest campaigns which laid the groundwork for the defeat
of the UNP government in the General Election in August 1994, and the
later election of Chandrika Kumaratunga of the SLFP as the fourth
Executive President in November the same year.
The Palestinian cause
It was with similar commitment and enthusiasm that he formed the Sri
Lanka committee for solidarity with Palestine in 1975 of which he
remained Chairman for 30 years. All throughout Rajapaksa used his legal
knowledge to good advantage. Fighting for the downtrodden earned him
international fame.
He returned to Parliament in 1989 and soon became the unwavering
voice of objection to all draconian measures adopted by the UNP regime,
organizing protests, demonstrations and all manner of agitation against
terror and political oppression. He was the voice of those robbed of a
voice, the strength to those rendered powerless, hope to those forced to
abandon hope.
Rajapaksa became the Labour, Vocational Training and Fisheries
Minister in President Kumaratunga’s Cabinet from 1994 to 2001. He was a
diploma holder in labour laws from the school of trade union studies,
Prague, Czechoslovakia. When he was appointed as the Labour Minister he
was eminently suitable.
He brought his experience in trade union activities to good use as
Minister of Labour and helped settle many a labour dispute both in the
public and private sectors. His close understanding of issues involving
the working people helped in the preparation of the Workers Charter,
presented to the government of President Kumaratunga. He brought a new
lease of life to the field of vocational training by establishing the
Vocational Training Authority with over 300 training centres at the
village level.
In the fisheries sector too he did yeomen service. Unfortunately the
Ministry later was withdrawn from him for no apparent reason. However in
the short period he mooted plans to even set up a University for allied
studies.
Adversity has been his constant companion, in addition to humiliation
and deliberate sidelining. He treated these vicissitudes with equanimity
as his people, his home, and his family. In 2005 he triumphed over all
odds to assume office as the fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka. |