Anil Moonesinghe's death anniversary on Dec. 8:

Great humanist and dedicated politician

Gnanaratne Rajawardena

The annual alms giving by the people of Pseudonym Korale in commemoration of Anil Moonesinghe, who passed away nine years ago, will take place this year on December 21, at the Mahindarama Vihara in the Adhikarigoda Grama Niladari Division, Matugama.

It will be presided over by the chief incumbent of the Vihara, the Viharadhikari of the Dodangoda Sri Dharmarama, Dharmavedi Saddharmakirti Sri Ven Dodangoda Uditha Thera.

In 1927, Anil Moonesinghe had the good fortune to be born a grand-nephew of Anagarika Dharmapala, who was a veritable roaring lion on behalf of the anti-imperialist struggle for popular liberation.

While completing his studies at the University College Colombo, he entered University College London, where he read Law. It was while he was in England undertaking these studies that he was attracted to Marxist politics and in February 1946 he joined the Revolutionary Communist Party.

It was with this event that he began his political journey. When he returned to Sri Lanka he joined and became an activist in the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, which in that era was a magnet for the intelligentsia.

Political life

His best quality, which we saw in his political life, was his successful completion of any task which he took on. This quality was apparent during the strike at Mohommediya Estate in Agalawatte, in which he took the leadership and to which he committed himself fully. This strike was like a small battle.

The plantation owners stolidly did their utmost to sabotage it, to the extent of deploying thugs. They received the support of the Police as well as of the Kotelawala regime. Despite this, the organization guided by Anil was able to overcome all obstacles and win the victory, bringing the plantation owners to their knees in 49 days of struggle.

The victory of the Mohommediya strike blazed a trail from him to Parliament. The people of the Agalawatte parliamentary constituency agitated for him to be appointed as their candidate at the 1956 general election. He entered Parliament, a young man of 29. In 1960 March, 1960 July and 1965 he was re-elected with substantial majorities.

In the meantime, in 1959 he defeated MS Abu Bakr in the Colombo Municipal Council elections and sat as a representative of the Dematogda ward for three years.

1964 was a decisive year in his political career. A proposal to join in a coalition government with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party was made to the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. This divided the Party's Central Committee.

The faction of the Party that was for a coalition government with the SLFP was led by the Party's Parliamentary Leader, Dr NM Perera. Behind him, like his shadow, was Anil - working hard to convince the Party members to back the pro-coalition resolution.

While a faction including Colvin, Leslie and Bernard took up a median position, the faction led by Edmund Samarakkody and Bala Tampoe were strongly against the resolution. These three factions all went among the Party members all over the country and aired their arguments. The Party conference delivered victory to the pro-coalition resolution. The centre faction abstained from voting and the Opposition faction broke away from the Party.

Great humanist

At that time, I then a university student was in the faction which took a stand against the resolution. It was during the period in which the resolution was being debated that Anil came to my campus to seek my support and it was then that I first met him.

I was entranced by his handsome appearance, by his persuasive oratorical style and by the comradeship he extended. Even though I did not flinch from the position I had taken, he nevertheless invited me to work with him, which I accepted.

In the second half of 1964 the coalition government was formed and he became the Minister of Communications. It was in his term as Minister that the CTB first showed a profit. Apart from the establishment of the 25 percent Employees Provident fund and the introduction of cut-price season tickets for schoolchildren, which they still enjoy.

There is one other event I wish to remember here. The methodology by which he planned the development of the Central Bus Station in Colombo, for it to be suitable for use in the future, surprises many people. At the time the area was an overgrown veritable jungle. At its centre was a huge overshadowing Bo tree. The bus stand was in a small corner of the land. Because he knew that Buddhist monks, Buddhist laity, religious organizations, the press and extremist political parties might oppose strongly the removal of the tree, he made secret plans beforehand. On the day, he met the then Leader of the Opposition Dudley Senanayake in Parliament and explained the situation to him. Immediately thereafter, the two of them went to the spot; within two hours the tree had been cut into manageable chunks and packed into waiting lorries by the employees deployed for the purpose, and removed. The problem was solved in a manner that avoided hostility.

Southern Expressway

Later, when he became CTB chairman in 1970, he took concrete steps to fulfil his dream, methodically constructing the first stage of a bus station building complex, to be completed with all facilities needed to fulfil all the requirements of passengers. The service he rendered to the Ceylon Transport Board is acknowledged by all parties, notwithstanding whether or not they were opposed to him.

There is another fact about him, which many people do not know and which needs to be revealed; a fact that establishes the farsighted wisdom of this great humanist. As far as I know, he was the first person to fully realize the importance of the Southern Expressway for the people of the interior.

On Friday September 10, 1993 he moved the following in Parliament (as it appears in Hansard 55/93 Translated from the Sinhala).

Anil Moonesinghe:

Constructing a highway from Colombo to Kataragama across the Pasdun Korale and the Hinidum Pattuwa. "Parliament is of opinion that a road be constructed from Colombo to Kataragama across the Pasdun Korale in such a way as the development of the rural areas is enabled".

Work on the highway commenced under President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, and a considerable amount of work was carried out on it. As Member of Parliament for the area and as Deputy Speaker, he was able to put his shoulder to the wheel at the very beginning of construction. He would have derived great pleasure from the opening of the highway on November 27 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Party members

The most difficult period of his life was between 1976 and 1983. From the day he resigned the Chair of the CTB, the only vehicle he had was a small Honda motorcycle obtained through a friend. Party members know that at the time, as a Party full-timer, he travelled on behalf of the Party for court cases, In Matara, Anuradhapura, Nuwara Eliya and so on, on his motorcycle. He did so not for monetary reward but in anticipation of only the thanks of his Party comrades.

His departure from politics was a tragedy. At the 1994 election, the People's Alliance obtained a resounding victory. At the same time, he was picked by the people of Matugama to be their representative because he was an honest, pro-people, skilled politician. After the victory it was the expectation of everybody, whether in government or opposition, that Anil Moonesinghe would be appointed Minister of Transport.

Immediately, throughout the island every workplace of the CTB was festooned with banners asking for his appointment. It is a transparent fact that all the trade union leaders requested that he be appointed. However, the job was given to a lady who knew nothing whatever about the subject.

I personally know for a fact that this caused him immense pain of mind. He received no joy from his appointment as Deputy Speaker, because he had a deep and unfulfilled desire to undertake a more useful task for the country in the field of transport.

Chairing a meeting organized at Matugama by the grateful people of Pasdun Korale to felicitate him on a half-century's political career of invaluable service, Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike said.

"I do not now have the power to appoint ministers. If I did, today Anil Moonesinghe would be not Deputy Speaker, but Minister of Transport. There is no other person either in our Party or in the country qualified to be such".

This mental anguish was what prompted him to tell sadly one day at our office in Parliament that he had decided to leave politics. The speech that he made at the farewell meeting held in the Matugama Auditorium, in front of thousands of residents of the area, was fraught with feeling. At its end, most of the people there, both old and young, thronged onto the stage and fell sobbing at his feet, moving the hearts of all those who witnessed it.

Many this great humanist achieve Nibbana