“PRINS GUNASEKARA IS NO MORE”
Posted on January 2nd, 2019
Sarath Wijesinghe (former Ambassador to UAE and Israel)
Prins 94 years is no more with us having sacrificed the life for the needy and downtrodden over seventy five years as a young activist, Journalist, Leader of the villagers, Politician, writer, senior member of the Parliament and a rare breed as one of the most honest politicians ever in the parliamentary history as declared by none other than Sam Wijesinghe former Secretary of the Parliament and first Ombudsman a legendary in public life as Prins is one of the honest Members of the Parliament I have ever come across. He is a great politician who will not compromise for his views on the nation and for the citizen committed to serve.” He has been a unique personality as a clean politician fought for independence of the judiciary, rule of law, human rights when the standards are miserably lowering down to the lowest ebb – especially the rampant bribery and corruption in the legislature and the administration with the administration of justice with laws delays and lack of proper access to justice for the litigants against which Prins fought hard in Sri Lanka and United Kingdom as an activist and patrons of many international organizations.
As a Journalist he pioneered Lankadeepa Sinhala Daily” in the capacity of the first deputy editor under D. B. Dhanapala the great legendary Journalist Guru, and continued his career as a journals and a lawyer fearlessly until he was forced to leave Sri Lanka to flee to save his life and the family from JVP and Government death squads resulted on deaths and disappearances of over 60,000 deaths of Sri Lankan youth when the world was looking the other way on mass murders and destructions by JVP and death squads by then para military forces alleged by then government on clamping terrorism engulfed the entire country in fear of deaths and destructions. Over 32 lawyers were killed including his nephew and junior lawyers by terrorists and government goons then. He was taken to UK by HE David Gladstone personally – then High Commissioner and the family was looked after in UK by Lord Avebury – a world renewed human right activist. He has authored large number of books in Sinhala and English and the presence was felt in all courts in Sri Lanka as a senior Lawyer and a Barrister in the United Kingdom. He contributed immensely to the Sri Lankan and UK jurisprudence and the development of the international human rights and humanitarian law and practice.
Prins is a clean politician without bribery and corruption with exemplary qualities with humility for the human kind and a person dedicated to serve others a rare breed in the society today He led an exemplary family life with Dr Sriya and the three daughters who stood by him in all seasons and stormy conditions due to his political and activism on human rights. He is famous for leading a simple life and speak straight with the golden quality of the ability to walk with kings not leaving the common touch with the village villagers and the common man he loved so much. He is the last in his era of politicians of highest integrity leaving a vacuum in the society. He and his great services are ever remembered.
Sarath Wijesinghe
January 1st, 2019 at 5:06 pm
I remember he suggested an amendment to MP’s pension bill that at least the MP’s who are convicted of criminal offenses not to receive pension. It was rejected as he was the only person to vote for it.
January 1st, 2019 at 5:58 pm
In my schooling days, I remember Prins Gunasekera, skinny-medium size man, with soft spoken styles. Prins was a great asset to Mr Philip Gunawardene. Speaking of honesty, Prins, Philip, Robert Gunawardene, NM Perera, Chamil Gunawardene, Leslie Gunawardene (not Vivien Gunawardene), Dr W S Karunaratne, Lakshman and George Rajapakse were extremely honest politicians.
Prins was a good writer, worked in editorial board of Lankadeepa, provided analytical views on legal issues.
How many we have now that we can call in the same mould of above personnel?
January 2nd, 2019 at 7:07 am
@ Sarath Wijesinghe,
HC. David Gladstone might have had a hand on it, but Prince was taken to the airport by me and another person. For ethical reasons I cannot tell who was this other person.
We took Mr. Prins Gunasekara to the Katunayake airport when he was fleeing the country to escape the death squads that were chasing him to kill during Premadasa regime. He (Prins) was hiding at Barnes Place when we picked him up. We two went to the airport escaping all roadblocks and checkpoints, and dropped him at the airport. This is the peak of the 2nd wave of JVP insurgence. Even after dropping off, still we were not sure of his fate, so waited there until the plane took off.
In fairness to JVP I do not believe that JVP wanted to kill him. But the time was so bad nobody knew who killed who. He had made the killing machine so upset since he had voiced on behalf of the JVP, and voiced against the hunting of young people in a killing spree. He escaped narrowly and lived another 30 more years. I am happy now for contributing for the saving a life. Above all, he was a good politician and a good man.
Now JVP has forgotten their own history and now they are colluded with their former enemies to hunt their onetime saviors. This is a absurd aberration, a derision of the history. Anura Kumara has become so shameless and driven by his insatiable desire for vengeance, and his politics also based on vengeance. OOOOh! Quo Vadis JVP?
January 2nd, 2019 at 4:02 pm
@Geeth
Perhaps I may have met you during those dark days.I went to SL about 8 times in that year and I met him in a place in front of the Lake House and I thought he worked there. It was very vague after many decades. People I knew sought refuge as the victims of the government goons and most pretend to be JVPers and some of them were lawyers who knew the international conventions with regard to asylum laws, etc. I met Prins a couple of times in London at functions and he seems to be grateful to the JVP who gave him a chance to seek green pastures abroad but sadly those who came as bogus lot are berating the JVPers now same as the lot(refuges) berating the colonials while enjoying the hospitality and the benefit of the colonial types. This ungratefulness and stupidity is allover the third world. Only a few days ago a Somalian refugee living in a 3 or 4 bedroom house,at the expense of the state benefit system nearly killed one of my son’s police colleagues and it could have been him if not he being off duty that day.
So I wish my deepest sympathise to Prins.