S. Akurugoda

As per a news item appeared in Divaina dated 1 June 2021  (https://divaina.com/daily/index.php/puwath-2/59203-2021-05-31-03-16), the Working  Committee of UNP , May 2021, has unanimously decided  that party leader Ranil Wickramesinghe enter Parliament through its only National List seat  and the party leader has reacted positively.

 As per the website of The International Democratic Union (IDU), an alliance of conservative political parties from 64 countries (predominantly those from the west),  Ranil Wickramasinghes is still the  Vice Chairman of the Asia pacific region since July 2005. Thus the western traditions towards which he had long tilted would have required him to quit politics long ago, at least retire after a humiliating loss at the last General Election and failed to secure a single seat in Parliament.

Ranil Wickremesinghe (who came from a well known elite group with close relationship to the party’s hierarchy) became the leader of the same party with least effort, probably, due to total elimination of the potential leaders by the LTTE. Unlike the record kept by the UNP’s previous leaders, he continued to remain in the leadership after the loss of more than 35 elections including several presidential, parliamentary and provincial council elections under his leadership. It was reported that the UNP Constitution was amended by Ranil Wickremesinghe to include provisions to the effect that the leadership can be changed only if it falls vacant. That means he must resign or die to change its leadership.  After contesting and losing two presidential elections, one in 1999 and the other in 2005, the Ranil avoided obvious defeats in 2010, in January 2015 and also in November 2019 due to his own misdeeds, by supporting so-called common candidates, while he was holding the leadership of the party.

Among many misdeeds, let us rush through the main ones.

He is well known for signing notorious agreements, detrimental to the country in many ways, with foreign powers or with their involvements, without going through the parliament or briefing the contents of the agreements to the opposition political parties or the general public. 

When Ranil became PM in 2001, he blindly signed a memorandum of understanding (called CFA) with Prabhakaran arranged by the Norwegians, demarcated ‘LTTE controlled areas, removed security checkpoints and barricades, allowed to destroy the Long Ranger’s HQ in Athurugiriya,’ allowed Norwegians to provide high-tech communication equipment to the LTTE and virtually provided every facility to please the terrorists.

However, the LTTE continued its bloodshed and killed members of the government intelligence units, army informants and managed to take the lives of all those who were engaged in the ‘Deep Penetration Unit’ while building up their war capabilities, by leaps and bounds.                                            

Ranil also believed that the government would have to give up the area it seized from the LTTE to facilitate the so-called non-existing peace process. The leadership also required the government of Sri Lanka to satisfy the requirements of the so-called international community and the Norwegians, who were openly interfering with the internal affairs of a sovereign nation (Sri Lanka) with sinister motives.

Fortunately he was defeated at the next Presidential election in 2005; otherwise a party which produced the ‘Father of Nation’ would have ended up producing ‘Father of Two Nations’ 16 years ago.

Soon after Ranil became PM again in 2015, he brought in Arjuna Mahendran from Singapore and made the Governor of the Central Bank and the financial damage done to the   country via notorious Bond Scam and how Ranil attempted to cover-up the issue is well known.

The so-called ‘Yahapalana’ government formed under Maithipala – Ranil leadershp with the support received from Western and Indian spy agencies was responsible for promoting Islamic Extremism which led to Easter carnage by weakening the country’s intelligence services.

The handing over of the strategic port of Hambanthota to China on a 99 year lease and attempt to sign another treacherous agreement MCC at the last moment in 2019 are other examples. The list goes on.

After going through repercussions of what Ranil has done to the country when handling vital issues during his leadership, one cannot stop laughing when reads his advices to the government under the news item appeared in The Island dated 1 June 2021 under the title Ranil tells govt. how to tackle pandemic”. 

In the last 7 decades the UNP and the SLFP have been the largest parties by far. The UNP managed to produce 7 PMs and 3 Presidents since independence. The fate of a leader who holds the leadership for 27 years and managed to become the country’s PM three times is very pathetic. Now he is about to enter the Parliament via the only available National List Seat after suffering the party’s worst defeat in its history and  failing to secure a seat in the Parliament.  What an extent of power greediness?

S. Akurugoda