{"id":87223,"date":"2019-04-14T17:10:27","date_gmt":"2019-04-14T23:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=87223"},"modified":"2019-04-14T10:04:07","modified_gmt":"2019-04-14T17:04:07","slug":"the-reign-of-mahinda-rajapaksa-part-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/04\/14\/the-reign-of-mahinda-rajapaksa-part-8\/","title":{"rendered":"THE REIGN OF MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA Part 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Among certain segments of Colombo urban middle\nclass, Mahinda Rajapaksa emerged as the most controversial and most hated ruler\nin post independent Sri Lanka, said Kusal Perera.  Yet in suburban and rural Sinhala south he\n\u2018carried his charm over ordinary Sinhala people\u2019 and polled a massive 5.78\nmillion votes in 2015. How did he grow into this larger than life icon in\nSinhala politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kusal Perera in his book Rajapaksa the\nSinhala selfie\u201d tells us how. Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s grandfather, Rajapaksalage\nDon Davith, originally from Halgahapotha in present Embilipitiya area, was\nvidane arachchi of Ihala Welikada korale now known as Giruwa Pattu. He married\ninto the Weerakoon Ratnayake clan of Getamanna, Beliatta. This was a linking of\ntwo petty village nobilities.   Rajapaksa family was a landowning one with paddy fields and coconut plantations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don David\nRajapaksa’s son Don Mathew Rajapaksa, Mahinda Rajapaksa uncle, was elected to\nthe Hambantota seat in the State Council in 1936. Don Mathew died in 1945 and\nat the resulting by-election his brother D.A. (Don Alwin) Rajapaksa<\/a>, Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s father, was elected\nwithout a contest.D.A. Rajapaksa was thereafter elected MP for\nBeliatta in the 1947 General election. D.A. Rajapaksa was associated\nwih SWRD Bandaranaike when the SLFP was formed in 1951. DA was     a \u2018quiet and unseen character\u2019 in SLFP\npolitics, said Kusal Perera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 DA\u2019s\nson Mahinda Rajapaksa is the third in a family of seven. He grew up in\nMedamulana, a hamlet in Weeraketiya, in the Matara district. He   attended Richmond\nCollege<\/a>, Nalanda\nCollege<\/a> and Thurstan College<\/a> from where he did his O\u201d levels and left\nschool. \u2018He was a popular youth idling in Colombo with many\nfriends to roam with,\u2019 said Kusal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A relative who was the Registrar at Sri\nJayewardenepura University took him in as a library assistant there. The JVP\nwas firmly installed in that university. Mahinda knew this group, whowere also from villages in the south. According to Kusal Perera,\nRajapaksa had participated\nin trade union work. He was made the Branch secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile\nUnion. ( Kusal Perera p 15)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

D.A. Rajapaksa , Mahinda\u2019s father died in\n1967.  Prime Minister Sirimavo  Bandaranaike, \nattending the three months dane, \noffered the now vacant post of SLFP \nparty organizer in Beliatte to the sons. Chamal was employed so their\nmother suggested that it be given to Mahinda. In 1968 Mahinda Rajapaksa took\nover his father\u2019s position as the SLFP organizer. He was barely 21.  \u2018Politics was nothing new to the Rajapaksas\nand to Mahinda\u2019, observed Kusal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahinda Rajapaksa\nwas thereafter elected to Parliament in 1970 on the SLFP ticket,  as the youngest Member of Parliament, at just\n24.\nHe was carefully watched by his mother as he prepared for the 1970 election,\nsaid Kusal. Mahinda\u2019s mother  had been\nthe wife of a  rural politician and knew\nthe culture.  She told Mahinda  not to drink in his new job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While in Parliament, Mahinda , probably for\nthe first  and last time in his\nlife,  turned seriously to studies. He\nstudied law at the Sri Lanka Law\nCollege<\/a> and took\noaths as an attorney-at-law in November 1977. \nIt appears that Mahinda Rajapaksa \n has pursued a legal practice  running parallel to his politics.  We did not know this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout his parliamentary career, except for\nthe period from 1994\u20132001 when he was a minister, he continued his law practice\nin Tangalle<\/a>, said Wikipedia.  He \nappeared in the\nMagistrates courts in Embilipitiya, Hambantota and Tangalle. He was in \nclose touch wih Colombo  lawyers\nsuch as CR de Silva and  Tivanka\nWickremasinghe, said Kusal Perera. Mahinda had a  very close  \npersonal relationship with Tivanka and often sought  advice for his own cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  In 1977 Mahinda Rajapaksa lost his Beliatta\nseat in the landslide defeat of the SLFP.  But by this time, according to Kusal,  Rajapaksa \nhad    cultivated  \u2018for himself , a social space among influential\npersonalities in Colombo as  an outgoing\n, young, friendly figure\u201d. Till 1989, Rajapaksa\nwas an obscure politician in the south, engaging in his law practice, said\nKusal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1983 Rajapaksa married the very pretty\nShiranthi Wickremasinghe. She has been Miss Sri Lanka in 1973. Rajapaksa has\nbeen blessed with a happy marriage and a stable family life. When he took oaths\nas Prime Minister in 2004, the media commented on the demeanor of his three\nsons, who were very young at the time. The media said that they did not even\nknow that Mahinda Rajapaksa had  three\nsons until the sons made an appearance at the father\u2019s swearing in. At\nRajapaksa first swearing in as President, \nhis wife and sons stood quietly as he signed and promptly returned to\ntheir seats as instructed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1989, Rajapaksa\nwas elected to Parliament to represent Hambantota District.  He started to develop contacts in Colombo. In\nthe early 1990s Rajapaksa was making late night stopovers at different places\nIn Colombo to meet different persons not necessarily directly involved in\npolitics, said Kusal. At Sravasthi Rajapaksa\nmet both government and opposition politicians. He mixed with politicians \u2018of\ndifference hues.\u2019 He had a good rapport\nwith the Communist Party politicians but not with the LSSP, said Kusal. He  also \nmet loyal SLFP business men.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1991 and 1992 were important and successful\nyears for Mahinda Rajapaksa as an Opposition MP, said Kusal Perera. They were\nthe years that established Mahinda as a national political leader, within\nanti-UNP politics. He was sought after by numerous groups and trade unions to\ncampaign against the Premadasa government. In\nthe process, Rajapaksa was dragged into issues he was\nnot familiar with but was compelled to take on, such as privatization of public\nenterprises, cost of living, inflation.  This would have been a  valuable learning experience for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was not a very articulate speaker In Parliament, but \nhe was  a very provocative anti\n\u2013Premadasa presence in the Opposition, said Kusal.  He obtained information from varied sources.\nEditor of Desathiya<\/em>  \u2018dropped in\u2019 to give Mahinda some information\nfor his speech in parliament on the   \nbudget debate of 1992. He\nhad very good rapport with journalists, and they gave good coverage to his\noutbursts in Parliament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1992 Rajapaksa launched a very successful\n\u2018Pada Yatra\u2019 from Colombo to Kataragama. At\nKataragama people had come the previous night and had camped along the route. A\nSaaravita betel seller who travelled the whole length of the Pada yathra from\nday one, gave Rs 200 for the Pada Yathra and went away saying he would pray for\nMahinda mahattaya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018Kurahan\nsatakaya\u2019 which his uncle, D.M. Rajapaksa had introduced into politics,   was\nfirst worn by Mahinda  Rajapaksa at the\nPada Yathra. \u2018Kurahan satakaya\u2019\nwas an earthy brown\nshawl  worn by Rajapaksa\u2019s uncle D. M. Rajapaksa<\/a>, State Councilor<\/a> for Hambantota in the 1930s, to\nrepresent  the kurakkan cultivated by the people of his area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Pada Yathra energized\nthe SLFP and the anti UNP voter.  it  transformed \nRajapaksa from a provincial leader to a national leader. Mahinda\nafter Pada Yathra was a crowd puller in high demand at election rallies in all\nprovinces.\u2019 Rajapaksa followed up the  Pada\nYathra with a successful Jana Gosha at Lipton square in Colombo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1990s was period of conflict in the SLFP.\nThe disagreements between Sirimavo, Chandrika and Anura helped Mahinda\nRajapaksa. It \u2018gave  him a leap within\nthe party as one who strived to keep the party together \u2018The southern SLFP\nvoter looked towards Mahinda in the absence of leadership from  the Bandaranaikes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1994 Rajapaksa\nhad \u2018his presence felt very much in the south\u2019 and was certain of returning to Parliament\nas a formidable cabinet minister if the SLFP won. The\nSLFP won  and in 1994 Rajapaksa was appointed Minister of Labor.\nRajapaksa proved \u2018a very charming negotiator in handling labor disputes\u2019 and a\npopular labor minister both among the trade unionists and the employers.\u2019 He\ninitiated a National Workers Charter.  He\nhad EPF under him. He was also\npicking\nup ideas that could make him a popular minister among the public, added Kusal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1997, following a cabinet reshuffle, his portfolio\nwas changed to Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. He\nimmediately set about using the Fisheries portfolio for his populist politics,\nsaid Kusal. He refused the\nposition of General Secretary of SLFP saying it would make him a peon\ndelivering statements of Chandrika. He focused instead on the Maha sangha. He\nwas \u2018working stealthily toward winning over the leading Buddhist monks,\u2019 said Kusal.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2000,\nPresident Kumaratunga mooted a new Constitution, greatly influenced by Neelan\nThiruchelvam, and promoting power sharing and devolution. It raised much\nconcern among the Sinhalese.  The Maha\nsangha were getting\nready to object to the draft.  According\nto Kusal, Rajapaksa led the opposition to this draft constitution. The draft\nwas withdrawn and Rajapaksa\u2018s stature grew. \u2018Within\nthe Sinhala Buddhist psyche in the SLFP, both within and without the\nParliament, Rajapaksa  was looked for as\ntheir leader\u201d said Kusal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In\n2001, Rajapaksa became Leader of the Opposition.  But he was not much in the spotlight,\nsaid Kusal. He was cultivating an image as a moderate Sinhala leader. SLFP was\nat the time in disarray under Chandrika. Mahinda played a very calculated game,\nneither supporting nor disturbing, said Kusal.  Mahinda stayed firmly with the SLFP.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2004 the\n\u2018Sinhala factor\u2019 had got a new southern twist. Sinhala leadership should come\nfrom the south. The Sinhala business and trader community of the south  wanted this. This helped Rajapaksa stake a\nclaim for the Prime Minister ship, said Kusal.\nAfter the Parliamentary Elections of 2004 Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri\nLanka’s 13th Prime Minister. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was\nPresident of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015.  He definitely made a lasting contribution to\nthe country.  He ended the Eelam war,\ninitiated and completed many major infrastructure projects. Rajapaksa was\ndefeated in the  premature  Presidential elections called by Rajapaksa in\n2015. The western powers which  were\nresponsible for this defeat were relieved, they thought that was the end of\nMahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then something\nunexpected happened. The public wanted Rajapaksa back.   Rajapaksa \u2018s popularity grew  by leaps and bounds after his defeat, totally\neclipsing the  position of Sirisena, Chandrika\nor Ranil. His admirers were  no longer  confined to the rural south. The urban elites\nalso  recognized  his contribution.  A new political party,  created around  Mahinda Rajapaksa came into being in 2018, the\nSri Lanka Podujana Peramuna,  also known\nas  Pohottuwa.  Rajapaksa now had his very own political\nparty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attitude towards Rajapaksa is ambivalent.\nHe gets many  left handed compliments. D.B.\nWijetunge did not create a heroic role around himself  with celebration and public speeches. when\nhe  cleared the east, said Kusal Perera.\nSri Lanka would have become another Iraq or Libya since MR had antagonized US,\nUK and EU said  S.B.Dissanayake. SB\nconceded that  Rajapaksa  was a great leader. \u2018He ended terrorism and\ndeveloped the economy between 2005 and 2010, \nthen went berserk.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It must be\nadmitted that there was  the usual\npolitical influence during Rajapaksa rule. I was told of certain appointments\nto a bank, (I think it was Bank of Ceylon), \nwhere a set of new recruits had been interviewed and selected. Then a\nyoung member of the Rajapaksa family, ( name withheld) had turned up, ordered\nthat the full  list be discarded and  his nominees be appointed.   On a visit to Anuradhapura ,  the young taxi driver who took us around said\nthat he had been selected after interview for a particular position, They heard\nnothing thereafter, and on making inquires found that the project had already\nstarted  with a new set of appointees.\n\u2018I  voted for Hansaya\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are too\nmany buildings carrying his name, said critics. \nThere is the  Mahinda Rajapaksa Port<\/a>  at Magampura\n,  Rajapaksa International Airport<\/a>, Mattala \nand the Mahinda\nRajapaksa International Cricket Stadium<\/a>. This is sneered at as egoistical and low. But\nSri Lanka also has Senanayake Samudra ( DS Senanayake) Bandaranaike\ninternational airport, Katunayake, ( SWRD) Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference\nHall ( Sirimavo). The profusion of \u2018Mahinda Rajapaksa \u2018 buildings is\nbecause  he completed more major  projects, in a very short time,  than all the other heads of state put\ntogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rajapaksa\u2019s\nsuccess as a  statesman has not been  studied  \nacademically,  ( it is too soon\nfor this, anyway)  largely because in  elite circles he is seen as  a country bumpkin, an ignorant fellow, a  corrupt rogue,  incapable of delivering anything effectively,\nmuch less run a country. On the other hand,  the real corrupt rogues, suave, elite,\nwesternized,  as well as politicians who\nfor years have acted as agents of western countries, are  lovingly presented as  cultured, honest, statesmen who should be\nadmired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some\nof  the qualities that made Rajapaksa  successful. Rajapaksa had the ability to   handpick suitable people. He brought  in Palitha Kohona, Secretary, Ministry of\nForeign Affairs of Sri Lanka, 2006 to 2009. Kohona, who had a  doctorate \nfrom University of Cambridge,  was  at\nthe time Chief of the United Nations Treaty Section in New York. Earlier Kohona\nhad worked in the Department of\nForeign Affairs and Trade of Australia<\/a>.  Kohona\ntherefore had academic standing and international exposure. When\ninterviewed   via satellite, Kohona once\ntold BBC interviewer Stephen Sackur not to interrupt him till he, Kohona,\nfinished  answering Sackur\u2019s question. Sackur\nshut up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rajapaksa also  received much support from within his own family.\nHis brothers, Chamal, Gotabhaya and Basil also participated in  government . They were members of Parliament,\nnot by appointment but through popular elections. They made positive\ncontributions. This is something very rare and should be recognized as such. It\nmay be a world record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basil was\nconsidered a fine organizer, who improved Gampaha. Chamal was   a good Speaker of Parliament  ,and Gotabhaya is much admired for his military\nand civilian work. All the new foreign investments established\nin Colombo were Gotabhaya\u2019s achievements, said Rohana Wasala. Dutch Hospital\nShopping Precinct in Colombo is a flourishing modern shopping centre today.\u201d People ran to Gotabhaya whenever they  had a problem. One example was the  ancient boat \nfound at Godawaya.  it  was going \non yet  another journey. This time\nto a western country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotabhaya\nRajapaksa was interviewed by the New\nIndian Express<\/em> in 2018. Tell me about your two brothers\n,Mahinda and Basil, who served as <\/strong>advisor to Mahinda\nwhen he was President. How often do you talk to each other? What is the secret\nbehind this relatively tussle-free relationship in power, the interviewer\nasked. <\/strong>We always work as a team replied Gotabhaya. We think about the\ncountry. During the war,we used to\ninteract more often. This unity comes from our earlier days, what our\nfather  taught us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rajapaksa interviewed\nby Island<\/em> was also asked the same\nquestion. What is the role of  your two\nbrothers Gotabhaya and Basil in your political and personal life. Rajapaksa\nreplied “Ours has always been a very united family. Gotabhaya and Basil\ncame from overseas to help me in my presidential election campaign in 2005 and\non my request, they both stayed back to help me administer the country. I did\nnot get them involved in my government simply because they were my brothers,\nbut because they had abilities that the country could use. I think they both\nproved themselves in the tasks they undertook. Both have made their mark. We have never had any falling out among\nourselves.  After I lost power in January 2015, both have\nfaced persecution by this government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahinda Rajapaksa, it appears, actually knows\nwhat is going on.  Nahil Wijesooriya said\nin interview, Interestingly, one day I met President Mahinda Rajapaksa who had\ncome to the Inter Continental hotel for a wedding or conference and was coming\nout of the lift. He said I heard you are trying to sell the hotel, don\u2019t do\nit, in another three months the price will go through the roof.\u201d I took his\nadvice \u2013 the war was over \u2013 and I made a packet. best Investment advice I have\never received! Puts my stock and bank advisers in the shade!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rajapaksa \u2018s public relations is excellent. We\nlast saw this at his son, Rohitha\u2019s wedding. The wedding\nceremony, which was attended by everybody who is somebody in Sri Lanka and the\npeople of the area, had an estimated guest count of well over 5,000 \u2014 easily\nthe largest in the past many decades, reported the media.  Rajapaksa had  invited a member of every household from the\nvillage. An emissary of his went from house to house to invite them. There was  also a separate enclosure for the drivers\nbringing in the guests.  The buffet\ntables for them had  the same  food as in the main hall. (Concluded)<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Among certain segments of Colombo urban middle class, Mahinda Rajapaksa emerged as the most controversial and most hated ruler in post independent Sri Lanka, said Kusal Perera.  Yet in suburban and rural Sinhala south he \u2018carried his charm over ordinary Sinhala people\u2019 and polled a massive 5.78 million votes in 2015. How did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87223\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}