Exemplary political somersaulting

Minister Mr. Jeyaraj Fernandopulle is known to be a ‘tough’ Katana politician who will brook no nonsense. He was once found guilty by the Supreme Court of violating fundamental rights of an airport taxi drivers’ association. Given this background, we were completely taken aback on Friday night when there appeared on TV a vast crowd of people storming his residence at Katana. Women were even seen climbing the roof of his residence! It was certainly not a protest demonstration against him. It appeared to be a well-organised protest against his resignation as a minister of President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s cabinet. It had been so well organised that even a TV crew from Colombo had journeyed their way to Katana to be on time to record these dramatic moments.

Mr Fernandopulle bowed to the wishes of his electors. He withdrew his resignation that he had tendered along with three other ministers, and on Sunday he was sworn in by President Kumaratunga— with whom he had bandied strong words recently—at President House as the Minister of Tourism, Aviation and Christian Religious Affairs. TV showed him at the President’s House with his joyous kith and kin and his ministerial colleagues engaged in a bout of mutual back-slapping. One of the prodigals had come home to roost.

Sri Lankan politicians are quite adept at political somersaults. But Mr Fernandopulle’s somersault is outstanding particularly because of the speed of his back flip—he handed his letter of resignation on Thursday and—after less than 72 hours—was sworn in as a minister once again on Sunday. This is political gymnastics of a very high order.

In recent times there have been reports that Mr. Fernandopulle had not been seeing eye-to eye with President Kumaratunga. Unconfirmed reports say that there had been an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation. So has three other ministers— messrs Prof. G.L.Peiris, S.B. Dissanayake and Mahinda Wijesekera. They handed their letters of resignation to President Kumaratunga on September 13, refused to accept fresh ministerial posts but said they would remain with the government. In their letter addressed to the president the four former ministers recalled the differences between themselves and the president on the manner of governance, policies adopted and the public exchanges. Among the reasons given for their resignations, the ministers cited: Hurt caused by exchanges both within the government and in public between the president and the four of them on account of the differences on government policy and manner of conduct, the threat posed by the memorandum of understanding between the PA and the JVP to hopes of a political solution to the North-East conflict and the failure of the PA to create conducive conditions for foreign investment, which would be further exacerbated by the MOU. They expressed fear that the economic crisis now prevalent would take a dangerous turn dragging down the economy further.

If Mr. Fernandopulle was so concerned about the wishes of his electorate, the proper thing for him to have done was to have explained his position to them before submitting his resignation. But having resigned citing very serious defects of the government of President Kumaratunga, for him to have accepted a new ministerial portfolio is to strain his credibility with the public to utmost limits. Whatever the faithful of Katana may say, the rest of the country will not be satisfied with his excuse of concern for the electorate after having committed himself.

His somersault is in keeping with similar somersaulting of PA politicians that the public have been witnessing for some time. The most preposterous of them all was the PA having accused the JVP of torture and gruesome murder in an islandwide exhibition joining hands with the very same party after losing its majority in parliament. The JVP that shouts about political morality and principles from the roof tops having entered parliament succumbed to the temptations that other bourgeois politicians have fallen to by accepting duty free vehicles. And now they are propping up a government, which accused them of the most heinous crimes. The JVP is prepared to forget the stinging criticism made by them against the PA government on its ‘capitalist policies’ as well as subversion of democracy by vote rigging.

The appointment of Gen. Ratwatte as Minister of Power and Energy while conferring on him another ministry and re- appointing him as Deputy Minister of Defence, despite his being responsible for the power crisis as well as disastrous military defeats, is another instance where the public has been treated as absolute suckers.

History will record this period of governance in various derogatory terms where principled politics fell by the wayside.

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