Dayasiri takes dig at Govt. and UNP

“How can I fight alone?” queries rebellion United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekera, adding that no one in the party wants to fight against Ranil Wickremesinghe and therefore he has no other option than to accept the present leadership. According to Jayasekera, there isn’t a single UNPer in the party who could oust Wickremesinghe and become the leader of the party and that if there was anybody who could take on that challenge, he should have done it by now.

He stresses that he still believes Sajith Premadasa is the only person who could be the leader of UNP and there is no alternative in the party who could take on that challenge. Jayasekera points out that several UNP members are in a secret mission to create a clash between Sajith Premadasa and himself, following his decision to leave the Sajith group. “I will not fall for such gimmicks. I hope Sajith will also act wisely,” he asserts. Following are excerpts from the interview:

Q: How prepared is the UNP to face the forthcoming local government elections?

A: Election campaign work was carried out in the usual manner. Candidates were provided with the required assistance and we had a couple of public rallies. This election has been dragging for the last six months and we don’t see any enthusiasm among the people about this election. This was an unfortunate reality all political parties had to face; we all struggled to create some kind of interest among the public.

Q: This Gove-rnment is gradually losing its popularity and it is no longer the triumphant regime it used to be. Isn’t it unfortunate that the Opposition has so far failed to make use of this situation and win over the people?

A: I don’t know whether it is correct to say that we haven’t made use of the present situation to win over the people. We do highlight issues as and when it is required. We do alert people about the wrongdoings of the Government. We raised a voice against importing poor standard petrol, university teachers’ salary increment and so on.

Sadly our efforts are only limited to educating people; so far we haven’t done anything beyond that. The situation would have been different during a general election or a presidential election. Then our efforts would have been more powerful and fruitful and I am sure we would have been able to make a change in the present political setting too.

However, I do believe that we as an Opposition are not doing our best. There is so much more that we could do as a political party. But my thinking is that rather than pointing fingers at others, it is my responsibility to do whatever is possible for the innocent people in this country. Therefore as an individual I believe I am doing my best; I criticise the Government about its misconduct, I educate the people about the wrongdoings and corruption of the Rajapaksa regime.

Q: The Government is experiencing a critical time period with issues such as the hedging deal, alleged war crimes, low quality petrol, arsenic controversy and university teachers’ strike and so on. Do you agree that amidst all such allegations the Government has remained powerful due to the weak Opposition?

A: I don’t think the Government is in a powerful position at present. It is shaken by the allegations that keep coming up against it one after another. On the other hand as an Opposition we are armed with the ‘best weapons’ against the Government. In recent history I don’t think any Opposition would have had this much of evidence to prove how corrupt and dishonest the ruling party is. Unfortunately we as an Opposition are not making use of this situation. Would there be a better time to oust the ruling party than this?

When a party remains in opposition for 17 years, it is inevitable that there will be internal clashes. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) faced a similar situation in the late ’70s where the party split into various groups. There are two sides to this; the leadership should be able to resolve such disputes and take the party forward and the others should also be able to convince the leadership and take the required actions to be united as a party.

I agree that we are a weak Opposition. But I don’t want to point fingers at anyone. I am trying my best to bring a settlement regarding the clashes inside the UNP. I am doing everything possible to unite my party. There are a number of young Parliamentarians who could make a change. I strongly believe that they are capable of fulfilling what is expected from them.

Q: What exactly is your role in the UNP?

A: Well, it is my responsibility to raise a voice on behalf of all the UNPers. It is also my responsibility to fight for the rights of the people in this country, talk about their grievances and be a voice for these voiceless innocent people. I don’t have titles and positions in the UNP. I have come this far on my own – I have achieved everything without positions and titles. I will never waste my time fighting for positions and titles. My struggle is to bring this party into power. That’s my only mission.

I have now realised that we no longer can afford to waste time resolving internal clashes. We have to recognise who our true enemy is and start fighting against that enemy. The Government is in a successful mission weakening the Opposition. We should realise this situation and take immediate action to rise once again as a strong party.

Q: Why did you decide to leave the Premadasa group and support Wickremesinghe?

A: Well, I believe that we no longer need fractions inside the party. The UNP no longer needs groups to support different leaders. We carried out a struggle to oust Wickremesinghe and make Premadasa the leader of the UNP. We managed to make amendments to the Party Constitution and that was a notable achievement.

Following that, the new Working Committee appointed a leader and two deputy leaders. Premadasa did not want to challenge Wickremesinghe and stand against him. So without fighting for the leadership Premadasa decided to accept the position offered to him as the Deputy Leader of the party. That was kind of an end to our struggle. Therefore, we no longer need a Sajith group or a Ranil group. We have somewhat completed the reforms and we don’t need another group to do that. We have all agreed to accept Ranil as the Leader. Karu Jayasuriya and Sajith have accepted their position as Deputy Leaders. Now we are just one party and that is the UNP.

Now it is the responsibility of Wickremesinghe and Premadasa to reach a common consensus and bring the UNP into power. If they can do that, the others will stop getting into groups and start working for the betterment of the party and the country. Considering all these factors, I decided that I should not belong to any group.

Like I said before, my mission is to fight against Mahinda Rajapaksa and his corrupt administration. My goal is to bring the UNP into power; in order to achieve that I have decided to support Wickremesinghe. However, it is important that Wickremesinghe does not attack and ill-treat the Premadasa group and Premadasa should also not be unkind to Ranil supporters.

Q: How could you accept Wickremesinghe’s leadership after criticising him and labelling him as a weak leader?

A: Do I have a choice? I am compelled to accept him as the Leader. Premadasa accepted him as the leader, so we are compelled to accept his leadership. No one in the party wants to fight against his leadership. How can I fight alone? What option do I have other than accept him as the Leader? Premadasa has accepted Ranil as the Leader of the UNP.

I have never said that Wickremesinghe as a leader is doing the correct thing. I have never agreed or accepted what he does as the party leadership. We no longer can argue whether Wickremesinghe is good or bad, whether he could win elections or not, whether we could market him or not. All that is history; what I am trying to say is now that we all agreed to his leadership, let’s help him to achieve our goals. Let’s work along with him to bring this party into power.

The truth is that no one in the party can fight against Wickremesinghe. There isn’t a single UNPer in the party who could oust Wickremesinghe and become the leader of the party. If there was anybody, he should have done it by now. So at the end of the day, there is no other choice than supporting Wickremesinghe.

This may not be the wish of the people. The decision of the Working Committee will not always be the wish of the people. Unfortunately, that is the democratic process we have to apply. We tried to go against that process and that is why we tried to make Premadasa the leader by whatever means – be they fair or foul. When Premadasa himself accepts Wickremesinghe as the Leader, what else can we do?

Q: How will your supporters accept this move? Will they see you as another double standard politician?

A: There is no double standard; I believe I have clearly explained why I took this decision. I will not change my word. My supporters are aware of that. In fact most of my supporters are urging me to work as a mediator and unite the two groups. It is my supporters who keep telling me that we shouldn’t waste time on petty internal matters in the party.

I want to be a voice for the voiceless people. I want to bring the UNP to power and therefore I am supporting the party leadership to achieve that goal. There is no double standard in that. Let’s accept Wickremesinghe as the Leader and also get the support of Premadasa, especially his ability to work with the people at grass root level, to set up a UNP government soon.

Q: Do you regret backing Premadasa in the struggle to change the party leadership?

A: No, never! Everything I did was done in good faith. There were no hidden agendas in that struggle. All we wanted was to oust Wickremesinghe and bring in a good leader. And we believed Premadasa was the most suitable person to be the leader. And therefore we all backed him and supported him. I personally did everything possible to make our struggle a success. There are no regrets whatsoever. I am glad that during the struggle I was also able to recognise those who are like Brutus in the party.

Q: Do you feel that Premadasa betrayed your struggle by going for a compromise?

A: Did he? He says he only took a step back. Isn’t it? But my point is that if Premadasa had no intention of challenging the leadership, he could have said that before. He shouldn’t have waited so long to do what he did. If he said ‘let’s accept whatever positions that are offered and support Ranil Wickremesinghe,’ things would have not been so bad. It is no secret that Wickremesinghe is attacking the members who supported Premadasa. Members who genuinely wanted to revive the party wouldn’t have to face such troubles if Premadasa had told us about his decision before.

Q: You said supporters are urging you to act as a mediator and unite the two groups. What will you do to bring these two groups together?

A: I don’t belong to any group. I am only an UNPer. I carried out a struggle to reform the party and that is over. I love my party and I will do everything possible to unite this party. Some UNPers accuse me saying that I have betrayed their struggle. Some are trying to create a rift between Premadasa and myself. I still believe that Premadasa can be the leader of the UNP. He is the only young politician who could take on that challenge. But Premadasa should not listen to the handful of people around him and make a mistake. He should work with everyone in the party.

When I left his group, several people tried to create an unpleasant situation between Premadasa and myself. I am not foolish to listen to such people and act irresponsibly. I will not fall for such gimmicks. I hope Premadasa will also act wisely. I have no other alternative to Premadasa. I still believe Premadasa is the only person who could be the leader of the UNP.

Q: You are one of the most popular politicians in the country. Don’t you think that without all that hassle, you can easily get into power by joining the Government?

A: If that was the case, I could have done it six or seven years ago. I joined the UNP following a clash with Chandrika Kumaratunga. At that time I had no issues with Mahinda Rajapaksa. But that doesn’t mean I am lame enough to go and beg for positions from him.

I have come here as an UNPer and I will remain in the UNP. I will never betray my supporters and voters. Even if I have to remain in the Opposition for the next 100 years, I can assure that Dayasiri Jayasekera will not join the Rajapaksa administration. I will never leave my party for titles, positions or privileges.