Monday Nov 25, 2024
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Tuesday, 19 November 2013 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The place was IRED institute, Colombo 7. The date: 4 March 1988. Sunimal Fernando was the Convenor of the meeting, which was undoubtedly the beginning of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second march to victory. Participants at this discussion were K.H.A. Godawatte, T. Jayasinghe, Dr. Willie Gamage, Dharman Wickremaratne, S. Sahabandu, Amarasinghe Kudagalara, Justin Dissanayake and brothers Chamal, Mahinda and Basil Rajapaksa.
It was Basil Rajapaksa who predicted that a presidential candidate would emerge from the South. Basil was the brains behind all the election campaign planning.
Election campaign planning
We planned different strategies at weekly meetings. On some days we met at ‘Carlton’ in Tangalle and other days at Basil Rajapaksa’s house at Jubilee Post, Nugegoda. We also met at Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Dehiwala residence. New strategies were activated at these gatherings where we recalled the past.
When Mahinda Rajapaksa was suddenly compelled to contest the Parliamentary election of 1970, a group of people gave their unstinting support to him. Leading among them were Waidyatilaka, Willie Gamage, Ari Weeraratne, Sinha Abeygunawardena, P.J. Ratnayake, Percy Sooriyapatabendi, Jimmy Samaraweera, Henry and Justin Dissanayake, Milton Witharana and K.D. Hinnimahattaya.
Invaluable support was extended by Nehru Hinnimahattaya, Ambala Liyanamahattaya, Kudawelle Muthumala Mudalali, Sirisena Mudalali, Tangalle Appusingho, School Teacher Wilson, School Principal Wijetunge and Teacher Akram. The ‘Wasala Walawwa’ which belonged to Professor Epasinghe’s wife became the election headquarters. Mahinda Rajapaksa won by a majority of 6,600 votes.
At the Parliamentary election of 1977 the SLFP suffered a crushing defeat not only at Hambantota but throughout the country.
Remarkable victories
When the general election of 1989 was held amidst the island-wide terror and violence, the victories of Mahinda and Chamal Rajapaksa were remarkable. The leaders of that election campaign were Willie Gamage, M.K. Ranjit, Dharman Wickramaratne, Ari Weeraratne, Padmasiri Rajapaksa, Kudagalara Amarasinghe, Sinha Abeywardena, Justin Dissanayake, etc. Election headquarters at the time was ‘Carlton’ in Tangalle where the support medical doctors Sena, Tissa and Sunil of the Wikramasuriya family gave is unforgettable.
The SLFP was again able to form a government in 1994 thanks to the formidable strength of Mahinda Rajapaksa. He embarked on a revolutionary path that included such strategies as ‘paada yaathra’ (long marches) and ‘jana ghosha’ (public agitation). A fish does not need to be taught swimming. He never avoided challenges like a slippery eel. He did not run away from people’s problems. There is no need to recall the developments that followed these events since all that is recent history known to the majority.
The 1977-1993 UNP rule reduced the country to a state of anarchy. But Mahinda Rajapaksa did not remain silent. He succeeded in challenging the government’s power in the late 1980s.
At the time, the village was a small place unlike today when it has been recognised for its true worth. The credit goes to the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ vision, which aims at building the family after building the individual. The final objective is to turn out a strong person of good character. There will be a new dawn tomorrow.
Fertiliser issue
In the 1950s Professor Moore of the Ford Foundation promoted a program under the guise of meeting the food requirements of Sri Lanka’s increasing population. But his real objective was to expand the agro-chemical market.
As a result the country was eventually reduced to a situation where farmers could not do anything without chemical fertilisers. The Government was compelled to subsidise it at a cost of Rs. 40,000 million per year to prevent the fall of the local agro-industry. Today however natural fertiliser is being popularised as an alternative.
During the past eight years the Government provided the chemical fertiliser subsidy for 16 seasons without interruption, thanks to the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’. As President Rajapaksa has shown the country, darkness precedes light. Without experiencing the darkness of the night, we cannot see the dawn.
My connection with the President
My connection with the President began because of my father. His mother was Kathrina Amarasinghe of Oorugamuwa. During the latter part of the 1960s he was the Principal of Nalanda College, Colombo. This connection strengthened when I joined the editorial staff of a Sinhala Daily in January 1984.
However I was forced to leave that newspaper following a detailed news report I wrote, titled ‘My visit to the terror-stricken south’ on State terrorism in the Hambantota District in the latter part of the 1980’s. The newspaper company’s management was compelled to remove me under UNP Government pressure. Unlike today there was nobody at the time to rise against lack of media freedom. I have the experience of working with the President Rajapaksa since the early 1980s.
Water projects
He has proved that Ruhuna which inherited a fertile soil in ancient times became an arid land because of lack of water. He succeeded in overcoming with the problem through mega water supply projects. Water was released to a number of big and small tanks during both Yala and Maha seasons, thus bringing relief to thousands suffering from hunger.
Today the story of the former dry zone has changed. There are no wastelands and shrub jungles filed with thorny plants. This is unbelievable when we read the past experiences of people like Leonard Woolf and R.L. Brohier. The whole area is today a wet zone and home to a large population. The area is dotted wit
h bazaars full of agricultural products. All these are the results of the President’s eight-year rule.
He has made a major contribution to uplift the local people economically, socially, culturally and spiritually. He respects not only the simplicity of the natives of Giruwapattuwa but also that of the rural masses throughout the country for the energy and time they spent in achieving similar successes island-wide. He recalls with gratitude the strength he gained from their humbleness and sincerity.
Custodian of Sri Lanka
He is a simple, kind-hearted villager who hails from Giruwapattuwa. He is a nature-lover and also a revolutionary politician. Today he is the custodian of the whole of Sri Lanka. His long journey to the President’s House is a watershed in Sri Lanka’s history.
He successfully demolished the secret anti-national political projects of certain parties. He firmly believed that true progress is possible only through the utilisation of local resources. He derived immense satisfaction by serving the people. His political life was tough at times. Sometimes he faced risks. But always there was a beauty in it.
The President’s objective has always been to build a prosperous country. He opened new avenues for improvement of rural livelihoods. He is a noble individual who swims against the current. It is true that reactionaries and others who do not love the country dislike him. But the ordinary masses greatly appreciate his great service to the nation.
(The writer is an environmental journalist who can be reached at [email protected].)
