Ane Hamuduruwane, don’t insult our religion!

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana-August 17, 2020

The twice postponed General Election characterised by a lacklustre campaign, mostly due to the restrictions imposed in view of the COVD-19 epidemic, concluded on 5th August without any major incidents. There were no foreign observers either. We need to ask ourselves whether we need them but it is another story.

The real interest in the election ignited after the polling; as results started pouring in on 6th August, the count being delayed due to the prevailing situation. Although the final outcome was not in doubt, which may explain the general lack of enthusiasm, that the results produced surprise after surprise is an understatement. Even before the final results was released, the American Embassy issued a statement about a partnership! What nonsense was that?

Ranil and the UNP were in for a shock. Though not even the most ardent supporters of Ranil expected the UNP to do well, the total rout was the most shocking outcome of this election. At a time when no one was coming to his defence, it was heartening to read a piece written by a relation of Ranil, who sees things ‘from outside the pearl’, in The Island of 11 August.

In contrast, commenting on my piece “Who killed the UNP” (The Island, 10 August) a friend of mine has sent the following comment: “You should have focused more on Ranil’s failures and his unwillingness to give up the leadership even now. We too feel sorry for the plight of the party our fathers loved so much.”

Well, Ranil has announced his intention to resign, at last, and the UNP is to elect a new leader but that has been postponed. Some of his ardent supporters want him to reorganise the party before he leaves. Is that not like asking the corpse to organise the wake!

I have met Ranil only once, way back in the early eighties, and concur with his kin that he used to be a humble, decent young politician then but a vast metamorphosis has occurred since, unfortunately, not for the better! As well shown in the series of articles on ‘UNP’s defeat’ by Jayantha Somasundaram, Ranil became the leader of the UNP by exclusion, as a result of the “Sri Lanka’s Killing Field” (The Island), 11 August) during the Senior Premadasa regime. Maybe due to Ranil’s luck the UNP was decimated of its’ leaders. Though some grow into positions they get by mere chance, unfortunately, Ranil was an exception. Lacking in public appeal and, to some extent, leadership qualities too, Ranil tried to emulate his uncle with manoeuvring but he was not a patch on the great manipulator, JR. In fact, JR too failed because he could not stop manoeuvring even after reaching the top!

Ranil’s biggest failure was his total lack of patriotism. While the Rajapaksa government was fighting the LTTE, Ranil and the UNP decided to mock the heroic attempts of the government. It was absolute hypocrisy on Ranil’s part to field Sarath Fonseka as the presidential candidate after having mocked him as the Army Commander. In turn, Fonseka too demonstrated that he was a shameless politician by joining the UNP, becoming a Yahapalana minister by entering the parliament through the backdoor, when he could not get himself elected through his own party at the August 2015 election.

I lost all regard for Ranil the day I watched an interview he had with an European Tamil TV channel, during the 2015 presidential election, when he stated that on hearing that Karuna was to leave the LTTE, he had contacted Norway and requested them to prevent the split.

Ranil was able to establish the image of ‘Mr Clean’, perhaps without much justification. This was totally shattered by the bond scam for which he is largely responsible. It was Ranil who imported a Singapore citizen who together with his son-in-law carried out the scam. He has fled from justice and is in hiding but Ranil admitted in a TV interview, during the election campaign, that Mahendran, or whoever he is known as now, was still in touch with him! Although the Handunnetti report exposed the bond scams, Ranil’s name was left out. Perhaps, Handunnetti too paid for this at the recently concluded election.

Eclipsing Ranil’s behaviour, unfortunately, are our Buddhist priests. Embarrassingly, they are fighting for a position of power in the worst possible way. With his fast-unto-death, Venerable Athureliya Rathana ruined the possibility of a successful passage of the no-confidence motion against Rishad Bathiudeen in Parliament. Having been a UNP national list MP in the last parliament, Ven. Rathana and some of his supporters rejuvenated the Ape Jana Bala Paksaya, which polled 67,758 votes, securing a single national list seat. No sooner had this unexpected bonus been announced than the party secretary, Ven Wedinigama Wimalatissa sought to appoint himself to that post.

It was widely believed that either Ven Rathana or Ven Galagodaatte Gnanasara would get the National List slot. The party leader announced that they had not made a decision and Ven Wimalatissa vanished! Ven Gnanasara accused him of attempting to grab the seat. As Ven Wimalatissa was playing hide and seek, the party appointed a new secretary who informed the EC that their nominee was President Saman Perera! I am sure many a Buddhist would have heaved a sigh of relief at not having a Buddhist priest in our 16th Parliament. The EC has decided not to gazette the name of the MP till the issue is resolved legally.

In the latest twist, Ven Wimalatissa has issued a statement justifying his action and indicating that he has done this with the best of intentions, for him to be the national list MP till the tussle between Ven Rathana and Ven Gnanasara is resolved! He goes further suggesting a compromise formula: he holds office for a year and the other two for two years each. Not to be outdone, Ven Rathna summoned a press conference to explain that neither the leader nor the secretary had the right to decide, claiming that the decision should be his, further stating that he was in discussion with Ven Gnanasara. Why they cannot resolve disputes in an amicable ‘Buddhist’ manner is beyond comprehension and they seem to be totally oblivious to Buddha’s words “Thanha jayati soko, Thanha jayati bhayam.”

The Buddha has preached that dissatisfaction arises out of attachment and advocated detachment. These followers of Him are doing just the opposite and their behaviour is totally disgraceful.

Religion and politics do not mix and is high time our Nayaka Theras made a declaration that the parliament is not the place for Buddhist monks. As a Buddhist, what I can do is to plead: “Ane Hamuduruwane, please don’t insult our religion!”