Mahinda as Prime Minister, an Alliance move to woo the monks?
by Champika Liyanaarachchi

09 April 2004 - Mahinda Rajapakse's ascendance to the premiership would impact on the United People's Freedom Alliance in four different ways.

First and foremost, it will offset the initial qualms about the delay in forming the government by the Alliance. By making Rajapakse, whose popularity at grassroots is only second to her own, as her final choice, President Chandrika Kumaratunga has further strengthened the party base.

Rajapakse's appointment will also see minority parties, who were initially entertaining doubts about the capability of the UPFA forming a government and its durability, making fresh bids to join the Alliance. Most of these leaders are known for their close ties with Rajapakse, and would find it much easier to negotiate with the new Premier - something that may not have happened otherwise.

The third is the fortification of the SLFP faction within the Alliance, even as there were doubts that the party was losing its clout, as the JVP candidates led the preferential vote lists in a majority of the districts.

While the JVP beat Anura Bandaranaike in the preferential vote list in the SLFP stronghold of Gampaha and party stalwarts like Susil Premajayantha and Amarasiri Dodangoda had to swallow the bitter pill in their respective districts, Rajapakse who contested the JVP bastion of Hambantota polled 107,603 votes and topped the list.

Though he worked harmoniously with the JVP this time - something he could not have avoided since they had become part of the Alliance - Mahinda Rajapakse was never known to be comfortable with the JVP.

Since 1994 he was known for his electoral battles with both the JVP as well as Sajith Premadasa in the district.

Also, while the likes of Anura Bandaranaike and Managala Samaraweera were promoting the JVP, Rajapakse was keen on a national government with the UNP.

While analysts suggested a JVP dominance in the UPFA-led government, it was obvious that the scale was tilted towards the SLFP once again, the moment Mahinda was declared the new Prime Minister.

The fourth and equally important factor is the increase in the possibility of the UPFA getting the support of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU). Of course, not to form a government, but to muster their help in crucial issues.

It is no secret that Rajapakse's appeal among the leading Buddhist monks is greater than even that of the President. While the Mahanayakes of Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters are known for their divided support for the President and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Rajapakse is known to be equally liked by both Mahanayakes.

Last Sunday afternoon Rajapakse visited 'Asapuwa' the JHU headquarters at Sulaiman Terrace to meet party Secretary the Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera, in a bid to woo the Buddhist priests to join the UPFA.

Rajapakse, who by then had entered the fray for the premiership with Lakshman Kadirgamar, told Ven. Dhammaloka Thera that he was told by President Kuamaratunga that he would be appointed the Prime Minister if he could get the support of the JHU, which won 9 seats, to help form the government.

The reason cited was the aversion of the JVP and also the dislike of the President to form the government with minority political parties.

However, Venerable Dhammaloka Thera had explained that the JHU would not change its stance and would not support any party outright to form a government.

By the time Rajapakse went to Asapuwa around 5.30 pm. on Sunday, the JHU Supreme Council and the Sihala Urumaya (SU) had just finished a meeting started at 3.30 p.m.

It was unanimously agreed at this meeting that the JHU should not support any party unconditionally and, if at all any assistance is given, it would be issue-based.

Even as both the JHU and SU were being inundated with telephone calls from various quarters wooing their support, SU leader Tilak Karunaratne warned that the situation would be worse in the days to come. And this was proved true.

Interestingly, most of these groups who desperately sought JHU support had reservations about directly approaching JHU leader Venerable Ellawala Medhananda Thera, who is known for his forthrightness, and in fact whose decision is considered final where the JHU is concerned.

Instead they opted to use the mild-mannered Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera as a conduit to get their messages across to Venerable Medhananda and SU leader Karunaratne.

Typical of his accommodative and amiable ways, the young and charismatic Venerable Dhammaloka - who is one of the most photographed candidates in the run-up to the elections - listened to several dozens of influential people who had been swarming Asapuwa since Saturday.

Almost 90% of them were pleading with him to ensure the JHU's support of the UPFA.

At one point while President's Economic Affairs Adviser Mano Tittawela and All Ceylon Buddhist Congress Chairperson Milina Sumathipala were waiting on two different floors of Asapuwa for the arrival of Venerable Dhammaloka, on a third floor, UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrama and Former Minister Tilak Marapana too were awaiting him.

The three groups had come with three different motives; Tittawela to get the JHU support to form a UPFA-led government, Sumathipala to get the all-clergy party support to make sure that Mahinda Rajapakse becomes the next Prime Minister and Samarawickrema and Marapana to request the JHU to remain neutral. While feelers from these quarters were to be expected, the young priest was a little surprised when Navy Commander Daya Sandagiri also called on him. Initially, Ven. Dhammaloka Thera had thought that the Navy Chief had come to discuss some other matter - something totally detached from party politics. But he got the shock of his life when the Navy chief reportedly pleaded with him to make sure that the JHU supported the UPFA to form a government.

The JHU and SU leaders were stunned when this was conveyed to them by Ven. Dhammaloka Thera, who by then was in a state of exhaustion having met and spoken to several dozens of groups without a break.

In fact, by then the JHU and SU were even contemplating sending Venerable Dhammaloka Thera to some far-off location, even abroad, temporarily, to prevent him from being hunted by his patrons and others with vested interests.

JHU Chairman Venerable Kotapola Amarakiththi Thera of Seruwila temple down Buller's Lane, was also heavily pressurized by an influential section of his patrons (dayakayas) by Monday morning to ensure JHU support for the UPFA.

Venerable Amarakiththi Thera was trying his best to explain that there would not be any change in the decision taken by the Supreme Council to remain impartial. However the patrons who had been very close to the monk were pleading with him to get the JHU hierarchy to change that decision.

With this being the case, the JHU and the SU took a decision on Monday to make another declaration, once again to the media, emphasizing their neutrality.

This saw Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka and Ven. Kolonnawe Sri Sumangala appearing on Swarnavahini - the TV channel which strongly promoted them during the elections campaign - to make it clear once again that they would not join either party to form a government.

The stand was reiterated later in the day by the JHU in the 'Jana Handa' programme on TNL.

However, in both these instances they said they would support the UPFA on any matter that was in the best interests of the country and especially Buddhism.

While this was the general stance of the party, on the other hand, the appointment of Mahinda Rajapakse as Premier has been strongly welcomed by the JHU.

The opinion of the JHU is that the ascendance of Rajapakse, one of the prominent Sinhala Buddhist leaders in the country, to the Premiership will augur well for the community though the JHU would not help the UPFA form a government.

It would have been very unlikely that the JHU would have welcomed any other leader, for that matter even Anura Bandaranaike as warmly as Rajapakse for the post.

A JHU emergency meeting was summoned at Devuram Vehera - the temple of Venerable Kolonnawe Sri Sumangala Thera - in Pannipitiya on Tuesday morning to discuss their strategies in the face of heavy pressure applied on them to join the Alliance.

By Tuesday morning, the stance of the Supreme Council remained unchanged. As promised earlier, the JHU pledged to support any party to form a government, provided the party declared among other things - that it would never adopt a Federal Constitution and would always ensure that the unitary character of the state was preserved while the Northern and the Eastern Provinces, temporarily merged in 1987, would be immediately de-merged.