‘They cannot establish a multi-party government’

The former General Secretary of the United National Party (UNP) Tissa Attanayake recently joined the Government to support President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the upcoming presidential elections. Mr. Attanayake who had earlier said that he would not join the government explained the reasons for his defection.

  You were the General Secretary of the UNP. What are the reasons for your defection?

For eight years I was the General Secretary of the UNP and I fulfilled my responsibilities dutifully. I was in the UNP for 30 years and was in the Parliament for 27 years in that period. I held various positions in the party. I worked tirelessly for the victory of the UNP during that period.

However, during  recent times there have been cliques in the party that have not been working with the party’s best interests at heart. There was no transparency in the process of selecting Maithrpala Sirisena as the common candidate. We were always in favour of fielding a UNPer as the common candidate – that was the common consensus in the party. This was because 75 – 80 percent of the opposition votes are for the UNP. I maintained that it should be either party leader Ranil Wickremasinghe or Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa. However, now what has happened is that an outsider is calling all the shots in the party. This is a tragic situation. The unity of the party was destroyed because of the decision to field Mr. Sirisena as the common opposition candidate.

There is also a conspiracy against me in the party that is being led by Ravi Karunanayake, Mangala Samaraweera and Malik Samarawickrama. Even though I was the General Secretary of the party they have left me out of all the important discussions, meetings and decisions. I was not even aware of the ceremony held to welcome Mr. Wasantha Senanayke to the Opposition.

So are you saying that you were not aware of the party’s decision to field Mr. Sirisena as the common opposition candidate?

No, I did not know about it at all. Even during a G20 meeting, when Sajith Premadasa asked Mr. Wickremasinghe whether he would be the common candidate, his reply was positive. However, due to pressure from certain groups, this decision was changed. I know that Mr. Wickremasinghe was not happy about the decision to bring in Mr. Sirisena. He told me that he has been cornered against a wall and he had no other choice. Basically, our party has been auctioned off.

But during a recent press conference – after it was announced that Mr. Sirisena was to be the common candidate – you said that you would never leave the UNP and that your conscience cannot be bought over. What happened to that principle?

I am still a UNPer – I have not left my party and I am not about to take membership of the SLFP. However I don’t approve the decision to field Mr. Sirisena as the presidential candidate. I cannot accept him as the common candidate.

When he crossed over and joined the Opposition, he made three promises to the UNP. Firstly he said that said he would get 20 -25 Government MPs and Ministers to the Opposition before handing over nominations on the 8th of December. He also said that he would relinquish executive presidency and hand over power to Ranil Wickremasinghe within 24 hours and thirdly that he would appoint committees to look into the executive power. Forget the other two promises, he did not even deliver the first one. I was observing his conduct until the 8th and I was not satisfied because he was given nomination even though he couldn’t keep the promise he made to the UNP.

Another reason is the various MoUs he signed without the knowledge of UNP members like myself. To this day, neither we nor the public have any idea as to what is contained in these MoUs. He signed one with the JHU, he signed one with the TNA and we don’t know what conditions he has agreed to in these contracts. But I have my suspicions. I can guess what is included in the MoU he signed with the TNA. The TNA continually demanded for police powers, land powers, to remove the army from the North and for war crimes investigations. So I can assume that these must have been their conditions to which Mr. Sirisena has agreed to.

Another issue is that I have not been given my due place and they have removed me from some of the projects and campaigns that I started and nurtured.

Now the UNP has continually been accused of having ties with the LTTE which the party has vehemently denied. Are you now implying the same thing by speculating on the conditions of the MoU with the TNA?

No, this has nothing to do with the UNP. I will never betray the UNP and am not accusing them at all. It was Mr. Sirisena who signed these MoUs without the knowledge of any member of the UNP. I don’t think any of the UNP members really know what these conditions are and what is contained in this MoU. This is the worst situation. I don’t want the country to come to any harm. Because of this, the JHU fell apart. I am saddened that the same thing is now happening to the UNP.

When you were in the Opposition, you were strongly opposed to the executive presidential system. Now that you have joined with President Rajapaksa, has your stance changed?

No, my stance on the executive presidential system has not changed. I was someone who was very critical of the Government and I still maintain that the conduct of this Government needs to change.  I have even told President Rajapaksa that the executive presidency and the conduct of this Government need to change. However I cannot trust a government led by Maithripala Sirisena and Chandrika Kumaratunge. They have said  they were going to bring an SLFP Government and I cannot accept that.

The President has promised that in his third term he would discipline his Government and re-establish law and order and justice. I am not saying that I believe this 100 percent but it is better than Maihripala Sirisena’s alternative.

But by joining the Government and working for the Government’s victory, aren’t you betraying the UNP?

Well, the UNP will be defeated anyway. They cannot establish a multiparty government. Such a government is not fair by the true UNPers. What has happened is a great injustice to the die-hard UNPers who have worked at the grassroots level. The UNP organisers have to take orders from Maithripala Sirisena’s brothers and his supporters. They even have to take orders from Chandrika Kumaratunge’s people. That is not right; it is not fair. There is a great dissent among the UNP organisers and campaigners because of this situation. What has happened is that Chandrika and Maithripala have hijacked our party and they have taken power into their hands.

But Maithripala Sirisena has promised to handover executive powers to Mr. Wickremasinghe who is the leader of the UNP. So how can you say that Mr. Sirisena and Mrs. Kumaratunge have taken power to their hands?

Mr. Sirisena made this promise at his inaugural press conference as the common candidate but he has not mentioned it at any of the rallies, meetings, or press conferences. He has not mentioned a word about this thereafter. That is because there was a great uproar about this from Maithripala’s supporters. Now the word has it that Chandrika will be made the Prime Minister and Ranil Wickremasinghe will be sidelined. We know about Chandrika, we know her history and we know what kind of woman she is. We cannot trust her. She was the one who ruined the UNP by dissolving Parliament when the UNP was in power. She broke her promises to us and violated the party’s basic rights.

So what will be your next move after the Presidential Elections? Will you be joining the UNP or will you be with the President?

I am deeply contemplating on what to do. I have to think about the future of the party. Certain individuals in the party did not let me raise my head in the party. They tried their best to keep me down. So I have no regrets about my decision. The Mahanayakes have blessed me and said that no one could blame me for my decision. Several members of the UNP have expressed their wish to join me. But I don’t encourage anyone to leave the party; I tell them to think twice and take their decisions.

However, the work at the grassroots level in the party was spearheaded by me. That switch has been turned off now.

Well soon after your defection, you were sworn in as the Health Minister which was the post vacated by none other than Mr. Sirisena. Did such perks play a role in your defection?

Not at all. I was not promised any financial rewards or perks in exchange for my support. I would never sell out in that way. I have not become anyone’s pawn. The President himself declared that he did not offer me anything more than a cup of coffee. I accepted the post of Health Minister because the President insisted.

I told him that this might lead to rumours that I offered my support for political benefits and personal gains. But he said that I shouldn’t worry about what others might say and accept the post. These rumours against me were generated by websites run by Mangala Samaraweera. He has been slinging mud at me for a long time.

I did not communicate with the President through any third party. I was in direct contact with him. Even though we have been in opposing parties, I am able to look at his face and speak straight with him.