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United National Party (UNP) Leadership Council Chairman and parliamentarian Karu Jayasuriya agreeing that the parties slogans used in the past had not struck a chord with the masses appeared confident in the revival of the UNP under the new structure that is being implemented.

He said that the results of the recently concluded provincial council elections showed that a united opposition could defeat the incumbent regime but stopped short of naming himself or any other as the ideal opposition candidate to take on Mahinda Rajapaksa at a presidential election.

Q: To start off with,  there is speculation about a presidential election; what is your view on this impending election, and on the fact that there is a notion that you will be coming forward as the common opposition candidate?

The UNP has gone through substantial changes during the last few months particularly with regard to its re-organisation initiated by the Maha Sangha and other religious leaders.  The Leadership Council has revived the party and is on the move to unite the party and has done that to a large extent and I must say we have been very successful. We are getting ready for an election be it General or Presidential, the party organisation has to be geared up and we are in the process of doing that.  There is a programme called Jana Jaya which is being carried out vigorously. We will be going to Badulla soon and this will be the start of our programme for the forthcoming Uva elections.

As far as the presidential election is concerned don’t forget the fact that we are the single largest party in the country. Last time our vote base was 25% but we know that there was a silent voter who didn’t go to the polls and we know that there are a larger number of votes that the UNP could garner in the event of a national election. So as a Political party we will have to play a very big role in the event of a presidential election.  So ideally the opposition presidential candidate should either be from the UNP, and if we are looking for somebody other than from the UNP, the candidate will have to be backed and supported by the UNP. If you look at the previous presidential election, we backed and supported Gen. Fonseka but of course as it is now, we are open to suggestions and are looking for various options. However, we are convinced that we ought to have one single opposition candidate to meet the challenge from the President. We have to have a single candidate who could unite the opposition. The previous presidential elections clearly showed that a united opposition can easily face a future presidential election. Let us see how things would work out, various names have been mentioned and as the largest political party we will watch and see how things unfold.

"We have to have a single candidate who could unite the opposition. The previous elections showed that a united opposition can easily face a future presidential election"

Q: Are you willing to come forward as the candidate?

My position is that I have not applied or canvassed for anything. It is the party who decides on all such decisions and I will abide by it. But I must tell you at this juncture that I am one of those who believe that the Executive Presidency must be abolished. I think that the people should be reminded that it is the UNP that brought about various measures for good governance and a good example of which is the 17th Amendment to the Constituion first initiated by the UNP. Then the changes in the electoral system resulting in a committee chaired by Dinesh Gunawardena while we were in government, and when there was cries from various quarters on the short comings of the 17th Amendment we set up a parliamentary committee chaired by D.E.W. Gunasekara. Even the Freedom of Information bill was first introduced in 2001 under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. During the time we spoke to all editors journalists to ensure that we have a solid bill to be presented. However, before the bill was taken up, parliament was dissolved by the then President Chandrika Kumaranathunga. Then again in 2012 we submitted the bill and the government wanted us to withdraw it saying that they would present a similar bill but unfortunately that is yet to see the light of day. We waited for about a year and then we presented it again and it was defeated by a two-thirds majority. There is a lot of corruption waste and maladministration in this country and these would end if this bill is presented, and the only way this parliament could pass the bill is if the government wished to do so. Let’s hope that the government will.

Q: Mr. Jayasuriya we have heard this time and again from the UNP. That they are on the verge of changing and even after the Leadership Council was established we were made to believe that this was going to be the revolution the party required. But that was not the case as was evident from the results at the Provincial Council elections. What do you really believe to be the reason for this?

We have had to start from the very bottom. We had to take over a system that was completely disorganised. The branch organisations were not functioning, there was no motivation, there were various disagreements within the party, so our first task was to unite the forces and I must say 95% of this has been achieved. There are of course a small number who are still outside and there is more to be done. I also want to remind all the friends of the party that just because there are disagreements within the party you must not criticise the party to the outside world. That is simply not done. By doing that you are damaging the very party you are supposed to protect.
With regard to the Provincial Council elections, it is my view and the view of those in the Leadership Council and the Working Committee that if the Leadership Council was not set up the party would have suffered a very heavy defeat, very much worse than what the party showed during the elections. This is a point a lot of people don’t realise. And also I must tell you that from the very first day the Leadership Council was proposed there were unseen hands who wanted to disrupt this. They simply don’t want the UNP to unite, they don’t want the UNP to go forward and they want to see a divided UNP. But we have reversed this trend now. We are happy that there is motivation within the party now, the May Day rally and the Hambantota incident has revived our party. There is a new vigour in the party. What the people want now is action. The Party machinery is now geared; we are now working as a team. Even in the Leadership Council we argue because we have very diverse personalities, but there is always consensus ultimately. There is professionalism in the running of the party now, it is not run by me alone and we consult. This consultation process has helped us in our endeavour. So I am confident in the way we are going, unless we are disrupted by our own forces within, we would show good results at the upcoming elections. The Provincial Council election results show that there is no further surge towards the government and that has been arrested, the trend has been turned back and now it is our time to move. We can only get better from hereon.

Q: Was the leadership Council an exit strategy for Mr. Wickremesinghe?

No, not really. Mr. Wickremesinghe is the national leader and he has a role to plays. I can’t tell you that though some media are trying to portray him as someone who interferes in the Council, I must tell you that he doesn’t interfere in anyway in the affairs of the Leadership Council. When I was first offered this position, I refused the offer, and I accepted it when it was offered to me again strictly on the basis that I would be given managerial freedom and decision-making authority. I come from a private sector background and also a military background so I don’t want anybody to push things on me. I’m a great believer in team work and it is the team that matters, and all our achievements during the last few weeks were due to team work.

Q:  Sajith Premadasa is seen to be playing an entirely different role in the UNP during this period, what is your take on this?

As far as we are concerned Sajith Premadasa is a young and energetic politician and of course his father was a great friend of mine. And for a successful UNP we need everybody, we need Sajith Premadasa, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Ravi Karunanayake we need everybody. That is what a team is. In the village there is a saying “sarpa visath behethata one wenawa” (At times even snake poison is used in medicine). If we are together we can make a good team. That is why we wanted him in the Leadership Council. I hope there will be a time when we could all come together and only then will we become a force to be reckoned with.

Q: Do you believe that the Uva election will be a defining turning point? To the effect that if it is lost, it will be the end of the road for the UNP for a long time to come from now?

No not really. In Sri Lanka none of the elections have been free fair. When you say a free and fair election you should have a completely Independent Police Force especially in Sri Lanka. You must have an Independent Elections Commission and an Independent Public Service Commission and the elections should be conducted in such a way that government funds or power could not be used. But following the abolishing of the 17th Amendment the Police are not allowed to carry out their duties due to political interference. We respect the IGP and some senior officers but the officers in the outstations are not allowed to carry out their duties. If you take the Hambantota incident, the thugs did what they wanted in the presence of police officers. Then during a protest opposite the prison on February 4, 2011 we were attacked by thugs in the very presence of police officers which is a disgrace, we gave names in parliament but nothing happened. Then even this Hambantota incident not one person responsible for the attack was arrested yet. Everyone is out, they have just arrested a few passersby but that is it. Especially in Hambantota we expected a five-star democracy because that is the place that the head of state the head of the Commonwealth, his son, and the speaker represents. That should actually be a model democracy. Also we must not forget that the media has been suppressed in this country, several editors were killed, and journalists brutally assaulted and made to flee the country. On the other hand protests were suppressed, for example the protest in the Free Trade Zone where Roshen was shot dead and the report on the death has not been submitted to this day, then Anthony who was protesting the rise in fuel prices in Chilaw was also shot dead, then Rathupaswela where the only thing people wanted was drinking water, three students were shot dead. These are clear signs of a dictatorship whether you like it or not. We are slowly but surely going towards a despotic totalitarian regime. You can’t protest you would be shot or white vanned. The recent incident in Wanathamulla where a resident was abducted is a clear indication of this white van syndrome although the colour of the van has changed. We all know who is behind this.  People are afraid to talk.

Q:How do you see the fact that people have not bought this rhetoric?  Amid the blatant corruption, the absence of media freedom and development, the masses have really not struck a chord with these slogans. Mr. Jayasuriya how do you see this as a Politician?

You are correct in saying that. It is true, but that is because we don’t have a media. You can see the entire state media is used to propagate and character assassinate people. Even the Private media has a lot of interference and pressure from the government to side with them. So though the Private media wants to be a voice they can’t do that. They are either intimidated or pressured upon. Therefore we need a media of our own and that is being done now. I don’t want to talk about the past but we are looking with confidence at the future and we prepared to move ahead. We want to die in a democratic country and not in a dictatorship.

Pix by Kithsiri De Mel