President Premadasa: The Man of the People

"The people can be neglected for a long time but not indefinitely. Eventually such policies backfire on the rulers who implement them and the ridh who benefit from them Mr. Premadasa understood this like no other leader before or since. He knew democracy could not be defended if a majority of the people are poor and most of them keep on getting poorer."
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by B Sirisena Cooray

"Priceless is the sacrifice of a life in defence of democracy and peoples' rights and in resistance to terror and oppression".

(May 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) This quote by President Premadasa adorns the plaque of his statue at Hulftsdorf. When I commissioned the statue in 1993, 1 chose this quote because it correctly defines the sacrifice President Premadasa made on the May Day of 1993.

His short but eventful presidency was marked by the struggle against two extremist organisations and their campaign of terror to undermine Sri Lanka, the JVP and the LTTE. He was killed on that May Day because he was resisting the LTTE while supporting the rights of the Tamil people. He died defending his country and his people. That turned his death into a priceless sacrifice.

I commissioned the Hulftsdorf statue at a time when the opposition maligned him in a way no leader in this country was maligned. That was a time and even his own party, even those nearest and dearest to him were reluctant to speak out in his defence. Amongst those closest to him only his daughter Dulanjalee and I defended him, when he was accused, unfairly and erroneously, of murder. He was accused of killing General Kobbekaduwa and Mr. Athulathmudali. Commissions were appointed to prove these allegations. Today it is known that these murders were carried out by the LTTE. But at that time he was accused of these acts, without a shred of evidence.

The Hulftsdorf statue was part of my attempt to defend Mr. Premadasa and safeguard his memory. (I should mention here that though Mr. Premadasa was the greatest builder this country has had in the modern era he never wanted any of the things he built to, be named after him. It was after his death I named the Khettarama Stadium and the Colombo Central Base Hospital after him.) I wanted it to be ready for the first anniversary of his death, first May 1994. It was a target I had set myself and it was a target.

I was determined to meet. That was one of the most important lessons Mr. Premadasa had taught us - targets must be taken seriously and they must be kept.

He followed his own rule in whatever he did. He never had any foundation laying, ceremonies. The foundation stone was laid without fanfare; work began on that day itself and, continued without a respite. He will monitor the progress continuously and often I was his eyes and ears in this. After him, it became a fashion to have lavish foundation laying ceremonies and to do very little afterwards. His rule of always meeting targets, of never postponing things died with him. The results of, that abandonment of the Premadasa way are distressingly evident today.

Practicing what he preached

Mr. Premadasa believed in the importance of discipline. He preached what he practiced. He was successful in bringing a sense of discipline into this country, especially the state sector, because he was a disciplined man himself He did not preach the value of discipline and hard work to the country while enjoying the good life using public funds. He set an example by working hard and working on time. A country cannot develop unless its leaders set such examples to the people.

Mr. Premadasa was reluctant to battle the JVP and LTTE militarily. He was eventually forced to do so, because both organisations spurned his generous offers to power. But while meeting the military threat militarily, he placed greater reliance I on political methods. He thought it was important to understand the grievances which made some citizens of this country support the JVP and the LTTE. He felt that neither organisation could be defeated if those grievances are not addressed. His method worked with the JVP. When he asked the Indian Army to leave the JVP found itself without its most powerful political weapon. It never recovered from this loss. When he launched his pro-people development programme, the havenots began to develop a confidence in the democratic system again. Mr. Premadasa defeated the JVP by making it superfluous.

He was following a similar strategy in relation to the LTTE. The East was liberated from the LTTE during his time and that was how we were able to have elections in the East soon after his death. At the time of his death the plan to launch the Northern operation was ready. While the military readied for the operation President Premadasa made his own preparations. One day he summoned me and told me that he wanted 1000 houses to be built in Vavuniya in three months. These houses were to be just the first phase of a massive house building programme in, the North. This housing programme was to precede the military operations. The plan was to relocate the civilians who will be affected by a military operation to the newly built houses, away from the battle field. That way there will be no refugee camps; no citizen's life will be endangered.

I ask you to imagine the impact of this programme. We know the LTTE benefits when our operations affect civilians and turn them into refugees. When families are made homeless due to a military operation will those men, women and children be happy about those military operations? Will they not feel anger and resentment? Will they not hold the Sri Lankan government at least partly responsible for their loss'? And will not such feelings help the LTTE? President Premadasa understood this he build 1000 houses as he explained to me that day, when, he ordered me to Vavuniya in three months.

Not meeting a target was unthinkable for me. Despite the war I got those 1000 houses built. But President Premadasa was killed before the target day was over (and the houses were given to cronies by his successor). And no wonder. The LTTE would not have, wanted a leader who showed such concern and consideration towards the Tamil people. When the President of Sri Lanka behaves with such care and forethought how can the LTTE demonise us?

The liberated East was developed during his time. As usual there was little fuss. Targets were set and they were met. That was the way he worked and that was the way those of us under his command worked. Roads were built and repaired. Electricity and water were given. Mobile Presidential services were held. Houses were built and hospitals and schools were repaired. Jobs were created. When the 200 garment factories programme was launched, garment factories were built in the East and in the liberated areas of the North. They functioned, bringing jobs, development and hope to people who had known nothing but war for more than a decade.

In one of his most moving poems Mr. Premadasa wrote that on earth no force can equal the power of humanity. That power can be used for good or for ill. The JVP and the LTTE tried to use that power to cause death and destruction. Mr. Premadasa used that power to build and create. He also felt that this great power, the people of a country, should be nurtured. That is why he mentioned the care we give to products such as tea and rubber and then asked, "Consider for a moment whether we do such research and care for our biggest asset - human resources. Whether we give the same care and attention to the human being as we give the tender tea leaves, rubber tree, coconut tree and ears of paddy - though it is a human being who produces all these plantation crops. No. We have not treated the human being even as an object - not even to the extent we treat an agricultural product. We have got used to treating the poor as a set of worthless being" (Speech on 4th September 1989).

The people can be neglected for a long time but not indefinitely. Eventually such policies backfire on the rulers who implement them and the ridh who benefit from them Mr. Premadasa understood this like no other leader before or since. He knew democracy could not be defended if a majority of the people are poor and most of them keep on getting poorer. He valued discipline because without it a government cannot work to improve the lot of the havenots. Without discipline programmes will not be completed and promises will not be fulfiled.

"The way I see it, that was the fundamental difference between President Premadasa and all his predecessors and successors. All leaders make promises to win elections. Mr. Premadasa was a leader who took seriously the promises he made to the voters and dedicated his presidency to the task of implementing them. That is why he is remembered with more and more fondness today; that is why he is missed more, with each passing day. The people compare the disciplined progress that was the hallmark of the Premadasa Presidency with the chaos that followed. And they realise that fifteen years ago they lost a future.

(The writer Chairman , The Premadasa Centre in Colombo. )
- Sri Lanka Guardian.