Promises and Experience

By Thomas Johnpulle

(December 14, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) At the heat of the 1970 election just a year after the moon landing, Sirima Bandaranaike promised to bring rice from the moon and some gullible voters believed it. After coming to power people starved without rice. In 1977 JR Jayawardena promised to give 8 grains including popular dhal (lentils) but people got “parippu” (a slang word meaning humiliation). In 1988 R Premadasa promised 2,500 a month but people lost their food stamps and instead some received 1,250 a month. Chandrika famously promised cheap bread at 3.50 rupees in 1994 and we saw the biggest price hike of bread from 3.50 to 20 rupees during her time; a staggering five times increase. Then in 1999 Ranil Wickramasinghe promised gold chains for youth but he didn't make it so nothing happened. When Ranil promised a youth dole of 2,000 rupees in 2001 he won but the dole was never given. If it was given who would pay for it? The poor people. Their income tax payment would skyrocket and VAT on every milk powder packet, cake of soap, etc. would go up to collect the billions of rupees needed to give all these election sweeteners.

Chandralal has unfortunately fallen to the same category of “experienced” politicians by promising to increase inflation without any productivity increase.

In political experience Chandralal equals Chandrika who was elected the Chief Minister in 1993 without any experience. She screamed about corruption and gained popularity. She famously said all UNP corrupt politicians especially the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe would be given 100 lashes at the Galle Face Green until they regurgitate billions of rupees of public money. Within months she ascended to Prime Minister and then the President. She (too) promised to abolish the executive presidency by 15 July 1995. But when the date finally arrived she refused and started ‘Operation Leap Frog’ in Jaffna which was a failure. But it was sufficient to make people forget about the promise.

Although not convicted, Chandrika is said to be highly corrupt who came to power by promising to wipe out corruption. Her promise to abolish executive presidency suffered a worse fate. Not only she continued with the executive presidency but she also ran again for the high office, won, tried a constitutional trick to extend her stay illegally and finally tried to change the constitution so that she could be the executive president/prime minister for life.

All this was due to lack of political experience.

Within seven years of assuming power, the team that won the election in 1994 was chased out of the party. GL Pieris, SB Dissanayake and M Wijesekera were sent to the Opposition. Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was stripped of his electorate. Chandrika called the UNP, the Uncle Nephew Party before 1994 and vowed to end nepotism. What happened? She appointed her mother as the Prime Minister!

She also promised media freedom in 1994. She graphically described how veteran journalist Richard de Zoysa was abducted in a van without number plates, tortured and killed. But in July 1999 her PSD attacked journalists mercilessly grievously injuring some. She famously called popular media man Lasantha Wickramatunga a ‘worm’ in 1998! So much about promised media freedom.

All this was due to lack of political experience.

Chandrika’s extreme lack of political experience was taken as innocence in 1994. She was disastrous in working in teams as her experimental political parties collapsed. She showed no interest in the party formed by her husband either in her dash for power. She claimed all credit for herself and put down her teammates. She explained how this courageous daughter who lost her father untimely due to violence, whose darling husband was gunned down in front of her, raised two children alone and raised a political movement singlehandedly to end the ‘17 year curse’ (in her own words) of the ‘Uncle Nephew Party’.

Another prominent thing about Chandrika was her extreme obsession about own security. She demanded, even before getting into the parliament, VIP security. A massive contingent of VIP security was provided to her yet she still claimed lack of security. She eventually turned her bad habit of late arrival into a political strength.

Prime Minister DS Senanayaka’s children stayed in Sri Lanka, so did the children of Prime Ministers/Presidents J Kotelawala, SWRD Bandaranaike, Sirima Bandaranaike, Dudley Senanayaka, JR Jayawardena, R Premadasa, DB Wijetunga, MP Rajapaksha and R Wickramanayake. The only exception is Chandrika whose children reside abroad. While they have a right to do so, it shows the complete lack of faith in Sri Lanka on the part of a former Prime Minister and a President!

Are we seeing the re-emergence of the Chandrika era? Obviously Chandrika’s promises echo loud on election platforms once again. History may be repeating. If so people know what to expect after the election.

-Sri Lanka Guardian