Black Box by Capt. Vasabha o Ranil in 2019 and Sajith in 2020 opt for Ape Jathika Peramuna for alliance o Ravi and Ranjith meet EC Chairman to discuss new symbol o GR and Basil visit Maithri in hospital; MR to meet Maithri on Tuesday o Basil says SLFP-SLPP marriage will continue; “dowry” issues to be sorted The United National Party (UNP) has once again stolen the spotlight from all other political issues and this time over “elephants” and “hearts”. Last Monday’s (10) Working Committee (WC) meeting was to resolve all issues related to the formation of the alliance with the appointment of its General Secretary by the Alliance Leader, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. However, with Premadasa and Co. moving to register the proposed political alliance along with a new symbol, the official UNP started to show signs of agitation with UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and his loyalists finally denying the Premadasa group of their own alliance with their own symbol. The issue had dragged on for the most part of last week and is expected to be resolved when the WC meets tomorrow (17). However, the meeting was not officially scheduled at the time of going to print. Prior to last Monday’s WC meeting, Wickremesinghe and Premadasa met at Sirikotha to discuss the way forward for the proposed alliance and the appointment of MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara as the General Secretary of the alliance. It is learnt that a discussion on the symbol of the proposed alliance was not taken up for discussion at the meeting. The WC meeting commenced on Monday at 4 p.m. Premadasa, who was absent at the previous WC meeting, arrived for the discussion with the intention of discussing the alliance that is to be led by him. When the discussion commenced on the proposed alliance, the WC had unanimously approved the name of MP Madduma Bandara as the General Secretary of the new UNP-led alliance. However, while there was consensus on the general secretary’s post, there was no agreement reached on whether to contest under the “elephant” symbol or any other. A majority in the UNP WC had expressed their desire to go with the elephant symbol, while a group of Premadasa supporters had insisted on contesting under a new symbol. The discussion had then shifted towards the alliance symbol and MPs Vajira Abeywardena and Palitha Range Bandara had noted that the UNP’s participation at the upcoming general election was of great importance and the party should therefore contest under the “elephant” symbol. “Give us the elephant symbol and we will use it as the symbol of the alliance,” Madduma Bandara said. Wickremesinghe immediately refused, knowing very well the legal implications involved in such a move. According to law, the UNP would lose its “elephant” symbol if it permits the Premadasa-led alliance to utilise it as a registered political entity. By then, the Premadasa group had already submitted the relevant documents to the Election Commission (EC) to register the Premadasa-led alliance. The alliance – Samagi Jana Balavegaya – was constituted using the registered political party – Ape Jathika Peramuna (Our National Front). The symbol of the Ape Jathika Peramuna is the “telephone”. Ape Jathika Peramuna was initially registered by confidante of UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera, Ruwan Ferdinands and later handed over to Senaka “Sha” de Silva, who was the Co-ordinating Secretary to MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka when the latter contested at the 2010 presidential election. The week before, on Friday (7), a group of UNP MPs had met with members of the EC and discussed the name and symbol under which the proposed alliance would contest at the upcoming election. The group, led by MP Sujeewa Senasinghe, had told the EC that the Ape Jathika Peramuna had agreed to the use of its symbol by the new alliance for the election. “There was a request to change the office bearers of Ape Jathika Peramuna, and the Election Commission informed the delegation that there was no opposition to it and that they could do so by convening a convention of party members, agreeing to the new names, and informing the Election Commission,” Commission sources had revealed to the media last week. With regard to a request to change the symbol from the telephone to the shape of a heart, the EC had explained that the “heart” symbol was not among the approved symbols gazetted by the Commission, but it could be considered if a formal request was made after the election was announced. Elephant vs. heart However, Wickremesinghe’s refusal to permit the Premadasa-led alliance to use the “elephant” symbol angered Premadasa. Thus commenced the tug-o-war on the symbol of the proposed alliance. The Wickremesinghe faction, while opposing the “heart” symbol proposed by the Premadasa group, was not agreeable to permit the UNP’s “elephant” symbol be used by the alliance. Instead, the Wickremesinghe group suggested that the proposed Premadasa-led alliance follow the formula adopted during the 2015 general election where the party that contested was the UNP under its “elephant” symbol while the other political parties entered into written agreements with the UNP and contested as the United National Front (UNF) under the “elephant” symbol. Premadasa however witnessed this stalemate as an effort by Wickremesinghe and his loyalists to further bungle the formation of the alliance and delay the commencement of the campaign for the upcoming general election. Premadasa had then addressed the WC. “I love this party and I love the elephant symbol more than anyone here. My father died for the party and the symbol of the party is the elephant. Therefore, no one needs to give me tuition on how to love the party and its symbol. If we need to form an alliance to win, there needs to be a name and a symbol. Where are the powers given to me? Do you think I’m just a puppet?” Premadasa had said before leaving the meeting room. Despite many rumours that circulated after Premadasa’s walk out, he maintains that he will never leave the UNP. Responding to claims that Premadasa had left the party, he noted that there was no need to respond to such rumours. Some Wickremesinghe loyalists also said that Premadasa would lose his party membership if he becomes the leader of the proposed Samagi Jana Balavegaya after it is registered. According to them, the UNP Constitution does not permit a party member, especially an office bearer, to hold a membership/office of another registered political party. RW and Ape Jathika Peramuna It was then that everyone started to look at the details of the proposed alliance formed by Premadasa and the documents that were sent in to the EC for registration purposes. The Black Box learnt that it was then revealed that it was Wickremesinghe who in fact had first taken charge of the Ape Jathika Peramuna last year. According to the documents submitted to the EC last year, Wickremesinghe had reconstituted Ape Jathika Peramuna by naming himself as the leader of the party while MP Dr. Rajitha Senaratne had been named as its general secretary. The ball was once again in Wickremesinghe’s court. If Wickremesinghe could be named as the leader of Ape Jathika Peramuna in September 2019 and not lose his UNP membership, then making such allegations against Premadasa would also seem futile. A clear case of what is good for the goose is good for the gander. The next issue to raise its head was that of the name of the proposed alliance – Samagi Jana Balavegaya – which was translated to United National Power (UNP). The acronym of the Premadasa-led alliance soon ruffled the feathers of the Wickremesinghe-led official UNP. As soon as the EC accepted the request to reconstitute Ape Jathika Peramuna by naming Premadasa as its Leader and Madduma Bandara as its General Secretary, UNP Legal Secretary Nissanka Nanayakkara wrote to the EC objecting to the use of the “UNP” acronym by the proposed Premadasa-led alliance. “I request the Election Commission to refrain from registering any new political party which has as its acronym in English the letters UNP, and also to ensure that when the name of the new political party is translated from Sinhala to English, it does not have the same short form,” Nanayakkara noted in the letter to the EC. However, the issue was later resolved by the Premadasa group that claimed that it would not use the “UNP” acronym and would go with “SJB” instead. Allies stand by Sajith Amidst all this chaos, Premadasa’s efforts to form a new political alliance received fresh impetus last Wednesday (12) when several coalition parties of the UNF expressed its support to the Premadasa-led alliance. The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) expressed its support to the broad people’s alliance that is being formed under Premadasa’s leadership. The three parties, issuing a joint statement, noted that the UNP WC had assigned to Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa the alliance leadership, the power to name a general secretary to the alliance, chair the nominations board of the alliance, and become the prime ministerial candidate of the alliance. The three parties have therefore stated they too would join forces with the alliance. According to Co-leader of the TPA P. Digambaram, people do not care much about the symbol. He had explained that the people voted for the “elephant” and then voted for the “swan” symbol that was backed by the UNP. Digambaram had noted that the people would vote even for the “heart” symbol. “People care about the programme that is presented, not the symbol,” he had said. Same old tricks After the WC meeting, a group of Premadasa loyalists had met for a discussion on how to overcome the stalemate over the alliance symbol. The meeting was attended by MPs Madduma Bandara, Thalatha Atukorale, and Chandrani Bandara. They have weighed the pros and cons of contesting under the UNP’s “elephant” symbol. It was then noted that in the event the alliance contests under the “elephant” symbol of the UNP even as an alliance, the signing of the nomination papers as well as appointing National List parliamentarians would have to be done with the signature of UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam. Madduma Bandara had noted that in such a scenario, it would be a return to square one. The discussion had then focused on the fact that despite Premadasa being appointed as the alliance Leader and Madduma Bandara as the General Secretary, the final powers will still be wrested by Wickremesinghe and his loyalists. According to the Premadasa loyalists, after promising the alliance leadership, post of general secretary, and chair of the nominations board, Wickremesinghe had once again ensured that he maintains control amidst the chaos and now over the issue of the symbol. It is in this backdrop that Wickremesinghe and Premadasa met for a one-on-one discussion last Wednesday at the former’s 5th Lane residence. However, details of the discussion are yet unknown. Reaching middle ground The UNP WC that was scheduled to meet last Friday (14) was postponed till Monday (17). Be that as it may, by Friday (14) evening, both the Premadasa and Wickremesinghe factions had reached a somewhat consensus on the proposed alliance and its symbol. Accordingly, the Premadasa and Wickremesinghe factions had reached a consensus on contesting the upcoming general election under the “swan” symbol. The 10-member committee that was appointed earlier in the week to discuss and resolve the issues related to the formation of a political alliance led by Premadasa had met on Friday (14) evening at Sirikotha. The committee comprises MPs Premadasa, Kariyawasam, Ravi Karunanayake, Madduma Bandara, John Amaratunga, Samaraweera, Lakshman Kiriella, Navin Dissanayake, Kabir Hashim, and Malik Samarawickrama. Before the commencement of the meeting, Wickremesinghe had advised the committee members loyal to him to ensure that decisions are reached in an amicable manner in order to ensure that unity prevails in the party. Therefore, all members had approached the meeting with flexible working attitudes. When the discussion was again stuck on the symbol issue and whether the alliance should contest under the “elephant” or“heart”, Karunanayake had stepped in and offered the symbol of a political party affiliated to him – the New Democratic Front (NDF), of which the symbol is the “swan”. After a lengthy discussion on the matter, both parties had reached a consensus on the “swan” symbol. Hashim had immediately telephoned EC Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya and said that several representatives of the UNP wanted to meet with him to discuss the proposed alliance symbol. Deshapriya had asked the UNP representatives to meet him at 5 p.m. that evening and Karunanayake together with Madduma Bandara had attended the discussion with the EC Chairman. As a result, the meeting of the committee was also cut short. Although there will be several key technicalities to sort out, like the NDF office bearers and their willingness to permit the reconstitution of the party, at the moment, the two factions in the UNP have reached a consensus on the “swan” symbol. A final decision is likely to be taken at the WC meeting expected to be held tomorrow. No divorce for SLFP-SLPP Meanwhile, the revelations in last week’s The Black Box on the imminent end of the honeymoon for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) along with the contest of the agreements signed between the SLFP and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the run-up to last November’s presidential election, stirred a hornet’s nest. The agreements reached by the SLFP with SLPP and President Rajapaksa, who at the time was the SLPP’s presidential candidate, clearly notes the formation of a new political alliance by the two political parties – the Sri Lanka Freedom People’s Alliance (Sri Lanka Nidahas Podujana Peramuna). However, several public statements made by senior SLPP members on the push by a majority of the SLPP members to contest separately under its “flower bud” symbol and the refusal to accept a common symbol for the proposed SLFP-SLPP alliance resulted in growing dissention among members of the two parties. Given the growing push for the SLPP to contest separately at the general election in order to ensure the party receives the maximum number of votes so that it can get the largest number of parliamentarians into the House, SLPP seniors also contemplated the advantages of contesting separately. This left the SLFP in the lurch as the party members were already campaigning to contest as an alliance at the upcoming polls. SLPP theoretician and National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa then intervened to calm all sides, saying everything can be worked out through discussion. He told The Black Box that disagreements are common in any marriage. “When there are disagreements in a marriage, sometimes over the dowry, it doesn’t break the marriage, the marriage is in place and it is up to the family members and the go-between (kapuwa) to resolve the issue and move forward,” he said. Drawing similarities between matrimony and the proposed alliance between the SLFP and SLPP, Basil noted that the existing disagreements could be overcome through discussion. Basil also met with SLFP Leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena recently. In fact, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had also met Sirisena at a private hospital in Colombo recently when had visited an ailing Ven. Omare Kassapa Thera. Sirisena was recently admitted to a private hospital in Colombo with the flu and the President had visited the thera who was being treated at the same hospital. After hearing that Sirisena was also being treated at the hospital, the President had visited Sirisena and engaged in a friendly chat. The President had then informed Basil about Sirisena and that he was in hospital which prompted Basil to also visit the former President. Both Basil and Sirisena had engaged in a lengthy discussion, which had also touched on the proposed alliance. The discussion it seems had cleared much of the disagreements and as of last week, the SLFP-SLPP alliance is back on track. Reaching a consensus The SLFP has already communicated to the SLPP leadership that the party has no qualms over contesting under the “flower bud” symbol as long as it was as an alliance and not under the SLPP. The SLFP has managed to throw the ball into the SLPP’s court by saying the party was ready to contest under the “flower bud” symbol as the Sri Lanka Freedom People’s Alliance. However, like the issue faced by the UNP over its “elephant” symbol, the conundrum is that the SLPP would have to resort to a new symbol if it assigns the “flower bud” to the proposed alliance with the SLFP. Meanwhile, the SLFP has said the party had not made any specific request for a co-leadership role for SLFP Leader, former President Sirisena in the proposed SLFP-SLPP alliance. SLFP General Secretary Jayasekara told a news briefing last week that the SLFP did not want a co-leadership position, but it was a decision reached during initial discussions on forming the alliance. He had gone on to explain that when the alliance was formed, Sirisena was the President of the country and Prime Minister and SLPP Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was the Opposition Leader. Therefore, it was deemed fit to include the two leaders as co-leaders of the proposed alliance. According to Jayasekara, discussions should be held to discuss any changes to the terms agreed upon in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two parties. It is in this backdrop that a meeting had been scheduled for Tuesday (18) between SLPP Leader Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, SLPP National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa, and SLFP Leader former President Sirisena. The meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday (18) evening at Temple Trees. The SLPP will be represented by Mahinda and Basil Rajapaksa as well as Minister Dullas Alahapperuma. The SLFP team will be led by Sirisena and include Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Duminda Dissanayake, and Mahinda Amaraweera. The meeting is a result of a letter sent by Jayasekara a week earlier requesting for a discussion between the SLFP leadership and the President, Prime Minister, and Basil Rajapaksa. The intention of the meeting is to iron out the existing issues in the formation of the proposed alliance between the SLFP and SLPP and to look for the best possible way to get all SLFP and SLPP members to work together in order to win the upcoming general election.