Gammanpila’s dilemma

With many events planned to mark the first anniversary of the inauguration of President Maithripala Sirisena, moves are also afoot to throw a damper on the celebrations, with the likes of Udaya Gammanpila planning a black flag protest on the 8th, while the Pevedi Handa Collective led by the Abhayaramaya custodian Ven Muruththettuwe Ananda is organizing a protest march cum Satyagraha opposite the Fort Railway station on the same day.

Strangely not much noise is being made by the so called Joint Opposition backing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. At least no Satyagraha or protest marches have been planned by the Rajapaksa group represented in Parliament on their own. This is in sharp contrast to the frenzied activities on the part of the Rajapaksa group in the run up to the General Election, commencing from the Nugegoda rally, followed by similar mammoth shows in Anuradhapura and Kurunegala. Perhaps the ‘joint opposition’ has lost steam, with MR's defeat, what with a good many of those who pledged to stand by Rajapaksa during the final rally in Kurunegala, with hands on breasts, now ensconced as Ministers and Deputy Ministers in the National Government.

This setback may have forced the Rajapaksa cabal to outsource their protest campaign to the likes of Udaya Gammanpila who never loses an opportunity to hog the limelight, so much so he invited the media for a press conference during the holiday season, claiming to have inside knowledge on how the media was starved of news during this period.

Be that as it may, Gammanpila may have to do some explaining to the public whose support he is seeking to mourn the inauguration anniversary celebrations of the President. Addressing the media, garbed in full black, in the manner of a mortician, the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya General Secretary said the black flag campaign was in protest against the violation of the constitution by the present Government, its undemocratic acts and harassment meted out to war heroes. To Gammanpila and others seated beside him at the media conference, also donned in full black, the swearing in of a new Prime Minister on January 8, 2015 when there was a PM already holding that office is the highpoint of the Government's unconstitutional act. How Gammanpila is going to explain to his would be black flag brigade that a new President elected under a fresh mandate is going to appoint as Prime Minister a person who vociferously campaigned for the former's opponent only he will know, constitutional niceties notwithstanding.

MP Gammanpila who waxed eloquent on good democratic practices also must explain how a sitting Chief Justice was deposed by a kangaroo court that assumed the face of a Parliamentary Select Committee and the leading players in that drama was offered plum Ministerial office. The MP should also come out clean on why he remained silent when the former President bought over MPs from the Opposition with Ministry portfolios and other perks to extend his Presidential term limits after him (Gammanpila) giving an assurance to the public during the 2010 Presidential Election campaign that Rajapaksa is the ideal person to abolish the Executive Presidency by virtue of the fact he will be running for his second and final term.

Speaking about upholding democracy, no one recalls Gammanpila or anyone from Hela Urumaya which he then represented calling the public to hoist black flags when journalists and others exercising their democratic right to dissent were abducted in white vans. Nor was there a whimper of protest when Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickramatunga in whose newspaper Gammanpila's views figured prominently was murdered in broad daylight in a high security zone. It is too much to expect Gammanpila and his ilk to stage protests against the killing of journalists of the Udayan publication or the bombing of the Sirasa News owned by the Maharajas. But no one recalls the firebrand nationalist protesting the white van abduction and mutilation of Divaina editor Upali Tennakoon or the disappearance and murder of Prageeth Ekneligoda whom he now brands as a traitor.

Gammanpila cites the harassment of war heroes as another reason for his black flag protest. Where was this ardent Sinhala nationalist cum patriot when dozens of war heroes who chose to support General Sarath Fonseka were asked to kneel down and then frog marched on the orders of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, opposite a Five Star hotel occupied by Fonseka and his campaign team on the morning the election results were being announced. Why only now is he weeping buckets for ‘war heroes’ when they are taken in for questioning for alleged complicity in criminal acts? Where was Gammanpila who is today protesting against the violation of the constitution doing when Mahinda Rajapaksa used his constitutional powers to order the Attorney General close the cases against rapists and murderers or use the same constitutional powers to have a Minister's spouse on death row for the murder of her husband's mistress released while hundreds of others languished behind bar for years for offences that pale into insignificance compared to this.

The public are watching with interest how this black flag campaign is going to pan out. Suffice it to say that this is going to be another stunt of the beleaguered pro Rajapaksa cabal who are testing the waters for the launch of a new political alliance.