President Ranil Wickremesinghe who was out of Colombo on vacation returned to Colombo in the afternoon on December 31. Soon after his arrival in Colombo he engaged in his official duties as usual. When the President finished his duties that day, the New Year had dawned. That evening, the President had called the UNP officials to talk about party affairs.
UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene, General Secretary Range Bandara, Chairman Wajira Abeywardena, National Organiser Sagala Ratnayaka and Deputy Leader Akila Viraj Kariyawasam also attended the meeting where they discussed the appointment of positions according to the new party constitution. In the meantime, Ministers Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara came for other official work and they also attended the discussion.
They also discussed the appointment of representatives to the leadership board, executive board and party working committees in accordance with the new constitution adopted at the party’s special Convention in October last year. After discussing the upcoming activities of the New Year, the group left at midnight, wishing each other for the New Year.
The following morning, the activities to commence the work for the New Year were organised with the advice of the President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake. Following the arrival of the President and the hoisting of the National Flag, the public service pledge for the New Year was taken by the staff of the Presidential Secretariat.
Many Ministers were there to meet and wish President Wickremesinghe. Among them, Ministers Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, Shehan Semasinghe, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena were at the forefront. Later President Wickremesinghe arrived at the place where the tea party was held. Although all the key office-bearers of the Presidential Secretariat were present, there was a whisper about the absence of Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayaka.
Minister Bandula Gunawardena, President’s Trade Union Director General Saman Ratnapriya and Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, Director General of Government Information Dinith Chinthaka who came near the President started talking about the situation in the country.
With the implementation of VAT, the increase in the price of goods including fuel was one of the main topics.
“It is difficult for me to take popular decisions at this time. I take decisions for the future of the people of the country. Even though the people scold me now, they will appreciate what I have done for them in the future,” the President said.
“I conduct Budget seminars. People are also informed by talking about taxes there,” Saman Ratnapriya said, starting the conversation.
“Yes, we should tell the truth instead of fairy tales. There is no other way. This is the only way. It was because this journey was bitter that everyone ran away without taking this responsibility,” he said.
The President said, “I will be talking about the economic situation at the opening of the Air Force Headquarters,” and called the Finance Ministry Secretary and asked for information.
Taking note of the statistics that the Finance Ministry Secretary said, the President wrote them down himself to use them in the next speech.
Minister Gunawardena said, “As you said Sir, I conducted an all-night pirith chanting in front of the Anuradhapura Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi to invoke blessings on the country.”
When the President nodded, Minister Gunawardena repeated that the pirith chanting was shown live on National Television and Independent Television.
“The Minister accompanied the General Manager of Railways and the team of officials of the Road Development Authority to Anuradhapura by train to take part in the pirith chanting,” Prof. Ashu Marasinghe said.
Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayaka joined the crowd when the President was getting ready to leave.
“Where did Sagala go? We looked to see why you were missing. We thought you had some other problem.” The people there did not forget to ask Sagala that question while wishing him a Happy New Year.
Sagala said that he went to the UNP headquarters early in the morning and attended the commencement of duties, dispelling everyone’s doubts. Party General Secretary Range Bandara and others decorated the Sirikotha party headquarters for the New Year in preparation for the upcoming elections. People came from all over to ‘Sirikotha’ to wish the Party Leaders for the New Year.
Sagala Rathnayaka, who went to the New Year tea table, told those present that Range Bandara has been re-appointed by the President as the Secretary General for this year. He said that the remaining positions will be filled later, encouraging the party members who were present. Former Badulla district Parliamentarian Samaraweera Weerawanni, who left the UNP and joined the SJB, was also present.
UNP General Secretary Range Bandara commenced the New Year by presenting a Buddha statue to uncle Dhanapala, the oldest member at the party headquarters. He also gave him the pirith noola brought from Malaysia and told him to give it to the Sirikotha staff. He gave the pirith noola and Buddha statues to everyone who visited the General Secretary’s office and wished them well for the New Year.
New Air Force headquarters
After greeting everyone who came to the Presidential Secretariat, President Wickremesinghe went to Akuregoda, Battaramulla to open the new Air Force Headquarters.
The President who spoke about the country’s economy, returned to the Secretariat in the evening to join the first Cabinet meeting for the New Year. Thereafter, the report of the Cabinet sub-committee appointed to look into cricket was presented to the President.
On Tuesday morning, the President went to the security headquarters to meet the Security Chiefs. The security situation in the country was discussed. Later the President came to his office to meet the Pakistan Defence Secretary who was in the country. National Security Adviser Ratnayaka, State Minister of Defence Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon and the Defence Secretary were also present.
That afternoon, President Wickremesinghe attended the Shilpa Abhimani Presidential Handicraft Awards ceremony at the BMICH. After the ceremony concluded and the President came to the office, the Dengue Control Task Force had met under the patronage of Sagala Ratnayaka and the President also advised them to plan activities to prevent dengue from reoccurring in the dengue prone areas.
That evening, the UNP Management Committee meeting was held under the patronage of the President. Inquiring about the future plans and tasks of the party, President Wickremesinghe said that the party will appoint a new board of officers after he returns from his foreign trip.
General Secretary Range Bandara said that district meetings, electoral responsibilities will be assigned and new speakers will be appointed for each electorate and they will be given a certificate of recognition. It will be held on January 21 at Sirikotha and 500 people will be awarded these certificates.
Throughout the day on Wednesday, President Wickremesinghe attended a number of meetings and also participated in the Cabinet Subcommittee on Economic Affairs.
It was decided to run a program under the Presidential Secretariat to find out how to modernise the agricultural sector and use the underutilised land resources for this purpose. A project office was launched and Minister Bandula Gunawardena is also contributing to this.
That evening, a group including MPs Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Nimal Lanza, Piyankara Jayaratne met the President to inform him about their new political office. They also said that they support the President’s program and work together with the District Coordination Committees. There was also talk about Shan Wijayalal de Silva and Dayasritha Thissera joining the SJB. In the meantime, MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Minister Prasanna Ranatunga also came to meet the President.
“Sajith started campaigning on January 1 by taking Shan Wijayalal de Silva. Many of our people are worried about this,” said MP Nimal Lanza.
“Shan Wijayalal had no place in the Government side. On the other hand, there was a problem with the SLFP. However, there is no way for him to come to Galle because the Government has strong figures such as Ramesh Pathirana, Wajira Abeywardena, Manusha Nanayakkara and Mohan de Silva,” Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said.
“On the other hand, it was Ambalangoda Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman who received the highest number of votes from Ambalangoda. He is with us. The place Shan Wijayalal had to go to was the SJB. The Government already knew this,” Minister Shehan Semasinghe said.
“Is it possible to take these people and run a party even without an election at hand? He always did this kind of work,” Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said with a smile.
“We started Maithripala Sirisena’s campaign within three weeks,” Wajira Abeywardena also joined the conversation recalling old memories.
“The problems within the SJB have increased after they took G.L.Peiris and Nalaka Godahewa. Nalaka Godahewa was Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s policymaker. Sajith can work with someone who brought the VAT to eight percent and helped bring down the economy, but others can’t,” Prof. Ashu Marasinghe said firmly.
“It is said that Dayasritha Thissera was brought to put Niroshan Perera down,” MP Madhura Withanage said with a smile.
President Wickremesinghe, who had heard all the stories said, “Don’t worry, go to your respective electorates and work. You can’t campaign in a hurry. More than the Presidential election campaign, I have the campaign to build the country and the economy,” President Wickremesinghe said with a smile.
While going out after the discussion, the group said, “It can be seen that the President is in great spirits. This gave us a lot of confidence.”
Although the President was supposed to go to the Kilinochchi District Development Committee meeting on Thursday evening, he came to the office in the morning to meet the Finance Ministry officials. Before that, the President who met a group of Ministers also spoke about the country’s situation.
“A team from the Ceylon Electricity Board and SriLankan Airlines is working to sabotage the forward march of the country. These two or three months are when most tourists come to the country,” Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena said.
”Yes, now we are going to hold many special local festivals focusing on the Southern Province. Aiming at tourists, there is the Galle Literary Festival. On the other hand, a world-famous western singer, Andre Bochel is coming to Sri Lanka. Indian celebrities are also coming. We cannot allow this work to be disrupted,” Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said firmly.
“It’s okay to protest, but we can’t let the work of the country be disrupted,” this is how the Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayaka also joined in the conversation. “Opposition political forces are behind this. Because these people know that the country will develop if the President’s program goes ahead,” MP Premanath Dolawatta said seriously.
The President went to Kilinochchi in the evening and he is due to remain in the Jaffna Peninsula till today, January 7.
“Genuine politics”
The New Year 2024 dawned with the warmth of the new alliance of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Former Chief Minister of the Southern Province MP Shan Wijayalal de Silva joined the SJB on January 1 and assumed the post of Ambalangoda Organiser. This was a reason for many people’s surprise because it was a secret until it happened. The talk of taking Shan Wijayalal de Silva to the SJB started about five months ago. SJB Baddegama Organiser former MP Bandula Lal Bandarigoda was the key person behind this process.
Bandula Lal had a good relationship with Shan Wijayalal de Silva when he was working as a Provincial Council member. In the move to take Shan Wijayalal de Silva to the SJB, Bandarigoda was greatly strengthened by SJB Galle District Organiser Gee Ganage. Each time the two of them invited Shan Wijayalal to join the SJB, he told Bandula Lal, “Like you, I am not a defector from the party. I will not leave the party. I have received great recognition and opportunity from the party at all times.”
But Bandula Lal and Gee Ganage did not give up their efforts and continued to tell Shan Wijayalal that if something can be done through the current political power, he should join a team that can win. Shan Wijayalal was impressed with the leadership of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. Bandula Lal expressed Shan Wijayalal’s feelings about Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa’s genuine politics and said that this is the factor that will not be a problem for him to join the SJB.
Shan Wijayalal told Bandarigoda, “My politics is written in Ambalangoda and if I am going to do politics, I must have that base.”
Bandula Lal told Shan Wijayalal “I will suggest to the Leader to give you the post of Ambalangoda electoral organiser.”
Shan said, “What will happen to Ananda Abeywickrama the present organiser? I can’t do this if he gets hurt.”
Bandula Lal Bandarigoda said, “I will give an answer to that, but give me an answer whether you like it or not.”
The moment Bandula Lal got the green light from Shan Wijayalal, he called the Opposition Leader on the phone and informed him about Shan Wijayalal’s wish. At the same time, Bandarigoda told the Opposition Leader about the Ambalangoda Organiser post.
The Opposition Leader said that there is a problem. “Isn’t it so, Bandula Lal?” Bandula Lal Bandarigoda said, “Sir, there will not be any problem. Give the Baddegama seat to Ananda Abeywickrama.”
The Opposition Leader was surprised and asked Bandula Lal, “What is happening to you.”
Bandula Lal told the Opposition Leader “You should win for the country. I will make sacrifices for any step that gives you the strength to do so. There is nothing to talk about. Give Ambalangoda to Shan and appoint Ananda to Baddegama. Let us strengthen the unity of the people.”
The Opposition Leader, who got the phone number from Bandula Lal, called Shan Wijayalal and requested him to come to the Opposition Leader’s office on January 1, planning the program that will give strength to the party at the beginning of the New Year.
Big reception
Following tradition, a short ceremony was organised to address the staff of the Office of the Opposition Leader. The Opposition Leader came to the office on the morning of January 1, keeping the rumour about the arrival of Shan Wijayalal de Silva a secret. Shan Wijayalal de Silva came to the Opposition Leader’s office early in the morning to participate in party activists meeting with the Opposition Leader which had been organised by SJB Kolonnawa organiser MP S.M. Marikkar.
At that moment, Shan Wijayalal got a big reception. After spending a short time, the Opposition Leader came to the Opposition Leader’s office with Shan Wijayalal to participate in the ceremony to commence the work of the Opposition Leader’s office. By that time, several members of the Opposition had come to the office of the Opposition Leader. Galle District MPs Gayantha Karunathilaka, Chandima Weerakkody, former MP Wijepala Hettiarachchi and MPs G.L. Peiris and Dilan Perera were also present.
Shan Wijayalal was offered party membership and the post of Ambalangoda electoral organiser before the Opposition Leader met the staff. Then addressing the staff, the Opposition Leader said, “Although we are satisfied with small refreshments, there are a large number of people who are facing the struggle of living in the country today. We are entering the New Year at a time when mothers and fathers commit suicide with their children. Announcing the arrival of Shan Wijayalal de Silva, the Opposition Leader said that the good politicians who want the people to save this country from suffering will join the SJB.”
MP Chandima Weerakkody said that this will bring big refreshments and a message of change to the Southern Province. The Opposition Leader said that Shan Wijayalal’s arrival had the blessings of all the organisers including MP Gayantha Karunathilaka.
At that time, MP Karunathilaka said, “Many of us should dedicate ourselves to the victory of the party with sacrifices. The Opposition Leader said that the service rendered by former MP Bandula Lal Bandarigoda and the Organiser of Gee Ganage should be appreciated by all of us.”
A ceremony was held at the SJB party headquarters on January 2 under the patronage of Opposition Leader Premadasa to commence the work for the New Year. The party’s MPs and a large number of people who contested the Local Government bodies of the district were present.
No personal ambitions
SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, said that the New Year has begun through a program that will strengthen the party.
The Opposition Leader said that the ‘Samagi Jana Sandanaya’ was formed not to fulfill an individual need but is built to make the people of the country win. He said none of the parties joining the SJB have personal ambitions and they only have the objective of lifting the country out of the economic crisis. With the arrival of Shan Wijayalal, journalists and social media posts asked who will join the party tomorrow. The media had received the information that another group will join the SJB.
Confirming the news, Dayasritha Tissera, a former MP of Puttalam district, a Deputy Minister and a Minister joined the SJB on January 4. He joined the SJB as a result of a conversation that took place with the SJB about seven to eight months ago. Lakshman Fonseka, a friend of the Opposition Leader had been informed by one of his friends Rajitha Jayawikrama of Australia that Dayasritha Tissera wishes to join the SJB.
During the past week, the Opposition Leader held several discussions with various organisations and parties affiliated to the party to face any upcoming elections. A major group involved in the ‘Aragalaya’ met the Opposition Leader at the Opposition Leader’s office on January 3 and discussed the future political program.
These youth asked the Opposition Leader about resolving the crises faced by the country after coming to power. They also asked the Opposition Leader about the program of the SJB to provide opportunities for the youth and economic, social and political issues. The group was satisfied with the fact that the Opposition Leader gave local and international solutions to the problems they raised and hoped to meet the Opposition Leader again in a few days.
New Zealand’s High Commissioner Michael Appleton, who will leave Sri Lanka after completing his service met the Opposition Leader at the Opposition Leader’s office on Thursday morning to say goodbye. before finishing his service and leaving for his country. There was an exchange of views on the current global economic and political challenges between the two. The High Commissioner asked the Opposition Leader how he implements the Sakwala program to provide buses and smart classrooms to schools.
The Opposition leader explained to the High Commissioner that donors provide money to the production institutions and everything is done in a transparent manner. Appreciating the work done by the Opposition Leader, the High Commissioner recalled with pleasure the times he interacted with the Opposition Leader. The Opposition Leader said that he and his party appreciated the support New Zealand provided when the country needed international support.
