Is Dimu between THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA?

It is a controversy that just doesn’t go away. Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne is now in the spotlight since the revelation that one of his coordinating secretaries had written a letter to the Customs Department regarding a container which was later found to contain heroin.

The incident caused a furor in both the media and other political partial parties lashing out at the Premier, some demanding that he should resign. Curiously, the harshest criticism came from a partner in the ruling coalition, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) which even wanted the Prime Minister arrested.

The coordinating secretary to the Prime Minister who wrote the letter to the Customs has resigned. Jayaratne made a statement in Parliament accepting responsibility. Yet, the demands for the Premier’s resignations have not abated: now the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has also joined the chorus.

Jayaratne has taken the flak in his stride. He maintains that the letter written by his secretary to the Customs was only about demurrage and that neither he nor his official had any knowledge that the container had heroin in it. He has deftly dodged any suggestions of resigning.

If the controversy is seen through, it would be only a minor hiccup for the eighty-two-year old veteran of many battles who joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) as a twenty-yearold young man when it was founded by S.W. R. D. Bandaranaike. He may well be its sole surviving ‘founder’ member.

Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne hails from Doluwa in the Gampola electorate. He began work first as a teacher at his old school, Doluwa Maha Vidyalaya and then served as post master at the Doluwa post office and was a livewire in organising SLFP activities in the Gampola electorate.

The SLFP activist made his first foray into national politics in 1970 when he contested the general elections and was successful although he barely scraped t hrough from t he Gampola electorate with a majority of just over 1,200 votes over his United National Party (UNP) rival, W.P.B. Dissanayake.

In Parliament, Jayaratne played his role as a backbencher with aplomb. He was a staunch

Jayaratne has taken the flak in his stride. He maintains that the letter written by his Secretary to the Customs was only about demurrage and that neither he nor his official had any knowledge that the container had heroin in it

ally of Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike and Minister Hector Kobbekaduwa and regularly took on the opposition, lambasting the likes of J.R. Jayewardene from his third row seat with fiery oratory.

In 1977 though, Jayewardene’s UNP landslide stole Jayaratne’s thunder. Jayaratne, by then popularly known as ‘Di Mu’, lost his seat and was out of Parliament for the next twelve years. His erstwhile opponent W. P.B. Dissanayake had beaten him by a majority of 6,200 votes.

He returned to the legislature in 1989 with a bang, securing the highest number of preferential votes from the Kandy district, but had to wait another five years to become a minister. He was assigned as Minister of Ag riculture, Food and Co-operatives by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratungain1994.

His tenures as a minister-at various times, in charge of Posts and Telecommunications, Plantation Industries, Upcountry Development and Rural Industries Development were not spectacular. Yet, he was not tainted with the stigma of scandal, inefficiency or corruption either.

As a parliamentarian, Jayaratne was much loved for his impish sense of humour and ready smile. He regaled his party men and the opposition with his gruff voice and his ability to break out into verse at the slightest provocation. Over the years, as Jayaratne became a senior in the SLFP parliamentary group, he was mentioned as a potential Prime Minister whenever there was speculation about such an appointment. Jayaratne responded with characteristic good humour and then began to entertain the possibility himself.

In 2004, he expected to be given the honour as the senior-most SLFPer and admitted that he had even stitched his suit for the swearing-in, but was overlooked when Mahinda Rajapaksa was given the job by Chandrika Kumaratunga.

When Rajapaksa himself became President a year later, Jayaratne made his claim again, putting up posters in Kandy saying ‘janapathi ruhunin, agamethi kandu ratin’ (President from the South-Premier from the Up-country). However, Rajapaksa opted for Ratnasiri Wikremanayakeinstead.

Jayaratne was disappointed. He said so publicly but without a hint of malice, claiming that he had made another sacrifice for the SLFP. It was a tactic that paid dividends. In 2010, his seniority could no longer be ignored and was third time lucky. He was appointed as Prime Minister and Minister of Buddha Sasana.

In office as Prime Minister, Jayaratne rarely ruffled any feathers, keeping a low profile until the current controversy erupted a few weeks ago. This was in marked contrast to his predecessor Ratnasiri Wikremanayake, who made headline-grabbing statements periodically.

Still there were times when Jayaratne hit the headlines. One was when a Cabinet reshuffle was imminent, which gave rise to speculation that he would be asked to step down. He responded placidly saying he would be happy to, as he had achieved his ambition of being Premier “at least for a day”.

The Cabinet was reshuffled but the Premiership remained unchanged. Again, a similar wave of speculation gained currency when President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Jayaratne at his bedside in hospital after the Premier fell ill and was flown overseas for treatment.

Jayaratne bounced back after being away from the public eye, progressively increasing his public appearances, again killing suggestions that he was about to be replaced. Now however, there is a suspicion that this controversy is allowed to carry on because his resignation is desired.

Jayaratne has in his own way, prepared for his retirement: his son Anuradha is now a member of the Central Provincial Council. He was however not appointed Chief Minister after the recent elections despite polling the highest preference votes in the province. Many thought that he would be. Anuradha Jayaratne has also been drawn in to the heroin scandal with accusations that his campaign was financed by drug dealers and he was also questioned by the police. The beleaguered Premier has met with Buddhist monks in a bid to appease the JHU but it hasn’t helped to tone down the rhetoric.

It has been a rough ride for Prime Minister Jayaratne in recent weeks. However, despite the calls for his resignation, the chances are quite high that the elder politician of the SLFP would weather this storm and carry on as Prime Minister.