Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka:

A half century in politics

My mind goes back to September 1956 when I first met Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka at the Ceylon Students’ Centre in London, when I went there to attend a meeting of the Ceylon Students’ Association. I was at the time a member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party Group in London. My acquaintance with the Ceylon Student’s Association grew progressively with Ratnasiri who had been the President of the Ceylon Students’ Association in 1955.

He had gone to London to qualify as a Barrister but had devoted his time almost exclusively to student political activity. He was engaged in organising conferences and events including student conventions in the Eastern European countries.

They were called youth conferences. He was also the Convener and the Chairman of the Afro-Asian Students Association.

In 1959 when Ratnasiri was busy preparing for the Bar Finals scheduled to be held in May 1959, tragedy struck with elder brother Munidasa passing away in Ceylon.

Munidasa was a graduate of the University of Ceylon who was involved in politics in his hometown of Horana. Munidasa was a disciple of Philip Gunawardena of the Lanka Samasamaja Party and was immensely popular with the people and was to confront a stalwart of the UNP M.D.H. Jayawardena who was a well-knower lawyer, at the General election.

In fact, M.D.H. had been a minister in the first Dudley Senanayake Government and thereafter in the Sir John Kotelawala Government which was swept out of power by the SLFP/MEP Government of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in April 1956. The MP for Horana in 1956 was the well-known Sinhala writer and poet Sagara Palansuria of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. But Sagara had already made known that he would not be contesting Horana at the next General Election.

It was in these circumstances that Philip had chosen Munidasa, in whom he had great confidence, for the seat.

When Ratnasiri returned home for Munidasa’s funeral he was the obvious replacement to contest MDH Jayawardena, on behalf of the MEP. The political experience Ratnasiri had gathered in the progressive movement in the UK stood him in good stead.

Ratnasiri took over from where Munidasa had left off. The result was a convincing victory over MDH in the March 1960 general election with a majority of over 5,000 votes which made him a giant killer.

Dudley Senanayake’s UNP Government in 1960 which had a slender majority over the SLFP was defeated at the vote following the throne speech and a fresh election was held in July the same year. Ratnasiri, who had by then resigned from the MEP, contested as an independent candidate and won again. Ratnasiri join the SLFP in 1961 and there has been no looking back since then.

He successfully contested Horana in 1965 and again in 1970. He was Deputy Minister of Justice in the SLFP Government of 1970. And thereafter Justice Minister. He was also the Plantation Industries Minister.

After the landslide victory of J.R. Jayewardene - an avalanche in 1977, Ratnasiri was appointed as the General Secretary of the SLFP.

In 1982 Ratnasiri was election agent of Hector Kobbekaduwa, the presidential candidate of the SLFP. The election campaign of Kobbekaduwa was handled by Ratnasiri ably assisted by Vijaya Kumaranathunga. After the election Ratnasiri was taken into custody along with Vijaya and several others on an allegation that they were leaders of a Naxalite plot against the J.R.J. Government.

The name Naxalite derives from Naxalbari, a hilly area in Northern Bengel where peasants forcibly occupied lands in an anti landlord movement. So much for J.R. Jayewardene’s democracy in locking up political opponents on trumped up charges.

Ratnasiri always held the view that the LTTE being a terrorist outfit must be militarily defeated and destroyed.

When Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected President in 2005 he proceeded to destroy the LTTE.

Ratnasiri supported him wholeheartedly in the war effort which resulted in a glorious victory for President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the country. He and his brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who master-minded/the offensive will always have a place in our hearts.

A man of simple tastes Ratnasiri is very close to the people particularly the people of the rural areas.

- R. I. Obeyesekere

President’s Counsel One-time Legal Consultant to the Prime Minister