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8/9/2019 Krishantha Speaks His Heart Out on National Politics and Media
1/12
Krishantha speaks his heart out on national
politics and media
Says presidential poll 2015 was David-Goliath fght-January 21, 2015The Daily FT spoe with !"# $oring %o&&ittee 'e&(er, 'edia Dire)torand #oliti)al Strategist *or the +pposition, rishantha %ooray a(out what ledto the *all o* a see&ingly-invin)i(le #resident 'ahinda a.apasa and whatthe new politi)al regi&e in the )ountry under #resident 'aithripala Sirisenaand #ri&e 'inister anil $i)re&esinghe )ould herald *or Sri /anas(eleaguered and suppressed &edia *raternity Following are e)erpts3
!"# $oring %o&&ittee 'e&(er, 'edia Dire)tor and #oliti)al Strategist *or the +pposition,
rishantha %ooray
http://www.ft.lk/2015/01/21/krishantha-speaks-his-heart-out-on-national-politics-and-media/http://www.ft.lk/2015/01/21/krishantha-speaks-his-heart-out-on-national-politics-and-media/http://www.ft.lk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/drg.jpghttp://www.ft.lk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/dft_logo.pnghttp://www.ft.lk/2015/01/21/krishantha-speaks-his-heart-out-on-national-politics-and-media/http://www.ft.lk/2015/01/21/krishantha-speaks-his-heart-out-on-national-politics-and-media/8/9/2019 Krishantha Speaks His Heart Out on National Politics and Media
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4 $hy did 'ahinda a.apasa lose the ele)tion
63 $hen 7 used to tell people that 'ahinda a.apasa would never serve a
third ter& in o8)e, they would laugh in &y *a)e 9ut this ele)tion proved
&e right The signs were all there that the in)u&(ent was outplaying his
hand and the *or)es o* opposition against hi& were (e)o&ing unstoppa(le
and they were only waiting *or their )han)e
7n 2005 'ahinda a.apasa (e)a&e
#resident o* this )ountry (y violating the
rights o* the northern and eastern people
to vote :e i)-started his presiden)y (y
violating peoples rights 7n 2010, people
voted *or hi& in gratitude *or winning the
war 7n 2015, with two years le*t in his
se)ond ter&, he wanted a &andate *or
eight &ore years 7n *a)t he went two
years earlier than he had to (e)ause he
was a*raid that his popularity was on the
wane :e la)ed the sill to tae
advantage o* Sri /anas de*eat o*
terroris&
:e &ay have (een an e;e)tive
%o&&ander-in-%hie* in war ti&e, (ut he
was no unifer o* the )ountry< in
pea)eti&e, he was a terri(le leader :e
was so drun on power, he (elieved he
was invin)i(le 6nyone who )rossed his
path, anyone who had a di;erent opinion
*ro& his regi&e, was )ornered and &ade
to su;er
Dissent was dying in Sri /anaSarathFonsea )ontested hi& and he
ended up in .ail Shirani9andaranayae
issued a .udg&ent that was not to his
satis*a)tion and she was sa)ed illegally
So this &an, who portrayed hi&sel* as
(eing a populist and a &an o* the people, ended his nine years in o8)e
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)onvin)ed that it was (etter to (e *eared than respe)ted 6 &an who
)lai&ed he was only a )ustodian and not the owner o* this )ountry when he
(e)a&e presidentled a totally )ontradi)tory li*e as a leader 7t see&ed that
in *a)t #resident a.apasa and his *a&ily honestly (elieved that they were
the sole proprietors and owners o* this )ountry
:e )alled *or ele)tions and he thought that his popularity, his unli&ited
spending power, his unli&ited politi)alpower and his )allous disregard *or
the laws o* this )ountry would help hi& to prevail :e and his advisors
thought that the $inston %hur)hill situation would never (e possi(le in Sri
/ana = wherea war-winning president )ould (e de*eated
:e underesti&ated the Sri /anan voter :e thought that &oney and power
and the pro.e)tion o* vi)tory would sway the voter :e played Santa %laus
and gave out every handout that he )ould :e (ought over every possi(le
private &edia outft and a(used the State &edia in an unpre)edented way
Throughout this )a&paign, he thought = andperhaps >uite rightly = thatin
addition to his own )onsidera(le resour)es, the (usiness )o&&unity
(a)ing would also help hi& to swing this ele)tion :e prevented the
(usiness )o&&unity *ro& assisting the +pposition in anyway 7n so&e
)ases, high profle (usiness&en openly endorsed 'ahinda a.apasas
)andida)y in )o&panies that had huge wor*or)es
7n so &any ways, this presidential ele)tion was a real David and Goliath sort
o* fght
'ahinda a.apasa underesti&ated the +pposition :e underesti&ated the
fght le*t in the !"# voter :e didnt realise that it was his own a)tions over
the past nine years, o* sidelining, &arginalising and terrorising people, had
)reated a huge )o&&on ene&y that he )ould not over)o&e This )o&&on
ene&y was &ade up o* politi)al parties and also )o&pletely non-politi)al
entities
The *or)es rallying against the 'ahinda a.apasa presiden)y had (een
(uilding >uietly (ut solidly *or several years 9y de)laring this ele)tion,#resident a.apasa allowed these *or)es to galvanise and fnally )o&e
together So the &essage on ?January was very loud and )lear
43 $hat was that &essage
63The people o* this )ountry gave a &essage not only to 'ahinda
a.apasa The &essage given has relevan)e to all politi)ians 7t was *or
today and *or the *uture The &essage *ro& voters on ? January was @dont
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tae things *or granted The people )annot (e hoodwined *orever The
&essage was also a re.e)tion o* )o&&unal politi)s o* the type that 'ahinda
a.apasa in the fnal leg o* his )a&paign and throughout his tenure tried to
propagate 7n *a)t, un*ortunately, even
a*ter his de*eat, he )ontinues to try to
Aog this dead horse, that it is the
&inorities who de*eated hi&
This was a #resident who a*ter nine
years never realised that the &inorities
are also e>ual )itiBens o* this )ountry
That they are not &ere guests, (ut
staeholders in the destiny o* this
nation 6nd statisti)ally, it is very )lear
that 'ahinda a.apasa lost not
(e)ause the &inorities voted against
hi&, as they have done at every ele)tion = (ut(e)ause a signif)ant portion
o* the Sinhalese &a.ority also re.e)ted hi&
7n the 2010 ele)tion 'ahinda a.apasa o(tained C5 o* the Sinhalese vote
and )arried the ele)tion 7n 2015, his &a.ority a&ong the Sinhala
)onstituen)ies redu)ed to 55 So even a&ong the Sinhalese, 'ahindas
)o&&unal rhetori) held less power 7n &y view it was his a(use o* power,
)orruption and &is&anage&ent o* the e)ono&y that &oved the Sinhalese
people also to say enough is enough
'ahinda a.apasas (ig &istae was that a*ter the war he thought that
in*rastru)ture alone would solve all the histori)al pro(le&s in the north and
east :e gave the Ta&il people roads (ut he too away their sel*-respe)t
and dignity The 'usli&s did not vote *or 'ahinda a.apasa (e)ause o* his
attitude towards religious *reedo& and atta)s against the 'usli&
)o&&unity over the past 1? &onths
There is also a &essage here *or the +pposition 6lthough they *o)usedentirely on good governan)e and anti-)orruption drives, they also &ust
thin &ore a(out re)on)iliation and national unity This presiden)y truly
(elongs to all people o* this )ountry
43 Fro& a strategi) point o* view, what was the *or&ula that fnally wored
to de*eat the a.apasa politi)al .uggernaut
63 #eople *ro& di;erent wals o* li*e and di;erent politi)al ideologies)a&e
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together and looed at this ele)tion in a very &ature way This ele)tion
really was a )ontest (etween de&o)rati) and anti-de&o)rati) *or)es
#oliti)al parties .oining the )o&&on
allian)e )a&e to the realisation that i*
'ahinda a.apasa )ontinued in o8)e
*or another eight years, there would (e
no de&o)rati) spa)e, no )ountry le*t in
whi)h to do politi)s 6nd that realisation
helped the& to rea)h )onsensus on the
i&&ediate priorities = de&o)ra)y, rule
o* law, good governan)e Everything
else too a (a)seat
This ele)tion, the )o&&onality o* the
+pposition, proved how Sri /anans )an
)o&e together in ti&es o* national
)risis, how they )an put aside all their
di;eren)es and *o)us on a single
)o&&on goal and the greater good 7n
&any ways, 7 thin it was a sort o*
)o&ing o* age *or Sri /anan politi)al
parties and groups, starting with the
histori) rivals, the S/F# and the !"#
43 The a.apasa Govern&ent always
portrayed the )o&&on allian)e as a
)ase o* too &any )oos $asnt it
di8)ult to &anage so &any di;erent
egos, personalities and ideologies
during a si-wee )a&paign
63 7 thin that was really wish*ul
thining (y the de*eated regi&e The*a)t is that the )o&&on allian)e
ulti&ately was a per*e)t stor& o*
personalities and )ir)u&stan)es
7t was So(ithaThero started this
)a&paign *or a(olishing the ee)utive
presiden)y and (it (y (it, he negotiated
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and taled people into it over two years
aru Jayasuriya, the !"# /eadership %oun)il %hair&an, really was one o*
the frst to e&(ra)e this idea o* de-politi)isation and good governan)e and
he also played a &a.or role towards (uilding )onsensus a(out a )o&&on
)andida)y
+(viously the !"# as the &ain +pposition &ade the (iggest sa)rif)e and
(iggest )ontri(ution anil $i)re&esinghe sa)rif)ed his )andidature so
that every(ody )ould agree on a )o&&on )andidate That was a (ig
de)ision :ere is a &an who was de*eated in 2005 only (e)ause 'ahinda
a.apasa (ri(ed the /TTE to prevent the north and east *ro& voting
7n 1, the /TTE atta)ed his opponent in the presidential ra)e and
ensured he lost the ele)tion +n (oth o))asions had it not (een *or these
unepe)ted things, anil would have
(een ele)ted president 7n 2010, he
(owed to the re>uest o* other politi)al
leaders and gave SarathFonsea the
ti)et 6nd here again, he &ade the
supre&e sa)rif)e, and a sa)rif)e
#resident 'aithripala Sirisena has
reiterated right throughout the
)a&paign
%handria u&aratunga had a huge role
to play, in galvanising the S/F# to fnally
a)t against years o* in.usti)e (y the
ruling *a&ily that had usurped the
partySarathFonsea and the J:!
ensured that 'ahinda a.apasas
traitor and Tiger )ards would not sti)
on the +pposition )andidate They were
a(le to )o&e and tell the )ountry whothe real traitors wereDespite all this,
there was a great *ear a&ong the
ele)torate that 'ahinda a.apasa
would win this ele)tion (y hoo or (y
)roo
6nd to dispel this idea, the J# played a
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huge role Essentially they got on their plat*or&s and told the people to go
and vote against di)tatorship and gave the people an assuran)e that *ro&
the &o&ent they )asttheir vote till the fnal results were released, the J#
)adres would &aintain a prote)tive presen)e to se)ure the integrity o* the
(allot This )reated pu(li) )onfden)e that 'ahinda a.apasa would not (e
allowed to play ga&es with the )ount and steal the ele)tion
6nura u&ara Dissanayae, the J# /eader,reallyhas to (e given a great
deal o* )redit *or taing the a.apasa regi&e on head-on 7t was
Dissanayaewho (roe this pho(ia people had a(out speaing out honestly
a(out the a(use o* power and )orruption (y the a.apasa regi&e This
gave people )onfden)e to )o&e out and vote against a very power*ul
in)u&(en)y Suddenly, the a.apasas were not sa)red )ows 9reaing that
*ear psy)hosis was the frst step towards vi)tory on January
The T"6, whi)h has (een fghting to restore the dignity o* its people, gave
its people the )onfden)e to vote despite the threat o* inti&idation and the
heavy &ilitary presen)e
$e )ant also *orget the #urawesi9alaya, a group &ade up o* artistes and
a)tivists who played a huge role to (ring a(out )hange This group was *ull
o* true artistes who genuinely love this )ountry, not the (oot-li)ers who
surrounded the *or&er Govern&ent in order to have their produ)tions
pro&oted and *unded
7n a &edia )ulture that was repressed and inti&idated, so)ial &edia played
a huge role in this )hange 7t was so)ial &edia that really got the +pposition
&essage out to the grassroots $e *orget how )onne)ted Sri /ana is now,
even down to the s&allest village, (e)ause o* the entry o* &o(ile phones
The +pposition )a&paign had &eagre resour)es and we )ould not &at)h
the a.apasa )a&paigns propaganda (litB in any way 9ut on so)ial &edia,
(e)ause that was .ust people spreading the word, errati)ally and with no
)oordination, the +pposition )a&paign was streets ahead o* the !#F6 one
Then o* )ourse the &ilitary and the #oli)e played their role soindependently in the end to ensure that the peopleswill triu&phed
Despite all this, it would not have (een possi(le i* the Ele)tions
%o&&issioner did not play his role 'ahinda Deshapriya, despite all the
pressure and &any o(sta)les, ulti&ately stood his ground
7t was ulti&ately the per*e)t *or&ula 7* anyone o* these lins in the )hain
had proved wea, things )ould have *allen apart
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43 :ow do you assess the world rea)tion to this +pposition vi)tory
63 6ll this ti&e, the world had sy&pathy towards Sri /ana 9ut a*ter the
way the ele)torate responded to an all-power*ul leader, un(eata(le and
unwilling to release his grip on power, the worlds sy&pathy and disdain
really turned into ad&iration, *or the &aturity o* our de&o)ra)y and the
politi)al astuteness o* our )itiBens
This is really a great )ountry The world never thought #ra(haaran )ould
(e (eaten 6nd our &ilitary *or)es de*eated #ra(haaran
$e got a (ad na&e internationally not (e)ause o* the &ilitary and the
#oli)e, (ut (e)ause o* politi)ians who *ailed to deliver on re)on)iliation and
)o&pletely &is&anaged our *oreign poli)y They lied to the international
)o&&unity over and over again and the )redi(ility o* our national
leadership was at an all-ti&e low 7 thin that this new Govern&ent has
(rought new hope a(out the dire)tion in whi)h Sri /ana is headed 7 thin it
has restored the worlds *aith in our a(ility to solve our own pro(le&s and
ensure our leaders live up to )ertain de&o)rati) standards
43 Hou were a person involved totally with the &edia $hat &ade you get
so involved in politi)s
637 got involved in the &edia (e)ause a pu(li) >uoted )o&pany started a
&edia outft that was to (e *ully independent $e really tried to (uild
soðing at that pu(lishing house $e &anaged to hire the )ountrys top
.ournalists and &edia pro*essionals #eople wored with passion and there
was a sense o* *reedo& 7 thin that we *ostered and en)ouraged in a way
that no other &edia outft had in the past
9ut o(viously, it was the height o* the war and our reporting was not to the
#residents satis*a)tion :e used his power and proies to try to get people
to (uy the newspaper at frst $hen those atte&pts *ailed, terri(le things
(egan to happen
They a(du)ted and (rutally assaulted our Deputy Editor eith "oyahr 7twas with the greatest o* di8)ulty and intense lo((ying (y all inds o*
people and agen)ies that he was returned to us a *ew hours later 7 (elieve
that i* not *or the pressure, we would have lost eith that night 7 dont thin
they ever &eant *or hi& to survive
Then ivira Editor !paliTennaoon was atta)ed in (road daylight in his )ar
"ation Editor /alith 6llahaoon was *or)ed and inti&idated into resigning
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a*ter a #residential loyalist pur)hased the newspaper :e was sent to
#aistan against his will and then (rought (a) in fve days 7t was a
patheti) and lowdown thing to do to so&eone /aliths )hildren did not even
have a s)hool when they returned to %olo&(o
7 thin perhaps (e)ause o* the role we all played to get eith "oyahr
released, they started to hound &e They a))used &e o* (eing (ehind the
atta) on the Sirasa studios So&e politi)ians used #arlia&entary privilege
to laun)h lowdown atta)s on &y reputation Then the Govern&ent also
(egan to suspe)t that 7 had a role in aru Jayasuriyas re-entry into the !"#
as Deputy /eader
$hen things got really (ad, &y dear *riend /asantha $i)re&atunge
virtually *or)ed &e to leave the )ountry i* 7 wanted to stay alive The day
a*ter &y departure he was illed The threats against &e were so severe
that 7 )ould not even return *or his *uneral 7 still live with the regret o* that
+ver the past nine years, perhaps no other pro*ession has su;ered the way
the &edia has The surveillan)e, the atta)s, the a(use )aused a &a.or *ear
psy)hosis 'y )olleagues were a*raid to spea on phones, they had to
pra)ti)e sel*-)ensorship So &any .ournalists we new and respe)ted had to
tae re*uge a(road
%ertain &edia organisationsrather than taing on the Govern&ent helped
the regi&e to )arry out )ontra)ts (y spreading *alse allegations a(out us in
the private &edia 7 &ysel* was a))used o* (eing the %hannel I agent in Sri
/ana (y a private newspaper = thatwas a )lear atte&pt to put &y se)urity
at ris The Govern&ent (ought over &ost o* the &edia in this )ountry and
then used the& to target individuals that they dislied
#eoples )areers were wre)ed #eople lie us who were seen as (eing
hunted (y the a.apasa regi&e, even e&ployers in the private se)tor
would not tou)h us 9usiness people and *riends were s)ared even to (e
seen with us = theyturned away
For all these reasons there was no point in re&aining in the &ediaSo *or the last seven years we have (een playing a role to )hange our
)ondition There was no roo& in the &edia to epose any o* these things
So politi)s was the only availa(le avenue 7 was personally willing to leave
no stone unturned to ensure that )hange taes pla)e
43 So you were isolated
63 7 thin that was the way the regi&e hoped to hurt us and (rea our spirit
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9ut, as always, unepe)ted >uarters )a&e *orward and stood (y us So&e
o* those people had no personal issues with the previous regi&e They
)ould have even (enefted *ro& the Govern&ent 9ut having seen what had
happened to us, turned against the a.apasas They defed the regi&es
unspoen *atwas against us and )ontinued to (e*riend people lie &e $hile
others would shrin away, so&e people (oldly stood with us and were not
a*raid to (e seen with us 7 thin they appre)iated the role we were trying to
play to (ring )hange
$hen 7 thin (a), 7 now that those people &ade a di;eren)e to our
survival The 'ahara.a Group, *or instan)e, e&ployed people lie &e even
though we were untou)ha(les (e)ause the a.apasa regi&e hated us
6lthough 7 resigned *ro& the 'ahara.a Group, 7 appre)iate the opportunity
given to &e at that ti&e
43 "ow that )hange has )o&e, what role do you thin the &edia has to play
in the post-a.apasa era Do you envision (eing part o* the &edia in this
ti&e
63 %learly in so&e instan)es, due to *ear and inti&idation, the &edia *ailed
to play the role o* wat)hdog over the past *ew years #erhaps it is
understanda(le $hen you wat)h )olleagues die, or (e (rutally assaulted or
disappeared, when you wat)h .ournalist a*ter .ournalist Aeeing a(road
(e)ause o* *ear *or their lives, it alters a pro*ession 7t )hanges the way you
report
9ut now 7 thin the &edias &o&ent is here again
"ow we have over)o&e the (iggest o(sta)le to )hange Journalists &ust
rise again to epose not only all that was wrong with the past, (ut also
ensure it plays the role o* wat)hdog *or what is to tae pla)e in the net
100 days 7t is up to the &edia, whi)h has (een *reed now *ro& their
sha)les, to de&and that the &ove&ent *or )hange rea)hes *ruition The
&edia &ust (e vigilant and hold this new regi&e to a))ount They &ust
regain their lost glory and tae their pla)e as the Fourth Estate43 This new Govern&ent is telling .ournalists to report *reely and li*ting
restri)tions pla)ed on the &edia 7t is inviting *oreign .ournalists (a) into
the )ountry $hat ind o* re*or& though is the new regi&e hoping to
pursue
63 $ell, to (egin with, the 100-day plan has a pledge to ena)t right to
in*or&ation laws Sri /ana is the only )ountry in South 6sia without a ight
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to 7n*or&ation 6)t That ind o* legislation will e&power not only .ournalists
(ut also )itiBens and *or the frst ti&e, people will have a right to de&and
answers and in*or&ation *ro& their rulers
7 also thin that we have witnessed during the last nine years and
espe)ially in this past ele)tion season, a type o* a(use (y State &edia that
is unpre)edented The State &edia is *unded (y the Sri /anan tapayer,
not (y the ruling party o* the day Het it (ehaves lie the &outhpie)e o* the
governing party This )ulture o* sy)ophan)y &ust )hange 7 thin the very
phrase @State &edia is Aawed
'edia institutions &aintained (y Sri /anan tapayers &ust (e)o&e pu(li)
(road)asters and pu(lishers, retaining independen)e and )redi(ility,
tele)asting things in the pu(li) interest, that perhaps )o&&er)ial
(road)asters wont do 7 thin that is the (est type o* &edia re*or& we )an
(ring To re&ove State &edia *ro& within the grasp o* politi)al parties in
power Just lie every other institution, the &edia also needs to (e de-
politi)ised so that it )an never (e)o&e the instru&ent o* su)h a(use again
43 Going *orward, what ind o* role do you hope to play
63 6t the &o&ent we are still en.oying the sudden *reedo& we have
o(tained 7ts ni)e to now we are not (eing *ollowed and that our phones
are not (eing tapped 6 huge weight upon us has li*ted +ur *a&ilies were
worried when we step out o* the house 7ts not easy (eing wat)hed Hou
*eel that this new *ound *reedo& is al&ost a privilege
$e did whatever we had to in this )a&paign, never epe)ting positions or
privileges $hat we *ought *or was *reedo& and .usti)e $e wanted to have
options in li*e $e dont have to run *ro& )ountry to )ountry $e dont have
to worry a(out whi)h phone we are using and who we are taling to or
taling a(out "ow 7 )an (e happy that &y daughter will not (e living under
a di)tatorship
7 a& glad to have played &y part lie all other voters in this )ountry to vote
*or )hange 'y greatest .oy is (eing a staeholder in this histori) )hange