Krishantha Speaks His Heart Out on National Politics and Media

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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

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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

so&ething 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