Wijetunge: President Of The Transition
Rajan Hoole
The 1990s: The Culture of Untruth and a Perilous Vacuum Part 4
Premadasa’s death was greeted with silence rather than grief. There were reports of UNP agents trying to foment communal violence. This was communicated to the foreign embassies and soon afterwards the new president, D.B. Wijetunge, sent individual letters to UNP organisers telling them that he expects them to ensure that nothing untoward happens in their area. The main virtue of the new president was that having played his role as Premadasa’s passive prime minister, he had no stomach for the intrigues and exertion required by the intricate institution of the presidency built up by Jayewardene and Premadasa. Wijetunge dismantled some of the more questionable aspects of what he had inherited. One was the private intelligence network set up by Premadasa using retired, mainly Tamil, police officers. In key appointments too he usually went by seniority rather than push up favourites out of turn.
D.B. Wijetunge
In July 1993, Frank de Silva succeeded Ernest Perera as inspector general of police. In December 1993, Cecil Waidyaratne resigned as army commander after a botched up operation in Jaffna and heavy loss of life and equipment when the LTTE attacked Pooneryn camp in November. Despite pressures to appoint a Buddhist, Wijetunge appointed Gerry de Silva, a Christian, as army commander. Many closely connected with the Army view this as the time when things started to change for the better in the Army after more than ten years of political intrigue and corruption. Although far from being an enlightened man (as suggested by his statement about minorities being creepers about the majority), Wijetunge created the conditions for the cleanest elections this country had witnessed since 1977. The People’s Alliance comprising the SLFP, LSSP, CP and SLMC came to power after winning the parliamentary elections in August 1994 and the presidential election in the November following, with Chandrika Kumaratunge obtaining 62.3% of the votes cast.
