Chandrika: The King Maker
I’m a retired public servant who worked under Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratnga. The article which you find below was written 9 years ago, a small part of the large diary that I have maintained. Now that Chandrika B. has decided to reengage in politics, I am thinking of writing an article, suitably edited against libel laws.
The former President Chndrika Kumaratunge, has merged again into the spotlight as the king maker, in seeking the appointing the Common candidate of the opposition. In this process she has assured, it seem toRanil Wickremesinghe, that she will manipulate and instigate the cross over 60 Ministers and M.Ps from the governing coalition. Her recent movers are a culmination of manoeuvres she hatched since she gave up the Presidency. It is no secret that she was never a well-wisher of Mhinda Rajapaksa, if it is only due to the tenacity of MR that he got the nomination, against her will.
There are certain ethics and rules of conduct, which governs the behavior of a President, who has finished two terms in office. Although there are no constitutional provisions for a President’s conduct, after their term of office, there has developed a tradition, that Presidents spend their retirement engaged in social service, writing their memoirs or being engaged in business activities. In the United States, former Presidents are endowed by law with a fund to retain their documents and memoirs. Former Presidents do not criticize the incumbent President and is always available for advice and discussion. Similar traditions prevail in other democracies. In Sri Lanka, this tradition was maintained by J.R. Jayewardene after his two terms. He had invested his money to form a Jayewardene Center with a well equipped library, which provides a place for conferences and meetings. President Premadasa died of a suicide bomb attack, and may not have give attention to his political legacy, however there exists a Premadasa Center, and a good biography has been written by Bradman Weerakoon, and his loyalists, I believe his family and his supporters maintain the center.