Despite the fact that Mahinda Rajapaksa was a lawyer, he began advocating for human rights on the advice of his lawyer friends. Mahinda was surrounded by a good circle of lawyer friends.
The majority of them were Tangalle lawyers. Nimal Punchiheva, a lawyer, is a key figure among them. Mahinda’s lawyers offered to appear in court for free on behalf of the youths who went missing during the 1988–89 terror period. Among those lawyers, Panchihewa was a tough fighter. At the time of Wijedasa Liyanarachchi’s murder, he worked hard with Mahinda’s other lawyers to bring the Bar Association into the case.
At this time, Mahinda was accompanied by many civil activists who advocated for human rights and freedom of the press rather than SLFP members. Panchihewa worked side by side with them.
Until Mahinda became President, the Panchihewa played a big role in keeping Mahinda’s combativeness from becoming blunt. It was Punchihewa that motivated Mahinda to fight against the repression of Chandrika’s government. Although Mahinda was a minister in Chandrika’s government, Panchihewa was of the opinion that he should raise his voice against the repression.
Even after Mahinda became the president, Punchihewa did not go after the chairmanships of corporations that could make money. He chose the Human Rights Commission. Because of this, he kept his back straight to advise Mahinda if he was going on the wrong path. Mahinda also appointed him to the Human Rights Commission to escape the accusations of human rights activists because he demonstrated fairness.
Gotabaya appointed him to the post of Election Commissioner with that in mind. But Mahinda or the Rajapaksa family may not have known that he was a hard worker even though his name was Punchihewa.
In Sri Lanka’s election history, there has never been an election commissioner who worked with his back straight like Punchihewa. The most unpleasant event in Sri Lanka’s election history ever was the 1982 referendum. The referendum was conducted by the then Election Commissioner Chandananda de Silva. He announced the results of the referendum and assured that there was no corruption in that election. In 1993, President Premadasa was assassinated and in 1994, at the Southern Provincial Council election U.N.P. was defeated. When the government suffered a crushing defeat; it issued a report describing the 1982 referendum as a corrupt election. That is knowing that the U.N.P. government will fall.
Dayananda Disanayake became the election commissioner after Chandananda. During the 1999 presidential election, he could not tolerate the pressure of Chandrika’s government and left without uttering a word against Chandrika’s government, allowing Chandrika’s government to appoint an Acting Election Commissioner. During the 2010 presidential election, he took leave saying he was stressed, allowing the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa to conduct the presidential election as per his wishes.
Mahinda Deshapriya, who succeeded Dayananda as the election commissioner, was the commissioner who conducted the elections in 2010 when Dayananda resigned saying that he was stressed. But he did not conduct an investigation in Ratnapura, when Mahinda’s rival candidate Sarath Fonseka’s ballet papers were found in the gutter.
Looking at the history of these election commissioners, Panchihewa is currently giving the country the message that he is ready to clash with anyone to protect Sri Lanka’s democratic election process. He knows that Ranil’s government is making every effort to postpone the election with the blessing of the Rajapaksa.
He knows that it was the Rajapaksas who appointed him to the post of Election Commissioner. The Rajapaksas may have advised him not to hold the small vote. Samagi Jana Balawegaya and JVP accused him of conspiring with Ranil and the Rajapaksa to postpone the election before announcing the election. But when he announced that he would hold the election, Samagi Jana Balawega and JVP were clueless.
No election commissioner in Sri Lanka has had to face the obstacles and threats to prevent an election. The President, Prime Minister and Attorney General called him and pressured him not to have elections. The State Administration Secretary directed the district secretaries not to follow the orders of the Election Commissioner. The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance told the court that there is a money problem for holding the polls.
But Punchihewa didn’t move. When all the media websites in Sri Lanka (except Sirasa and Mawrata) attacked Punchihewa, he countered the news planted by the media and assured that the vote would be held. When Punchihewa defeated all attempts, the commission member Charles left and sent the resignation letter to Ranil. But the correct procedure is the letter should have been sent to Punchihewa.
Who is this Charls..?
Charles was the one who appeared to protect the Rajapaksa by serving as the North-East District Secretary during the war. As soon as Gotabhaya became president, she was appointed as the governor of the north because of that.
‘So, Punchihewa also could have left the commission and accepted the position of foreign ambassador, right…?’
Punchihewa is not a government official who got promoted to the position of commissioner after being backward official in the election commission. Punchihewa is a man with good political skills. He saw the rise of JVP in 1988-89. and saw the destruction caused to the country and the youth. He saw with his own eyes that the 1982 referendum closed the door to the JVP and the leftists including Vijaya, the radical group of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party the opportunity to enter the parliament. The JVP took up arms as a result of that. He was a lawyer who raised his voice against terror at that time.
Today, the country is once again being pushed to such a place by postponing elections by repressing those who hold alternative views. The 1982 referendum was a deal between JR and the SLFP’s Anura-Mathini gang. Postponing the little vote is a deal between Ranil who can’t win votes and the Rajapaksa who are afraid of votes. Neither Ranil nor Rajapaksa have learned from the struggle.
But Panchihewa is a wonderful man who has seen the horror and struggle of 88-89 and is learned from it. If tomorrow the election is postponed, he can go to parliament from the national list or become an ambassador of a powerful foreign country. If he wants, he can become a judge. But Panchihewa chose democracy. He is not a cardboard lion ‘A lion that does not eat grass’.
