By Vishwamithra –

“A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green.”  ~ Francis Bacon

He is seventy five years old; has reached the evening of his political career. He has been the leader of the United National Party (UNP) since the death of Gamini Dissanayake in 1994. Thirty long years is indeed longer than the usual period of time one could remain as head of a political party without seeking means outside the democratic framework to sustain himself in that post of leadership. Ranil may have not been blessed with many a lordly characteristic a good leader is usually gifted with, but cunningness is not one of them. He was extremely cunning and also more deceitful.

Following is what I wrote about him on March 22, 2025 under the banner Batalanda, Ranil Wickramesinghe & Criminal Justice: A Legacy Tarnished Forever!: ‘Yet, purely from a journalistic viewpoint, one has to tell the truth and the other has to seek the truth and come to terms with it. Ranil Wickremesinghe and his immediate cohorts might have more than a legal problem which will far outweigh the technical courtroom arguments. It’s out in the open arena of public opinion and public reconciliation. Ranil, of course, in his own words has retired from politics while holding on to the leadership of the United National Party (UNP). Therefore, his retirement in itself is a canard that he is trying to spread with the intention of keeping the public aware of his presence. But, for the sake of his fabricated image, Ranil’s political fabric is being exposed through the threads of Batalanda. He may have earned a reprieve thanks mainly to his association with CBK and MR and GR. But there is a new sheriff in town. President AKD is no amateur himself to character assassination. During the last Presidential Election campaign, he was at the receiving end of many a weapon so sharpened and hurled at him by the Wickremesinghes, Rajapaksas and the Premadasas.

In addition, the hardcore JVPers in the NPP coalition must be decidedly angry and vengeful. They would want to extract their own ‘pound of flesh’. The people at large also would demand that Ranil be produced before the rule of law and found guilty. Therein lies the intricate sociopolitical and legal problem. Would AKD and his government be careful and strategically-minded enough to examine this issue from a long-term standpoint and a tempered mind to see through the complexities of the issue of putting Ranil through the unforgiving wheels of legal maneuvers and public ridicule?

The readers would appreciate the writer’s positioning on Ranil Wickremesinghe’s political status and his cruel and insensitive handling of the various issues that confronted the country at each of the stages Ranil was in power. While not retracting one word of that critical appraisal and unforgiving condemnation, it is my earnest appeal to all those who demand revenge and their ‘pound of flesh’, let go of this maddening exercise; Ranil Wickremesinghe has been taken to accountability by the people; he suffered a humiliating defeat at the Presidential Elections and his party, UNP, was reduced to dust at the Parliamentary Elections. Batalanda will be Ranil’s legacy; it will be hanging around his neck until he meets his last day on earth. He won’t be remembered for his handling of the economy at a very crucial and decisive stage. A government’s energy, money and spirit should not be exhausted on such a mean action like political retribution.

Men of greater strength and greater character must be held accountable for greater matters, greater events and greater stories. Ranil is no great man, he never was and never will be. He has, on uncounted occasions, shown that he does not belong to such an august circle. Then why try to justify your energy and persuasion ability on a fertile journey by its pursuit.

The government has much more serious affairs to tackle and tackle they must. Deepening frustration and a looming despair that is threatening the political landscape might envelope the entire administration. Dearth of clever and experienced men and women in the current bureaucracy Is one massive issue that the intelligentsia is concerned about. Too much responsibility and too much exposure of AKD at every level does not seem to have produced any favorable results; when he is engaged in two or three two to three hour meetings a day, on a day-to-day level, is not a sign of a well run machine. President of the country cannot be micromanaging the issues. Such hands-on approach may have been beneficial two or three decades ago. But the country, its citizenry and the surrounding geopolitical context demand a fresh route and even a more strategic style.

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSB) might be demanding the NPP to be more vengeful, more ruthless and more unforgiving. This is where President Dissanayake has to show his real decisive leadership qualities. He is no more the leader of the JVP. He is the President of the country who also happens to be the leader of the NPP. It’s always easier said than done. Only AKD will know how to achieve a dynamic equilibrium amongst the parties that make up the National People’s Power (NPP). He also has to strike a balance between the NPP and the electors at large. The authentic leadership qualities of AKD, I’m sure he possesses in ample quantity, must emerge now. Batalanda need not be swept under the proverbial carpet. But it must not be his or his administration’s prime concern now.

On the other hand, the Batalanda saga would claim its own perpetrators without mercy. It will declare its assertions separately and independent of government’s influence or interference. Yet to portray to the people that the leader of the country is devoid of political or personal prejudices is crucial and indispensable to a developing democracy such as Sri Lanka.

Examining one’s own choices and making the right ones is not an easy undertaking. Rarely does one earn a privilege to be confronted by such a circumstance. As a leader of any country, one needs to balance amongst many competing options; he or she has to favor his friends while not antagonizing his enemies. Poise, steadfastness, aloofness and equanimity and stoicism are qualities of great ones. AKD should belong in such revered social groups. Let Batalanda take its own legal course.’

But the wheel has turned another cycle and the legal machinery has delivered its unbiased verdict. What Ranil Wickremesinghe’s involvement or non-involvement in the Batalanda saga has been relegated to a secondary tier. What Ranil has been remanded is for misappropriation of public funds. The magistrate had shown her stern poise in refusing to grant Ranil bail despite his weak medical condition, age and the positions he held in the government machinery close to half a century, from 1977 until 2025. Justice has been delivered, but certainly it has not been tempered with mercy.

The very optics of Ranil being handcuffed and escorted by the police is an excruciatingly painful drama to watch. However much one does not like Ranil, he did not deserve to be exhibited to the world in such a sensationalistic fashion. A man whose father, Esmond Wickremesinghe, was the great mastermind in yesteryear’s politics. Esmond’s father was CEL Wickremesinghe, a great Civil Servant, Ceylon’s first Sinhalese Government Agent and DS Senanayake’s Land Commissioner. Ranil’s mother was the first daughter of the Media Mogul DR Wijeywardene. No Sri Lankan politician could boast about such a decorated family tree, not the Bandaranaikes, Senanayakes or the  Jayawardenes.

The fate of the UNP is now not sealed. Ironically, the arrest of Ranil Wickremesinghe may have given it one last breath. Navin Dissanayake must come forward now and assert himself and take over what is left of the Grand Old Party (GOP) of Ceylon. He has the charisma, he has the history, although not the present, but certainly he could pump in some fresh air into the balloon that has been unceasingly trampled by some lotus-eaters. Ranil has to leave the UNP, if he has any modicum of self-respect left in him. For the sake of the country, if Navin can take over the UNP now, the people who are opposed to the NPP might flock to the new GOP, so to speak. There must be a viable alternative to the NPP. Well that’s saying what is yet to come! Nevertheless, one can never foreclose anything in politics.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake may not have interfered with the judgment, the investigation or even the initiation of the investigation, yet there was one phase of the whole drama when and where AKD could have and should have intervened as President of the our country. He could have asked those who took Ranil Wickremasinghe into custody to treat him with mercy, compassion and dignity. That is not asking for undue treatment. AKD can still do it. Not for political gain or public relations purposes. Magnanimity, a quality and a characteristic, I speculated that AKD possessed, seems to have fled him; hauling a one-time President of our country to such naked ridicule and shame is not ‘cricket’. AKD, I thought, to paraphrase Shakespeare,  was made of ‘sterner’ and more magnanimous stuff.

I have no clue about the two Bandaranaike ladies, Sirimavo and Chandrika and also R Premadasa, but SWRD, JR Jayewardene and the Senanayakes, and even Sir John Kotelawala would never have subjected their political rivals to such personal ignominy and derision. Ranil brought humiliation and utter embarrassment upon himself; the greater majority of Sri Lankan voters time after time did that without mercy and remorse. Wickremesinghe’s legacy is one of disgrace and beyond repair. But kicking him after the fall could be equally disgraceful, if not more.

*The writer can be reached at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com