Some politicians always want to be in command of and at the apex of the ladder. When people are determined to climb higher, they attempt to reduce the “standing” of competitors. Gossip and spreading rumours is one of the main weapons people use to diminish another person’s status.
The caveman beating up another caveman for control of the clan in tribal clans was replaced by cruel whispers and petty remarks, in advanced societies. Sir John Kotalawala related an imaginary tale on roles played by Dudley and himself, to J. R. Jayewardene in April 1966, and on another occasion to Esmond Wickremesinghe, father of Ranil and head of the largest newspaper establishment of the day, ‘Lake House’.
Sir John had related ‘the story’, few years later to former senior civil servant and diplomat, Neville Jayaweera in 1974 when the latter met him on his farm in Kent, England. Jayaweera, a staunch Dudley loyalist and the former senior diplomat, also served as Director General of a State run broadcasting monopoly, the SLBC in 1960s under him. Jayaweera, writing in detail to ‘Ceylankan’, Journal published by Ceylon Society of Australia, under ‘A memorable evening with General Sir John Kotalawala’ –. Vol. xv- May 2012. -pp 16/18.-, [later serialised in Sunday Island- February 3 to 24, 2013] says, Dr. Godfrey Gunatillake, Chairman of Marga Institute arranged to interview Sir John and tape record his version in mid-1970s. He even stated that the tapes should be lying at Marga Library, which story Dr. Gunatillake, now Chairman emeritus and Consultant at the Marga, vehemently denied when consulted by the writer in January 2013. Again for the last time, Sir John related a fictionalized story in September 1979, with many contradictions, to Professors, K. M. de Silva and Howard Wriggins, JR’s political biographers. (Refer-‘J. R. Jayewardene of Sri Lanka’, Vol. Two-pp 114/116).
Sir John contradicts himself
It is no secret that both Sir John Kotalawala and JR had an axe to grind with Dudley Senanayake; [Sir John’s 1952 slanderous political pamphlet ‘Premiere Stakes’, were related in Part one] In 1965, when Dudley became Prime Minister for the third time, Kotelawala who had been eyeing the coveted post of Governor General, returned to the island but was rudely turned down by his cousin Dudley, ending their relationship.
In JR’s case, his severely strained relation with Dudley from early 1966 for hitherto unrevealed reasons made the disgruntled man to look for redress through the ageing party stalwart at his Kandawala residence on April 13, 1966. Sir John seized the opportunity to shock his former Finance Minister by ‘enlightening’ him of the alleged involvement of Dudley in the planning of Coup d’e`tat, ’62 -[JRJ of Sri Lanka vol II-pp 114/116]; whom JR defended in the House on February 13, 1962, disapprovingly and declining Felix’s intimation about Dudley’s name emerging during interrogations. However, in early 1970s JR passed on the ‘information’ to Prime Minister Sirimavo in the presence of Maithripala Senanayake at an Embassy Gala.
The somewhat partisan biographer Prof. K. M. de Silva says, “Dudley Senanayake upbraided Sir John saying, ‘We are not out of the woods yet’.”
Was it that Dudley had doubts about Felix’s plans for a coup of his own with people like N. Q. Dias and that helping a military coup as the only way out of such a catastrophe? Senanayake’s attitude on encouraging the plotters by attending their secret meetings were driven by the fact that the economy had been ruined by absolute incompetence and the harm caused to good relations between minorities and Sinhala-Buddhists, adoption of unthinkable policies in language use, that he would support a conspiracy to overthrow the regime?
Sir John’s meeting with Neville Jayaweera
‘It was on a hot summer’s evening in June 1974, the extraordinary conversation I am about to narrate took place’ says, Neville Jayaweera.
“Will you believe me when I say that Dudley and I were both ring leaders of the botched conspiracy of 1962? We were going to save the country by booting out those SLFP mugs and forming a junta to run the country,…You think that Dudley was a man of great integrity? You know there is no such thing as integrity in politics. That is all balderdash! …That was how Dudley and I also got involved in the coup”…
… “Here are the names of the ‘Bu…s’ who met in my house on consecutive evenings in early January 1962 at Kandawela to plan the coup. It was all hatched by that Bl…y colleague of yours, Douggy Liyanage, along with F C de Saram, Maurice de Mel, Jungle Dissanayake and few other police chaps and both Dudley, his cousin Upali Senanayake, and I went…their confidence and gave them support. They shared all their plans with us three! In fact Sir Oliver Goonatillake and G-G was in the know...”–
Sir John. - Ceylankan
The evidence in favour of the assertion, that Dudley was involved in the conspiracy, are insubstantial, fragile and weak. Apart from Sir John’s unimpressive accounts which are rather flimsy and malicious in nature; there are no reports available or surfaced during the examination, trial stage or after the acquittal of accused, apart from JR biographer’s interview with Royce de Mel in September 1980. De Mel had spoken of a conference held at the old Plumbago Stores at Kitulwatte that he attended, where he alleged both Sir John and Dudley participated. He recollected a statement attributed to Dudley, which said, ‘the coup d’état was the only option’, and he lamented that Senanayake gave the suspects no assistance during the imprisonment and trial.–JRJ of Sri Lanka vol ii-pp 118-119. The learned authors admit that the other coup leaders they met never spoke on Dudley’s involvement but, Royce de Mel, the former Navy Commander who lost his occupation on a charge of corruption and Douglas Liyanage, the 1st accused were appointed as General Manager, Hotels Corporation and Permanent Secretary at his Ministry by Minister of State, JR, during UNP rule in the late sixties.
The long standing hostility between the three families, which formed the upper crust of the UNP’s chain of command, for over five decades, could be accredited to Mudliyar D. C. G. Attygalle’s enormous wealth and legacy. Attygalle from Madapatha had three daughters and a son. Each daughter inherited over 2500 acres of cultivated coconut and rubber estates (Ref, Kumari Jayawardena-2007 pp 288) and a share of Plumbago business. They were given in marriage to John Kotelawala Senior (Sir John’s father), F. R. Senanayake (Dudley’ paternal uncle), and T. G. Jayewardene (JR’s uncle). Reducing a long story to a ‘para’; it all commenced with the murder of Francis Attygalle, brother of Alice, Ellen and Lena and apparent heir to the fortune. The Senanayake’s labours to bring suspects before justice resulted in Kotelawala (snr) being prosecuted for alleged conspiracy to the murder of Brother-in-Law. A. C. Dep, a former DIG says in “History of Ceylon Police - vol II”, on the day his accomplice turned crown witness spilling the beans in court, the Ex-policeman Kotalawala took his life in Prison. The characteristic form of jealousies of comparatively meager wealthy Jayewardene’s (albeit TG), of the other two families, added to other petty rivalries, contributed to the unfortunate predicament of their political and personal relations enduring for generations. Sir John, the only source of evidence in support of the charge, made awful contradictions on each occasion, (as per records) that he
spoke on the topic.
The Senanayake bashing by the inheritors of Attygalle’s fortunes; the Jayewardenes and Kotelawalas was very often misinterpreted by eminent authors on Coup d’e`tat of 1962. Regrettably, the political biography of JR by two professors and published before his death, falls into this group. However, what baffles the writer is the failure of two to mention, not only on this instance, but in many places in reference to Dudley’s involvement in the coup, the source of their information. They fail to state ‘solid evidence’ on allegations against Dudley. The statement seem so totally out of character, that a politician with a reputation for his democratic credentials. Dudley’s unblemished record of respect for establishment and authority that not even his worst critics in the opposition would dare indict him of seeking to undermine the nation’s Parliamentary framework.
‘Dudley Senanayake’ as the Bait?
The conspirators used ‘Dudley Senanayake’ as a bait; explicitly or implicitly signifying, “in the know”, a ploy to convince the not-so-loyal or hesitant second level officers, who they believed would not approve a ‘military intervention’ of sorts; something alien to established traditions in local politics. The government understood the situation and desisted from proceeding further on the matter. Tragically, Senanayake’s own party leaders used it as a weapon to wallop the Senanayakes a dismal show of malice and deep-rooted animosities towards them. Sir John’s humorous demonstration and vocabulary in the presence of his women guests, how Dudley hid under the table cloth to escape from a supposed police raid during a coup meeting at his Kandawala mansion, as related to Jayaweera, is foul and in poor taste.
It was the Geneva-based philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (18th Century), who said “Insults are the arguments employed by those who
are in the wrong”
