Jayantha (Donald) Gnanakone, the controversial Tamil activist, with alleged connections with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rubbing shoulders with Dr. Jayalath Jayewardena, the UNP stalwart at the inaugural Los Angeles meeting of the United National Party became the cynosure of the gathering when Pro-Ranil Wickremesinghe leaders converged on the metropolis for the historical event .

"I may be supporting Mano Ganeshan in Colombo ( a pro-LTTE politician) or anybody else and it's none of the f..... business of anybody or RAW or any one of its agents," he said when asked whether he has joined the UNP. RAW is the Indian intelligence service and currently dreaded by the LTTE since the assassination of the former Indian Prime Minister by a LTTE suicide killer. Formerly RAW funded, armed and trained the LTTE in South Indian military camps when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India.

Jayantha Gnanakone is the brother of the now acquitted alleged participant of the assassination of the former Sri Lankan foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

At the inauguration of new branch of the UNP in LA delirium reind supreme when two UNP stalwarts mingled with a bother of a well-known LTTE financier cloistered inside the Hyatt Summerfield Hotel in El Segundo on Sunday and sang the praises of Ranil Wickremesinghe to their hearts content.

Gnanakoons and Tissa Attanayake and their supporters Dr. Jayalath Jayawardhana, Chandrani Bandara, MP and many lesser known Ranil Wickremesinghe fans waxed eloquence about the brilliant leadership of their hero. Delirium was unbearably gruesome said one fan. Dr Jayalath was singing to the choir until it became painfully boring, he added.

Party Secretary Tissa Attanayake minced no words in calling Ranil the brilliant leader of the country. Sommie Ratnayaka, a former Television actor speaking said the late UNP leader Junius Richard Jayewardene was the greatest leader who ever lived in Sri Lanka. He attempted best to establish " Dharmishta Society" a righteous community in Sri Lanka and that itself was enough for his greatness.

There were 45 members present, the lowest ever for a party inaugural gathering in LA.. as Ranil's low approval rating had reached Los Angeles .

The highlight of the evening was how Gnanakoon interjected freely whenever the discussion seemed to go astray. Talking of getting the Diaspora to vote, Dr. Jayalath was saying it might be a good idea. "Not so fast, you might not get what you desire when they vote" said Gnanakoon. Oh, they are always with us, someone else interjected.

The tipping moment came when at the end when one of the conveners said that we had collected fifty thousand to be given to Ranil Wickremesinghe when he was here last. But someone ran away with the money bag. "He is now in a South American location with a diplomatic passport, interjected someone from the audience. Reportedly the man invested in hedge funds and doubled his earning prior to taking off from Los Angeles .

The piece de resistance came from none other than Rupa Kumaratunga, sister-in-law of Chandrika Kumaratunga when she said, " he work hard and get people to our election meetings but never win elections. Something is very wrong with the UNP." May be Sri Lankan people vote for the biggest liars, she added.

Dr Jayalath gave in very graphic description how Ranil Wickremesinghe who assembled the Sinhalese and the Tiger leaders into a room at Vavuniya in 2002 and delivered the no war pact. I was a witness to that meeting and saw his great vision for our country, he added.

Secretary Tissa Attanayake described how the UNP leader offered to keep the Rajapaksa government going for two years in order to solve the ethnic crisis under an MOU, instead, the President had UNP members cross over and then took a military approach. Attanayake predicted that an economic crisis was looming which will hit Sri Lanka by the Sinhala New year in 2008. Newly elected President of the Branch Keerthi Werapitiya also expressed faith in the UNP to solve the country's problems. That is why we are gathered here he said.

Courtesy - Sri Lanka Defence