Premier In Troubled Times

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29010, 26 September 1959, Page 13

Premier In Troubled Times

Mr Bandaranaike, an Oxford graduate and Inner Temple barrister. was brought up a Christian But when he returned to Ceylon in 1925 after completing his studies he became a Buddhist Mr Bandaranaike has been Prime Minister of Ceylon since 1956, leading a series of coalition Governments. Mr Bandaranaike became Prime Minister in a Left-wing landslide in 1956 which ousted the Government of Sir John Kotelawala. A fervent nationalist and an experienced politician, he brought Ceylon’s foreign policies in line with the Asian neutralist bloc, negotiated the return of British military bases in Ceylon and said the country would become a republic within the Commonwealth His three-year coalition Government ended in June and the same day he formed a new Government from members of his own Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

His term of office has been plagued by the bitter language troubles between the mainly Buddhist Sinhalese-speaking majority and the Hindu Tamil-speak-ing minority which flared into

serious rioting last year. The Government declared a state of emergency and called out the armed forces to restore law and order. Sinhalese has now been made the country’s official language. Mr Bandaranaike was due to have left Ceylon in three days for a tour abroad, including visits to London, New York and Bonn.