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Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapakse entered the political arena in 1968 as the SLFP Organiser for the Beliatta electorate. In 1970 he was a Member of Parliament representing the Hambantota district.

A former Minister of Labour and then Fisheries in the People's Alliance government of 1994-2001, he is a vastly experienced politician. As the Leader of the Opposition he is widely expected to imbue the PA with fresh ideas and a new sense of purpose.

Early last week he was appointed Leader of the Opposition when the post fell vacant on the resignation of Mr. Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka and in deference to the demand of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party branch organisations. The 'Sunday Observer' met him at the Opposition Leader's office in the parliament complex shortly after he assumed duties.

This was his first interview as the Leader of the Opposition.

Question: Being appointed Leader of the Opposition how do you plan to guide the party and what are your policies for the future?

Answer: Policies cannot be laid down within 24 hours. It takes time to formulate them. My aim is to give the party a new identity and a new image. And all our future policies will be aimed at assisting and protecting democracy.

Question: As the Leader of the Opposition how do you see the current peace process of the United National Front Government?

Answer: I give my fullest cooperation to the peace process. Peace is the first and foremost thing that the general public seek from politicians. Therefore, we should collaborate to find a way to solve this destructive and dangerous conflict. It has already wrecked the country and the country's development has been pushed back by years.

If peace talks begin I affirm my assistance to the government. We are also vigilant and will keep a watchful eye to ensure that the government's activities are conducted in a democratic manner and are sufficiently transparent. If they are not, we will insist that the government handles the peace process in an open manner. I mean, our assistance will include a critical aspect as well.

Question: As the Opposition Leader your duties also include dealing with other political parties. What are your plans in this regard?

Answer: The Opposition is the alternative government. It should be strong, competitive, aggressive and co-operative. And it should also be open to friendly or rival ideas and suggestions. I have already planned to meet all the opposition political parties and to discuss what our plans should be for the future. I have given my special attention to the Tamil parties.

We will discuss the national problem with them and explore ways of bringing about a concrete solution to the ongoing conflict. The other thing is, the present opposition will not behave like the previous opposition and agitate against every government plan or process. We are completely different and we will be with the general public. Our decisions will be favourable to the people.

Question: The Local Government election is nearing now. How do you plan to face it?

Answer: We have to face this election under a very pathetic situation. More than 2000 of our party supporters and members are in jail. The Government machinery is now working against the PA. The Police are also working against PA members. However, we have a good selection of candidates for the election, 40 per cent of our contestants are youth.

We also have a considerable amount of women, contesting the elections. The main thing is that we are not involved in any conspiracies to win the elections.

Question: Have you any plans to join with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna for the upcoming local government elections?

Answer: The JVP have their own plans for the elections and we have ours. I will meet and discuss with all political parties and the JVP will also be treated in the same manner. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga provides a good leadership to the party. Most probably we will be contesting the elections alone.

Question: What do you see as the reason for the defeat of the PA at the last general elections? Would you subscribe to the conspiracy theory promoted by many PA members?

Answer: Some failures in organisation and not being able to keep some promises may be, are some of the reasons for our defeat. The other thing, is that any government has to face a decrease in its popularity when it is in power. I do not say that the PA was conspired out of power. And the PA has no conspiracy or secret pacts to come into power.

Question: You said the opposition is the next alternative government in a country. What are your plans to achieve that target?

Answer: One major area we should be looking at is in re-organising and re-arranging the party. We have to consider why some members left us and plans should be prepared to prevent others leaving us. If possible we must try to take back the ones who left us.

Recognising the cause for our failures will be a new beginning to the party.

And we have enough experience working with people. Bringing the public on to the streets and creating problems is not in our agenda. We have organised "Jana Ghosa", "Pada Yathra", "Human Chains" and many other events with the assistance of the general public in the past successfully.

Question: Though you speak about the opposition winning over the public, what happens normally is that the general public as individuals or as groups are ignored by politicians, when they strive to meet politicians. Would you like to comment?

Answer: Some politicians may behave in that foolish way. They will be rejected by the people. There is no doubt about that. The politicians who serve the people will remain in the field. However, I have decided to make facilities available for people to reach the politicians easily and to pave the way for a good interaction. Politicians activate what the general public needs. I will activate a new program to create good relationships between our MPs and the people.

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