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by special correspondent

Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando has lashed out at Sri Lankan expatriate groups hostile to the peace process calling them 'junk pundits.' In an interview with the Sunday Observer last week, the Minister described his recent official tours overseas as successful in mobilising commitments for aid to help the country recover from the war. 
He strongly criticised expatriate groups overseas who are campaigning for a military solution.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q: How do you, as the Foreign Minister, categorise the world opinion towards peace talks and other relevant latest developments?

A: I must say that the world opinion is very much optimistic about what is happening here and also in Thailand. At the very outset, just after assuming duties, we managed to win the support of all major players in the world to our peace process. The Prime Minister and I visited India, the Great Britain, the European Union and also the Prime Minister's and my meetings with leaders like President George Bush and Collin Powel helped a lot to create the ground situation for talks.

Now the first round of talks have finished and the international support has boomed. You might have seen the statements issued by various governments like Germany, the USA, UK, Australia the Netherlands, Switzerland the European Union so on and so forth. They are not only issuing statements but also promising massive contributions of assistance for the development of the North and East of Sri Lanka. The amount of donations we received from these countries during the first two days of the talks were well over one billion rupees.

Q: How confident are you on your mission in building the image of Sri Lanka?

A: I am very confident especially after the conclusion of the first round of talks. I cannot project to the rest of th world something that is not on the ground. You cannot justify a 'war for peace' as the previous government did. You have to be genuine and honest in this game. As Pundit Nehru told us when we were in Oxford, we have grabbed the enemy's hand. If it is friendly we have got a friend and we can work together to develop the entire country. As Balasingham has quite rightly said the practices of the previous government plunged the entire country into the abyss of social and economic disaster. Even the LTTE has accepted the fact that we managed to change the situation after assuming the office with an overwhelming popular mandate.

Q: Yes the government changed the situation, but will the LTTE change their situation?

A: Why not? Don't you think that their decision to drop the concept of Eelam or the separate state is a bold step forward? Can't you see a group which is supposed to be the fathers of the suicide bombing culture are now transforming itself into a mainstream political force? We can see Prabhakaran is making attempts to discipline his cadres. They are talking directly to Muslims through SLMC leader Hakeem. The UNICEF last week claimed that the LTTE has handed over 85 child soldiers to the parents. It may take time. We cannot expect them to be saints overnight. Not only they have to do it, they have to prove it. Prime Minister Blair categorically said when the Prime Minister and I met him in London that the UK will not lift the ban on the LTTE till they renounce the path of violence. The thinkline of the US and other countries are the same.

Therefore, coming to the negotiating table will not be enough. They have to perform well according to the accepted democratic norms during this process. That is what the entire world is expecting from them. I think they are now fully engaged in that process.

Q: You are an elected Parliamentarian. How are you going to deal with the extremist elements at home? And what about the President?

A: We cannot consider the JVP a serious force. The JVP which had the privilege of entering the democratic political stream after killing thousands of Sinhalese does not want to see the LTTE doing the same.

We are following the same practice as we dealt with the JVP in early '90s. Neither did we ask the JVP to hand over their weapons, nor did they do so. This time the people have taken the entire peace process into their hands. They showed their strength on the 9th. Miniatures like the JVP whose vote base was halved during the last local polls, cannot stop this massive peace force.

But I must tell you about the expatriates those who are promoting war here while enjoying their lives abroad. I am not talking about all, because I know most of them do want to see a settlement to the conflict in their motherland. I receive many emails every day from such patriots. Also there are some Sri Lankan gatherings which back the process in total. But at the same time there are some Junk Pundits whose heads have been benumbed by the Western climates. The people see them in their vain nudity.

As far as the President is concerned she is under pressure from similar elements at home. But she is basically for the peace process. In fact, she started it with the Norwegians until some elements in her government disrupted it.

Also I must tell you that it is high time to change the old saying "Sinhalaya Modaya, kavum kanna yodaya'. We always were fools or were made fools by our short sighted leaders who sought mere short term political gains in handling the national issue. We have got a bright, strong and committed leadership through Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. We should not concentrate on the negative side of things, but try to get the full use of positive facts. We must hail the guidance and advice of the Maha Sangha and also the patience of the Sinhala majority through out this process.

Q: How would you predict the situation in coming months?

A: I am not a soothsayer. But we can see a massive economic boom as a result of the peace process. Investors are attracted, tourist influx is increasing, the stock market soared with the commencement of talks.

The All Share Price Index was 830.1, the highest since 1997. As the Chairman of the Cabinet sub committee on overseas business, I can firmly tell you that the entire engine of the government is fully geared to bring plus points to the negative economy.

I am sure we achieve our goals with the establishment of a lasting peace.

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