President, Govt at zenith of popularity - Health Minister

by Manjula FERNANDO

In an interview with the Sunday Observer, Health Minister and Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva expresses the Government confidence of winning any election regardless of the Opposition candidate(s) and outlines the Government thinking on a range of issues including the electoral system and the Executive Presidency.

Q: The Government passed a Vote on Account for just four months. Will there be a General Election before April next year?

A: Certainly there will be a general election before the end of these four months. According to the Constitution if it is necessary the President has a right to make certain budgetary provisions to extend this period for a few more months. That option is available.

But I am quite confident that the General Election will definitely be held. The Parliament will automatically be dissolved by April. The President cannot postpone a General Election.

Q: If General Sarath Fonseka becomes the main contender at the forthcoming Presidential election, do you think the Government has any reason to be concerned?

A: No. Government has no reason to be concerned because we have a very strong candidate. Whether it is General Fonseka or anybody else, for example UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who has done politics for such a long time and comes from a very strong political party, if he could not defeat the President, I don’t think anybody else could do that.

And also if you examine the track record and the political voting patterns of the people of Sri Lanka during the past one year the popularity of the President and the Government, and the confidence placed by the people of this country have increased.

So we are very sensitive to the public opinion and we are quite confident that the public is with us. The SLFP convention was a clear manifestation of this confidence.

Therefore his candidature is immaterial. The opposition has already accepted defeat and they are tying to find a new candidate to field against the President. That also shows the erosion of the United National Party’s vote base.

Being one of the largest political parties in Sri Lanka which has contested numerous elections throughout the Sri Lankan political history, if they are backtracking on a candidate, this shows that the party is not strong. We are not worried about any individual contesting against the President.

Q: Couldn’t the Government have prevented his resignation?

A: Why should we prevent it.

It is the right of a person to carry on his job or remain there. We respect individual freedom and the President gladly accepted the resignation because that was the wish of the General. So we did not either obstruct it or we did not keep him by force.

Q: Abolishing the Executive Presidency is the top most election pledge of the main Opposition UNP, JVP as well as the United National Front. What is the Governments stance?

A: The Government’s thinking on this issue is very clear. We want to change the electoral system. The Executive Presidency, Proportional Representation and the present political system, the provincial councils, all are embedded as one unit. So you have to consider the overall political system of the country.

You cannot treat any of the above in isolation. The Executive Presidency has its own good dividends. In an unstable political situation the Executive Presidency had been able to keep all the forces together.

For example one factor which strengthened the President’s hand to fight the war against terrorism was the Executive Presidency. There are pros and cons of the whole process. So the SLFP will make the necessary changes, not piecemeal but taking into consideration the totality of the situation.

Q: The Tamil vote block is a crucial factor in any election in Sri Lanka. Do you plan to obtain the Tamil National Alliance’s support at the forthcoming election?

A: Rather than taking the individual support of the political parties, the President’s campaign will be based on mustering support from members of all communities.

The TNA as a party may turn some votes but the President will speak to the hearts of the Tamil people, the individual voters.

They will feel and listen to him and appreciate what we have done to the Tamil people, especially liberating them from the clutches of the LTTE terrorism. Their children are studying in schools now.

These children are no more carrying guns.

We have brought so much of infrastructure development into the North and the East under Uthuru Wasanthaya and Nagenahira Udanaya.

Therefore we are confident, as much as people in the South will vote for the President with an outstanding majority, the people of North and the East, Tamils and Muslims will also support him for a second term. The UNP does not dominate the Tamil vote block anymore.

Q: There is talk that a Presidential election is to be held soon. The current President’s term of office ends only in 2011. Why sacrifice two years?

A: I dont know if there is a clear decision to hold a Presidential election. But the President will make a prudent decision at the correct time. It will be based on his vision and his confidence with the people of Sri Lanka.

So if he is confident that he could win a Presidential Election without any problem and with the highest majority now, why should not he go for a Presidential election. That is my argument.

Q: What is the Constitutional provision governing the swearing in of the President following a re-election.

Does he have to do it soon afterwards or can he wait till his first term ends?

A: We have examined the Constitutional position very clearly. Swearing-in will not create any problems. The only thing is that he is going to lose just one year. If there is any doubt we can ask the Supreme Court for an opinion.

Q: Why do you think the UNP wants a common candidate when they have a very seasoned leader?

A: That shows the erosion of the UNP vote base and that the leader himself is not confident of winning the election. I think probably knowing very well that he cannot win, he wants to pass the buck.

Q: The UNP says if and when they win the election they want to abolish the Executive Presidency and bring back the former system where the Head of State will be an executive Prime Minister?

A: They think the people are foolish. Wickremesinghe himself is a lawyer. To abolish the executive presidency in terms of the Constitution, you need a two thirds majority in Parliament and probably a referendum.

So how could they have a two thirds majority in Parliament? The UNP has no more than 50 members in Parliament. They dont have two thirds.

I think even we dont have two thirds. So how are they going to abolish the Executive Presidency? If the SLFP says no it is over. Therefore it is not practical and what they say cannot be implemented.

Suppose a different candidate wins the election. He just cant declare he is going to abolish the Executive Presidency. You can’t do it like that. You have to abolish it in terms of the Constitution itself.

Q: How do you view the collaboration between the UNP and the JVP?

A: Rohana Wijeweera and thousands of JVPers were killed by the UNP. I cant imagine how the JVP which had been fighting against the UNP on policy and many other issues can tie up with the UNP. I suppose if they get together for petty political gains the people will teach them a good lesson. The JVP is a left oriented party, how can they get together with the most rightist party in this country? It will be hara-kiri for the JVP.

Q: S. B. Dissanayake and Sajith Premadasa were notable absentees at the ceremony to seal the UNF pact and the subsequent pre-campaign procession to Kandy?

A: We are quite aware that there is a big rift within the UNP. I think this rift will come out and the party will break into more pieces after the announcement of their candidate.

Q: The Rajapaksa administration has achieved peace. You have accomplished your mission. Now the battle is with the economy. Why should people re-elect you, when the UNP claims they are much better in handling the economy?

A: President Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power with several promises. One was to eradicate terrorism, which he has fulfilled to the satisfaction of all Sri Lankans. While engaged in the war against terrorism he never forgot the other promises.

He strengthened the public service by adding more than 300,000 young men and women graduates, doctors, nurses, etc. Norochcholai, Upper Kotmale and many other power projects were implemented, several harbours and highways were constructed.

If you go to the peripheral areas, several hundred kilometers of concrete roads and water schemes have been constructed. There was a reawakening of the village economy.

Now the price of paddy is high. Tea, rubber, coconut, cinnamon agricultural products give a sizable income to farmers. He has handled the economy well.

When the entire world was undergoing a recession and even countries like US, Germany, Japan were losing millions and millions of jobs and banks were collapsing, such things did not happen in Sri Lanka.

That shows Mahinda Chinthanaya has given an economic boost to our country. We had been able to maintain 6.0 per cent annual growth rate, and our external reserves are highest in the country’s history.

When you take the social and moral values of our people, smoking and drinking has come down, the number of children attending Dhamma and Sunday schools has increased.

You can see a significant difference in cultural and moral values of our people than during the previous regime.

The President has addressed all those issues. We are confident that people have faith in him, not only in winning the war but also in his ability to perform in the economic and social sectors.