Opposition vital for democratic governance - Nimal Siripala de Silva

by Uditha KUMARASINGHE

Leader of the House and Minister of Irrigation and Water Management Nimal Siripala de Silva said that repeal of several clauses of the emergency regulations is a clear message given to the people that the Government is not interested in promulgating the emergency for the sake of having an emergency. The Minister in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer said a vibrant Opposition is needed for democracy. There is a duty cast on the Opposition to reach a consensus with regard to national issues of the country.

Q: How do you view your re-appointment as the Leader of the House?

A: President Mahinda Rajapaksa has recognised my honest and dedicated service to the party and endorsed my appointment as the Leader of the House. This is very prestigious political position in a democratic country. So I am very happy that such confidence was placed on me by the President.

Q: Compared to the previous Parliament, the composition of the seventh Parliament has made the Government more stable with 144 seats. How do you analyse this situation?

A: The President's vibrant political leadership as well as his vision of Mahinda Chinthana and the enormous amount of development activities launched by his Government paved the way for number of new MPs to enter Parliament. So we are very happy on this development. We have experienced a lot of hung Parliaments in Sri Lanka. For development, and to take correct political decisions were not conducive with a hung Parliament. With such a strong Parliament, the President's hands are being strengthened and we hope we would be able to take very hard political decisions in the interest of the people and ensure the smooth development in fulfilling the aspirations of the voters.

Q: The Speaker of seventh Parliament was also unanimously appointed by the Government and the Opposition paving the way for a new political culture. According to you how should the Government and the Opposition develop this trend in Parliament?

A: To develop this trend in Parliament, it is very necessary that the members of Parliament should give priority to the national interest rather than their political interest. It is true that we represent various political parties to come to Parliament. But when we come to Parliament we have a responsibility towards our party. But if the same time we have to take very rational decisions in respect of national questions. For example health, education and the national security etc. The members of Parliament should think about the national interest and make representation and support, not purely based to embarrass the Government.

Q: As a responsible Opposition, how should it cooperate with the Government in future on national issues?

A: When you say that the Opposition should cooperate with the Government, I would not say that the Opposition should compromise its role. I had been an Opposition Parliamentarian from 1989 to 1994. So we played a very vibrant role by demonstrating to the Government various issues with regard to corruption, malpractice, maladministration etc. So a healthy and a vibrant Opposition is needed for vibrant democracy. Therefore it is the duty of the Opposition to fight hard with regard to some of these issues for which we are not finding fault with the Opposition. But of course as I said earlier, there is a duty cast on the Opposition to consensus with regard to the national issues which are affecting the country.

For example when the Mumbai bomb attack took place, Mr.Advani and the BJP said they were fully supporting the Government. Because their priority was to ensure that "Mother India" be protected. But does it happen in Sri Lanka? When it comes to the emergency and similar matters that we are promulgating. It is true that Prabhakaran is dead and the terrorism in Sri Lankan has been wiped out. But still there is an international conspiracy to destabilise Sri Lanka and the cry for Eelam by the Tamil diaspora is still in existence. The LTTE cadres who fled this country are operating in various capitals of the world and try to revamp the LTTE and destabilise Sri Lanka. So this scenario must be fully understood by the Opposition and it should support the Government to counter these activities launched by the pro-LTTE elements.

While criticising the Government and pointing out its shortcomings etc, at the same time in the case of national issues they should get together. Even in the British Parliament, both the Opposition and the Government got together against the terrorism in Ireland. Even in the United States of America, they fought very bitterly in the elections as well as in the floor of the House with regard to certain issues. But still when it comes to an important national issues in Sri Lanka, do they try to reach a consensus? This is what is necessary to be promoted in Sri Lanka. For example,in future we intend to bring a good electoral system to this country. In an issue like that, the Opposition should cooperate with the Government. We could not do this at the last Parliament. In the last Parliament, a committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Minister Dinesh Gunawardene of which I was also a member to make these electoral reforms. We almost reached consensus. But we could not implement them as the Opposition did not cooperate at the last moment. They sabotaged the whole process. They failed to perform their national duty which I still reiterate. If the Opposition helped us, all these problems in the preferential voting would have not arisen.

Q: Over 64 new faces have been elected to the Parliament from the Government and the Opposition. As a veteran politician what is your advice for them?

A: There are no short cuts. You have to undergo the hard way of political life both outside and inside the Parliament. I remember when I entered politics in 1983, we had to undergo a lot of difficulties.

I started my political career in the Colombo Municipal Council and entered Parliament in 1989 representing a difficult electorate like Borella from the SLFP. I worked very hard in Parliament. I got only 36,000 votes in the first round in 1986. But when I contested in 1994, I obtained 118,000 votes. So I got my vote base increased because I worked dedicatedly. As an Opposition MP, I spent a lot of time at the Parliament library searching facts and figures and reading the sensitive news items appeared in the newspapers based on the oral questions and adjournment motions.

I actively participated in Parliament debates and stayed in Parliament from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. by watching the proceedings and got political motivation the hard way. The advise for the young Parliamentarians is there are no shortcuts. Work hard and be dedicated to the people who elected you and be present in Parliament.

Q: Both the Government and the Opposition young politicians during their maiden speeches showed their capability of working together to take the country forward. How do you see this?

A: It's a very positive scenario. Because we always talk about Parliament as a negative place. The impression given to the public about Parliamentarians is that they are getting their perks etc. But I don't think this is correct. There may be a few people who belong to that category. Being a Member of Parliament, he or she has to make a lot of sacrifices. The people expect many things from a Member of Parliament. Sometimes the people don't know whether this could be fulfilling by the member concerned. But they expect the Member of Parliament to perform these things. In my view, it is very difficult to become a Member of Parliament. We have to sacrifice lot to become a Parliamentarian.

Q: According to you how should the Government and the Opposition act to uphold the democratic traditions of the House?

A: For example, you can't clap with one hand! Similarly it is very necessary for the Opposition and the Government take this issue seriously and play their role honestly.

Q: The Government has taken steps to repeal certain clauses of the emergency regulations. How would this benefit the country and the people?

A: It is a clear message given to the country and the people that the Government is not interested in promulgating the emergency for the sake of having the emergency. The Government would be very happy if the emergency could be lifted even today.

Though terrorism has been eradicated, we know there are external forces trying to destabilise the country and bring back LTTE terrorism to our soil. Therefore, we have to be very cautious during this period and preventive measures have to be taken. The emergency is necessary for that purpose. What we have retained now is that type of regulations which are necessary. At the same time, we should not forget that this Government secured a landslide victory at the elections. But sometimes history shows us that when some Opposition forces are convinced that the Government cannot be toppled by democratic means, there may be certain elements who would try to destabilise the Government in an undemocratic manner. Hence this situation has to be arrested. We are not using the emergency to suppress the right of any person. But national security has to be guaranteed.

Q: What do you think of your new Ministry?

A: I am very happy with this portfolio. This is a very large Ministry. I have been entrusted with the Mahaweli development as well. Mahaweli constitutes 40 percent of the land area in the country. Through proper management I would be able to contribute a lot to the national economy.

Nearly 70 percent of the people in our country are farmers. So their livelihood depends on water. If the irrigation system is in place, the farmer is in a position to cultivate two seasons. Then only the farmers will get a sufficient income. Water is a primary factor and now we consider it as a commodity which has a great value like our foreign reserves. Our productivity and the GDP will fall if we don't have sufficient water.

There should be a proper management of water resources. Of the total quantity of water which falls on the soil of our country, only 35 percent is being used for irrigation. The remaining 65 percent flows to the sea. As king Parakramabahu the great said "every drop of water which falls on the soil of Sri Lanka should be utilised for agricultural purposes.

This concept has to be given effect so that agriculture and the livestock will prosper.Food security is something which is essential for development.