Voters endorse Govt’s initiatives - Wimal Weerawansa

By Uditha KUMARASINGHE

Construction Engineering Services Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa said, whether the UNP and the JVP are divided or not,the majority of the people are with the Government and they have endorsed the initiatives taken by the Government to develop the country, at the recently concluded elections. The Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer said there is no vibrant Opposition to make a positive impact or even to make constructive criticism regarding the Government.

There is a need for a vibrant opposition based on proper political ideology. It is regrettable that some Opposition political parties were clashing with each other even over the photograph of Karl Marx.

Minister Weerawansa said it is not correct to put the entire blame on the Proportional Representation (PR) system for the violent culture that has developed in politics. Other than for the Mulleriyawa incident, no other violent incident was reported at the recently concluded Local Government polls.

When an isolated incident takes place, the entire blame is put on the PR system. The PR system is just one facet. The fact is that people should not approve or vote for politicians having dealings with various underworld elements. Steps should be taken to prevent such people from entering politics. Only those who respect law and order should take to politics.

Q: The UPFA got a resounding victory in all three rounds of the Local polls. What were the factors that led to this success?

A: The results of the Local Government polls have clearly shown that the people have placed their confidence in the Government. Even during the campaign of the recently concluded Local Government polls, the Opposition attempted to create an opinion that the majority of the people in urban areas were not with the Government.

However, the Government even won the Kandy Municipal Council which was a UNP bastion for over five decades. The UPFA captured power in Nuwara Eliya and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Councils which were also controlled by the UNP over the past so many years.

These victories achieved by the UPFA are a perfect example that even people in urban areas have endorsed the path the Government has taken. The UPFA’s success under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa was because he was the person responsible to defeat terrorism and restore peace in the country.

Now the Government is able to implement a massive development drive. In this situation, the Opposition has failed to introduce any alternative or pose any challenge to the Government. The UPFA will definitely achieve resounding victories in the future too.

Q: The UPFA however lost in Colombo. What is your view regarding the defeat?

A: The decision taken by the UNP to field a Muslim candidate was one of the key reasons why the UPFA lost Colombo. The majority of the Muslims in Colombo voted for the UNP Mayoral candidate because he was a Muslim. This is very clear when we analyse the decline of the percentage of votes obtained by the SLMC at the Colombo Municipal Council election.

The UPFA candidate could not create an impact among the Muslim community in Colombo. We can’t be satisfied with the UPFA’s election machinery used during the election. If more effort was made, the UPFA had a greater chance of winning Colombo.

Q: There is a culture of violence in politics as seen in the Mulleriyawa incident. A lot of politicians have blamed the PR system. Is PR to blame or are there other causes?

A: It is not correct to put the entire blame on the PR system. Even during the recently concluded Local Government polls, no violent incident was reported from the areas where elections were held.

In most places elections were conducted in a very peaceful manner. When one isolated incident takes place, the blame is put on the PR system.

The PR system is just a single factor.

The fact is that the people should not approve or vote politicians having dealings with underworld gangs. Steps should be taken to prevent such people entering politics.

Those who respect law and order should take to politics. People who violate law and order should not be allowed to enter politics. There should be no opportunity for drug dealers and underworld elements to enter politics. It is obvious when such people enter politics, violence will be the order of the day. They spend billions of rupees and use thuggery to retain power. Before the PR system is changed, steps should be taken to prevent drug dealers and various underworld elements entering politics.

Q: Do you think that political parties should give nomination only to persons who meet certain criteria in terms of education, and previous conduct?

A: There has been talk regarding this issue but no concrete steps have been taken. When somebody is killed in a political scenario there is lot of talks and the importance of taking stern action is stressed, but there is a lack of an effective mechanism to deal with such situations.

Earlier various national movements operated in Sri Lanka. Today there is a need to form a national movement which can send strong signals to those who are in power to make the necessary reforms. The changes can be made only through such a national movement.

Q: You have ensured that there is no violence among National Freedom Front (NFF) members. As a political party how do you ensure such discipline?

A: We never give nomination to candidates who have engaged in thuggery. As a party we only put forward suitable candidates who respect law and order.

Sixty three NFF members have been elected to Local Government Bodies in all three rounds of the Local Government polls.

More NFF members have been elected to Local Bodies than JVP members. Most of the NFF members contested under the UPFA banner, while some contested under the National Patriotic Front and also as independent candidates. When the JVP lost the Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha, the NFF member who polled the highest number of preferential votes was elected as the chairman of Suriyawewa Pradeshiya Sabha.

The NFF could also get chairmanship of the Katunayake-Seeduwa Urban Council as well.

Q: The new Mayor of Colombo has pledged to work with the Government. Do you see this as a positive sign?

A: This is a very positive development. If the CMC is led by the UNP, it has no ability to form a different political culture in Colombo. Under the guidance of Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, massive development has been undertaken within Colombo city.

If this task carried out by the Defence Ministry is stalled, the people will put the blame on the CMC. Therefore the CMC has to cooperate with the Central Government to carry out its activities.

Q: The JVP had a very poor showing at the Local Polls and now it is divided into two factions. What has happened to the JVP ?

A: Like the Samasamaja and Communist parties, the JVP has also turned into a political movement relegated to history.

These political parties are not mainstream political powers in Sri Lanka anymore. Today these political parties have no ability to pose any challenge to the Government or make significant changes within the country. The JVP has become a memory. Therefore the JVP is not in a position to build a future political career.

Q: With the UNP and JVP being divided and in disarray, do you see the Government getting stronger as the public seem to have lost confidence in those parties?

A: With or without this division, the majority of the people are with the Government. They have endorsed the initiatives taken by the Government to develop the country. There is no vibrant Opposition in the country which can make any positive impact or make constructive criticism about the Government.

There is a need for a vibrant Opposition based on proper political ideology. Opposition political parties have stooped to low levels and are clashing with one anoher even over the photograph of Karl Marx.

Q: There is a belief that the planned Colombo Metropolitan Authority will interfere with the powers of the CMC and the other four Municipal Councils. Is there any truth in this?

A: I think the administration of these Municipal Councils should be under the control of the Central Government. However,this is not an attempt made to undermine the people’s representatives elected to these councils.

The country’s capital does not belong to a certain section of the people or to one political party. It belongs to every citizen in the country. Any person will focus his or her attention on Sri Lanka only if it maintains a certain standard in creating a good image of the city.

Therefore it is vital to establish this authority. Even if the UPFA mayoral candidate had won, the Government had decided to implement this authority.

Q: The Opposition is levelling allegations that the country’s law and order situation has deteriorated. Is there any truth in these allegations?

A: Certain international forces are attempting to highlight that the law and order situation in Sri Lanka has broken down. The Opposition has also extended its support to these conspiracies hatched by international forces to gain narrow objectives. It is our duty not to leave room for these elements to realise their objectives.

However, incidents like Mulleriyawa may provide some ground for these elements who attempt to put our country into disarray and tarnish its image.

When this kind of stupid incident takes place, the Opposition which works to the agenda of Western forces attempt to take undue political advantage from these incidents. We should not allow stupid incidents to take place and prevent Sri Lanka’s image being tarnished further.