Interference in internal matters unwarranted - Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka

By Uditha Kumarasinghe

Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said that UN Commissioner for Human Rights Navineetham Pillay’s statement on Sri Lanka at the OHCHR press briefing amounts to overreaching her mandate. According to the UN Charter, each country is entitled to its sovereignty, legal system and Constitution. The Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer said the Government initiated the impeachment process on former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake according to the procedure laid down in the Constitution. So there should not be a big hue and cry over it by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as it is legal and constitutional.

He said according to a UN resolution in 1985 there are exemptions to some laws. These exemptions are basically for the Members of Parliament and superior Court judges. The normal law could not be applied to these categories. That is the exception. Actually this has been accepted by the UN. Navineetham Pillay should know that the UN too accepts that the normal legal procedure would not apply to the legislative members as well as Superior Court judges.

Minister Ranawaka said when the UN sanctioned Afghanistan, Libyan and Iraqi invasions, it had simply gone against its own Charter and value systems. There should be radical structural and principal changes in the UN system. When the UN was formed, there were only 56 countries. There should be a new democratically elected UN Security Council and a new set of principles which can truly represent the world. Now UK and France are holding sway over other countries. There are emerging countries such as Brazil, India and South Africa. If these countries should represent the Security Council, we can ensure a proper representation.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q: The Government holds the view that the UN Commissioner for Human Rights Navaneetham Pillay’s statement on Sri Lanka at the OHCHR press briefing amounts to interference in the country’s internal affairs which is totally uncalled for and unwarranted. Would you like to elaborate on this?

A: Definitely. Actually she has overreached her mandate. According to the UN Charter, each country is entitled to its sovereignty, legal system and Constitution. We had initiated the impeachment process on former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake according to our Constitution.

There should not be a big hue and cry by the UN Human Rights Council since it is legal and constitutional. According to a UN resolution in 1985, there are exemptions to some laws. These exemptions are basically for the Members of Parliament and Superior Court judges. So the normal law could not be applied to these categories. That is the exception. Actually it has been accepted by the UN. Navaneetham Pillay should know that the UN also accepts that the normal legal procedure won’t apply to legislative members as well as Superior Court judges. There is a separate procedure to initiate disciplinary action against them.

Q: Sacking Supreme Court judges in USA, India or Philippines did not concern UN or other human rights bodies as much as their interest in Sri Lanka. Why is Sri Lanka singled out?

A: Actually they are targeting us for political reasons, because the West don’t favour our independent foreign policy. We defeated the LTTE terrorists without listening to the so-called advisors.

They wanted to have some kind of influence in the Indian ocean. In the 19th century, it was the Atlantic Ocean which was far more important for commercial operations. After the 20th centry, it was the Pacific Ocean which became the domain of influence between North America, china, Russia and other countries.

In 21st century, it could be the Indian Ocean from Iran to Indonesia, the most important ocean as far as commercial operations are concerned. We are at the very centre of the Indian Ocean and fifty percent of the cargo passes Sri Lanka. It is over sixty percent as far as the fuel transport is concerned.

Our geographical location is very important. After US President Obama assumed office in his second term, he had said that he would look to the East.

This means that they are concentrating on the Indian Ocean. They are mindful of our country’s independent position with regard to international problems, but see us as a snag to their domination of the Indian Ocean.

That is why they make allegations against us. They view the impeachment process as unlawful and unconstitutional which disregarded the basic laws.

That way they try to undermine the legal and judicial systems of Sri Lanka. Their argument is that because the former Chief Justice was not given a fair chance of hearing her, Sri Lanka’s judicial system is biased. It is also not based on natural justice and further the Sri Lanka’s legal and judicial system are also flawed.

Therefore, the international intervention is a must. That is what they are aiming at. Definitely they will move another resolution at the UNHRC session in March. They are now preparing the ground work.

Q: The criterion to judge human rights violations varies with the size and might of the country and only ‘sprats’ are held as offenders. Why is this?

A: Actually it is a power play. The US and the West think that their value system is always universal. This is not true. The value system is based on the cultural system. It’s a cultural phenomenon and we have diverse cultures. Our value system is different compared to other cultures. The US value system cannot be applied to the whole world. Its not a universal thing. I was there when US President Obama addressed the UN and he always referred to this. He said,

“This is our thinking and our value system and it is universal”. So they try to impose these things on others. For example, they are the most violent nation on this planet. In USA everyone possesses automatic rifles and gun rights. America’s population is about 300 million.

But there are over 300 million private automatic rifles in the country. So the per capita automatic rifle is over one. Their crime rate is over six times that of Germany and four times, the UK. Before they talk about others, they should set their house in order.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, people from UK and France simply went to Americas and dominated the indigenous people. Altogether 267 ethnicities are in North America. Basically criminals from Europe had simply dehoused the natives.

They colonized these countries. So they are trying to impose things forcefully on other countries. The world has undergone change and the economic and demographic power has been shifted to Asia.

Now the new shapers and movers of the world are Asia, not in Europe or North America. The US and EU should accept the cultural diversity and value diversity of other sovereign nations. Otherwise there would not be peace on this planet. Fortunately now they can’t impose their military or economic power on us, because Asia would be the economic, military and demographic powerhouse on this planet.

Q: Powerful countries openly violate human rights in pursuit of their political objectives. Why are the international human rights bodies and other lobbyists silent on them?

A: We can discuss justice, equity and many other things. But in a practical sense, all these things are subjected to political power.

It may be derived from military power, economic power, technical power or any other social power. That is the reality and we have to face this reality. So the truth is one thing and reality is another. We have to face this reality. We have to align with like-minded countries or nations to fight against these mighty powers.

Q: The UN Charter forbids interference in domestic affairs of member countries, Won’t the pronouncements by UN big wigs amount to violation of this principle?

A: Definitely. When the UN sanctioned Afghanistan, Libyan and Iraqi invasions, they have simply gone against its own Charter and value systems. Actually there should be structural and principal changes in the UN. Because when UN was formed there were only 56 countries. Those so-called mighty powers such as UK and France are no longer powerful countries.

They are in the UN Security Council. There should be a new democratically constituted Security Council and a new set of principles which can truly represent the world community. There are emerging countries such as Brazil, India and South Africa. These emerging countries should represent the Security Council and accordingly we could ensure a proper representation. Actually UK and France are dying powers today. They have no economic or military might with them. Things have changed between 1948 and 2012. There should be a radical structural change in the UN system.

Q: The business community has expressed its concern about growing ultra-nationalistic sentiments within the country. Do you perceive any such developments in the country?

A: There are minor incidents. Some people are trying to portray them as major incidents. I don’t think the business community here is sending these messages. Only some ethnic groups are now trying to do it. We should respect each others’ cultures. They should not try to impose their traditions on others. For example, I have my meals in keeping with Buddhist traditions.

Muslims do according to their principles. But the Buddhists or the Muslims should not try to impose their traditions on each other.We should not allow extremist elements to turn Sri Lanka into another Afghanistan or Pakistan.

The same thing happened in the Maldives as well. The extremist forces totally destroyed the future of the Maldivian people. They are only a very tiny or marginal force trying to portray as a big force.

The Buddhists should also respect others’ right to do business and respect their religions, because Buddhism is a tolerant religion with compassion towards others.

When Portuguese tried to force out Muslims, it was the Buddhists who helped Muslims to settle down in Sri Lanka in 1672. The Tamil community is lagging behind democratically, economically and socially because of the separatist ideas foisted upon them by some Tamil racist groups. Anyone who tries to entertain separatist ideas or cultivate inflated egos could face a similar fate.

Q: At present, the balance of trade with India is not in favour of Sri Lanka. Will the proposed Special Economic Partnership be able to rectify this trade imbalance in encouraging more Sri Lankan exports to India?

A: I don’t think so. This trade imbalance is basically because of the Indian Oil Company (IOC). We import petrol from the IOC and their share is about 30 percent of the total market. So you can’t balance this thing. I don’t think we can have a level playing ground when we are doing business with Indian counterparts.

Q: The UNP high command has said that it would form a Government in 2014. Apart from political, is there any logical basis for their resolve?

A: We have serious problems in this country, because we don’t have a strong Opposition. The Government entertains constructive criticism. The present UNP-led Opposition is not strong enough to convince the people about the Government’s deeds or misdeeds. We need a strong Opposition and the UNP is not going to fulfil it.

The same thing happened in 1980s when the SLFP was not a strong Opposition to then UNP Government.

The result was an armed uprising in the South and the North. Due to UNP’s inability to be a democratic opposition to this government, extremist elements may exploit the opportunity and threaten the entire democratic system.

Q: Some have expressed their fears about the perils of extending the 24-hour police custody to 48 hours in view of the torture and harassment of suspects under police custody. Would you like to express your view?

A: Actually in fifteen cases of grievous crime a police officer not below the rank of an ASP could seek the approval of a Magistrate to have extended the period of custody from 24-hours to 48-hours.

Today we need electronic evidence as well. For example, to seek information over the telephone, the police needs more time. I think this law has been passed with good intention. It is therefore, the duty of the police to enforce this new law with the spirit with which it was passed.

Q: Would you like to elaborate on your price formula mechanism to electricity and petroleum products which will bring relief to the people?

A: As far as the electricity tariff is concerned, there are many factors. One factor is that we are generating at least 70-80 percent of electricity using fuel. So it depends on the fuel price. Fuel price is determined by the international forces. There are two ways of supplying fuel to the country. One is from our refinery and the other, the direct imports.

These two components and their real cost should reflect on this formula. The second thing is coal which is imported directly. So that coal prices should also be reflect on this formula. Third is the rainfall figures of our reservoirs. When reservoirs are full of water, we can produce more hydro power.

When reservoirs go down, it should be restricted. When reservoirs are full, we can provide relief to our consumers and when the reservoirs go down, the burden should also be borne by the consumers.

The economic conditions such as conversion rates, for example the Dollar rupee rate will remain at 110 till February 2012. After that it will be Rs. 130 which is 20 a percent increase. It may affect the entire electricity business.

That is beyond our control. The other is the interest rates. We are buying electricity from the private sector. They are getting loans.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is also getting loans from People’s Bank at very high interest rates. So we have to pay back these loans. When some kind of social security relief is given for low income groups, that should reflect on our bills. Other groups should somehow pay for it. There could be instances of inefficiency in the CEB. We need structural changes to be made in the CEB without further delay.