Celluloid stardom, not a qualification for politics - Minister Seneviratne

By Uditha Kumarasinghe

Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne said US Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp's recent visit to Sri Lanka was a one-sided mission fulfilled by a US envoy. The Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer said the main reason for Rapp's visit to Sri Lanka was to find facts to base the resolution to be put forward at the next UNHRC sessions in March calling for an international investigation to deal with war crimes alleged to have taken place at the final phase of the war against terrorists.

Minister Seneviratne said politicians elected to represent the people should understand the people's aspirations. Those who act on the celluloid screen is no qualification to take to politics. A politician garners political know how by working in a particular field for sometime. Politics is not an area where people just enjoy. Hard work is needed to sustain in politics. If one is not prepared to put in hard work and find solutions to problems then politics is not for them.

Excerpts of the interview.

Q: There are reported instances that public officers, for instance Chief Secretaries have to work according to the whims and fancies of political heads of Provincial Councils and this affects administration. What is the remedy?

A: In the Northern Province that there were threats exerted on the Chief Secretary. There were notices and statements made by certain sections that were published in the newspapers that the Northern Province Chief Secretary should be removed from her post. Since then she has been receiving threats from various organisations including foreign countries. To get a clear picture we invited her and she conducted a press briefing along with members of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Officers Union where she made it clear that she was acting within the guidelines set by the Government as a public servant. The people who want things to be handled in a way that they want are destabilising her position. Our message to her is that she should continue to work to the best of her ability according to the guidelines of the Government and not be afraid of any threats. This is the message that is given to other public servants as well. No injustice will prevail. Anybody can cause any damage but work must not be hampered. That assurance was given by the Government to employees of the public service in the Northern Province. There were certain matters pertaining to political interference, we try to reach a compromise between the parties and that has been successful. Most problems which existed between these parties were resolved and amicable settled. Work has moved smoothly.

Q:There is speculation that the strength of the public service was disproportionate for a small country like Sri Lanka, which had an impact administratively and financially. Your observations?

A: During the past few years, we experienced a situation where we didn't have enough public servants to carry out the services for the people. There were certain instances when Heads of Institutions reported that when 15 to 20 public servants were needed there were only five or six. There is a dearth of public servants. To remedy this situation, we held examinations such as as Sri Lanka Administrative Service, Sri Lanka Administrative Assistance Service, engineers service, technical service and accountants. It is not possible for us to carry out the work without these officers. The efficiency of the public service which people always talk about cannot be provided unless there are adequate number of public servants. We can reduce the number of public servants who are in service, then efficiency will decline. We have to maintain the cadre in public officers and regional officers.

Q: We still see people hanging around Government departments such as AGA offices for days to get a small job done. Is this indifference or lack of a sense of devotion to duty on the part of public officers?

A: That would have been the case earlier. Now I don’t think that situation prevails. After providing all these facilities to the and human resources, we find that the need for the public to waste time in public offices is less. We are informed that the work is carried out efficiently. The cases of delay or callousness by public servants is now far less. There are not many complaints now. They attend to the needs of the people. We have provided them with computers and other required equipment. They can trace any information immediately. Their working environment is also different. Earlier some public servants didn’t even have basic facilities in their offices. If facilities are lacking, we take measures to provide them.

Q: Since of late the alleged involvement of politicians or connections with drug dealers or the underworld has turned out to be ammunition to the Opposition. Your comments?

A: Yes, that is there. But I think these are baseless allegations and are exaggerated. With regard to drugs and the underworld connections, this is there for decades. The Open Economy which was introduced about 20 or 25 years ago has paved the way for anything to be brought into the country and sold here. Of course the Government is taking every possible measure to arrest the drug culprits. Large scale drug I dealers are being hounded and arrested. The Opposition is exaggerating the situation to gain political mileage.

Q: LTTE sympathisers or operatives have infiltrated local and international organizations and even taken control of the Tamil vote in the UK, Canada, Australia and perhaps the USA. In this context how do you view US Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp’s recent visit to Sri Lanka?

A: Basically that is the reason why some of the Western countries are interested in our internal matters. We saw the Prime Minister of a European country who came to Sri Lanka to attend CHOGM and without being concerned with CHOGM went to Jaffna and met some people who had been selected by the TNA. He then made a statement to undermine the friendship that exists between two countries. Even countries like Canada boycotted CHOGM. These countries depend on Tamil voters who are employed in various capacities in these countries. As far as Canada and UK are concerned, I believe there are a large number of Tamil people who are registered voters. Politicians in these countries are trying to get these votes. I think there are about 400,000 to 500,000 votes in the UK. That is quite a sizeable portion of the voting strength in that country. At any election those votes matter. I know most of them vote for the Labour Party. Now the British Premier who is also the Leader of the Conservative Government wants to attract these votes. I think that is the reason he is interested in the plight of the Tamil people. He listened to those unrealistic and baseless propositions put forward by certain people on behalf of the Tamil community particularly members of the diaspora who have never come to this country of late. Their purpose is to see that this conflict exists so that in the light of the conflict they can remain and claim various privileges in those countries. They want the conflict to exist for their survival. That is why these people are pressurising those Governments to support their cause.

Rapp came to Sri Lanka as a US envoy. He went to some of the places in the North and he had discussions with certain people. Later we came to know that he is interested in finding facts to support the resolution against the Government at the next UNHRC sessions to be held in March. Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem as a Leader of the Muslim community had met Rapp. When the Minister tried to explain what had in fact taken place at the end stages of the war on terrorism and that information that he(Rapp) got was not correct Rapp was not interested and did not even listen. Prior to his coming here, he had decided all that. He wanted to collect facts to support those conclusions made prior to his visit to Sri Lanka. This was a one-sided mission that was fulfilled by this US official.

I believe the main reason as to why he wanted to talk to those people was to find facts to base their resolution that they are going to put forward at the next UNHRC sessions in Geneva.

Q: The recent census will arm the Government to meet allegations of human rights violations at any forum. It is therefore only a question enlightening the UNHRC member countries on the ground situation as against the concocted lies of the West?

A: The exact figures can be obtained by way of this census. Now what happens is various people say various things. Rapp said that about 140,000 people were killed at the final phase of the war against terrorists at Pudumathalan. Some names of Catholic priests were mentioned and that they conveyed this information. Later they denied it. The people were flabbergasted when they heard that Catholic priests had divulged false information to Rapp. Those were lies. Various international media mention various figures. The census will show the true figures. They go from house to house so that the exact number of people who died in every village can be obtained. A proper evaluation can be made with regard to the number of people who died.

Q: Politics was confined to lawyers and the people of that calibre in the good old days. But now even film stars have taken to politics. What is your opinion about this trend?

A: My opinion is that the political situation is going from bad to worse. Because the people who should take to politics are those meant to work in politics and understand the problems faced by the country and its people. They are the people who are capable of providing solutions to these problems. The aspirations of the people should be understood by politicians who represent them. The fact that one is from the celluloid world is not a qualification to take to politics. A politician garners experience by working in the field for sometime. Just because they are actors or actresses and people are attracted to then does not mean that they are t qualified to represent and understand the aspirations of the people and bring about solutions to their problems. Even if they are nominated they should understand the aspirations of the people and provide relevant answers. Politics is not an area where people should come and enjoy. Hard work is needed. Whoever who is not prepared to work hard and find solutions will fail in politics.

Q: Provincial Councils are regarded as a breeding ground of national politicians and senior politicians of both camps have introduced their kith and kin into politics. There are different views expressed by the public. How do you view this?

A: Now the Provincial Councils have become training ground for Parliamentarians. It must be converted into a more tangible and substantially important place where people are served. A huge amount of money is allocated by the Central Government to every Provincial Council. There are certain subjects that come within the purview of the Provincial Council. Funds are allocated to Provincial Councils to deal with those subjects. It is the duty of every Provincial Council member to look into the needs of the people such as infrastructure, education and health. Their attention must be paid to enhance the quality and services provided by them.

Q: Provincial Council Elections for the Western and Southern Provinces are scheduled to be held by the end of March and all parties are busy finalising candidates. Will the UPFA perform like at the Wayamba Elections?

A: The UPFA will have an easy victory. Because as far as the rural areas are concerned, the UPFA has rendered yeoman service. The people understand that there is no other party which is capable of forming an administration and delivering the services rendered by the UPFA. The Opposition is not properly organised. The scenario that exists within the party is counterproductive. I am sure the UPFA will have a similar victory in the Western and Southern Provinces as well.