Economic and social problems can be solved :

Let's get-together as one nation -Prof. Tissa Vitarana

By Uditha Kumarasinghe

Senior Minister for Scientific Affairs Prof. Tissa Vitarana said the new BJP Government is not dependent on any other support from parties which are governing states like Tamil Nadu or Bengal so that the BJP can be independent of sectarian pressure coming from particular states. In that context, there would be a better climate for the solution of the problems of the Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka.

The Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is overestimating her strength and has not admitted that she is no longer in a commanding position with the Central Government which she enjoyed during the time of the Congress Government. She will before long come to her senses and realise that she will have to fall in line with the newly- elected Central Government.

Prof. Vitarana said we realise the incumbent Government is a people-friendly Government. It is not a Government which sells the country to foreign capitalists and it follows a neutral foreign policy. Therefore, we support this Government. But at the same time, we feel that the Government needs to be more people- friendly. Our comments are directed towards getting the Government on the right track. If we can do that then we will get the support of the majority of the people and continue to stay in power.

Q: Gender discrimination on various grounds such as rights, job opportunities, education and social events are still prevalent in certain areas. As a medical professor , how do you explain this problem?

A: This situation exists around the world, more in some countries and less in others. If you look at all the countries, the degree of discrimination against women in Sri Lanka is lower than in most other developing countries. In Sri Lanka, the biggest shortcoming is that there is inadequate representation of women in positions where decision- making takes place, either in the political arena or in other sectors.

There should be more representation of women in the higher positions of administration, such as Parliament and other elected bodies. At the same time, the type of work that women are called upon to do, many of them are unskilled jobs. Therefore, they should be given more skilled occupations. They make a valuable contribution to the foreign exchange earnings of our country by working in the Middle East and other countries. But they would be better-off and the country would also get a higher income if they are trained not as ordinary housemaids but as nurses and in other skilled and semi- skilled occupations. In that way, we should train women so that they will get higher incomes and have better working conditions. I think these shortcomings need to be rectified.

Q: What will be India’s political and economic fallout on Sri Lanka with the BJP at the helm. Could you elaborate?

A: I would think that Indian foreign policy remains fairly consistent and even with the change of Government, there will be no radical change. I don’t expect a big difference with the BJP coming into power. The fact that the BJP is not dependent on any other parties which are governing states like Tamil Nadu or Bengal means that the BJP can be independent of sectarian pressure arising in particular states.

In that context, there would be a better climate for the solution of the problem of Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka. We as a Government and as a country should act with responsibility to win over the Tamil people in our country and unite them into one Sri Lankan nation. I am certain to the extent we do that, the BJP Government will support Sri Lanka.

Q: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa boycotted new Indian Prime Minister Modi’s swearing in ceremony while Northern Province Chief Minister Vigneswaran declined President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s request to be at the ceremony. Will this political opportunism help heal old wounds?

A: I think Jayalalithaa of course is overestimating her own strength and has not yet come to appreciate the fact that she has no longer that commanding position with the Central Government that she enjoyed during the time of previous Congress Governments.

She will before very long come to the census and realize that she will have to fall in line with the wishes of the Central Government. On the other hand, though Modi’s BJP Government has got 62 percent of the seats in their Lok Sabha, the fact is that only 34 percent of the people have voted for them.

That means almost two thirds of the voters in India have not supported the BJP or the National Democratic Alliance that they formed. In that context, the Central Government will also in the interest of stable governance of the whole country have to come to some understanding with various state governments and there has to be a working relationship built up.

With regard to the reaction of Northern Province Chief Minister Vigneswaran, I would have been happy if he had accepted the invitation.

That would have been a positive move which would have taken the process forward. There is reason to believe that he was agreeable to coming but he was under pressure from the TNA not to participate. The reason that has been given for non-participation is also a point that needs to be considered. Because they said that by participating the message conveyed to India and to the world would be that everything is satisfactory where the national question is concerned in Sri Lanka.

The extent to which we address the national question and win over the Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka, we would be able to build a Sri Lankan nation and a Sri Lankan identity. That would be the real answer to this situation.

Q: The wildcat strikes in the health and transport sectors have caused enormous damage to the people and the economy. Cannot the Government bring in legislation to ban such arbitrary trade union actions? Are there any implications?

A: Trade unions should be free to resort to trade union action. But it is the duty of all responsible trade unions to bring up grievances of their membership for settlement by the Government and officials in the administration. Now quite often when trade unions bring up these issues, the administration does not respond properly.

Then they are driven to resort to strike action. On the other hand, there are occasions where trade unions also act irresponsibly. This happens in the case of trade unions of a certain political party which I will not name where strikes are called for political reasons and not in the interest of members.

That is irresponsible trade unionism. We have to curb irresponsible trade unionism while retaining the freedom of trade unions to protest which was won after a struggle. My party, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) from the 1930s was in the forefront of this struggle. We should not lose the rights we have won. While preserving those rights irresponsible trade unionism should be curbed. If trade unions act in an irresponsible manner, deterrent action must to be taken.

Q: Attempts at eradicating the Dengue epidemic including the Cuban advise have failed. What has gone wrong? As former Head of the MRI could you help to solve this problem?

A: I have been researching on Dengue and I was a member of the WHO Dengue Task Force and participated in the Dengue control program throughout the world. I have a certain amount of expertise in this area. If my opinion is requested , I am ready to offer.

The Cuban BTI is used to get rid of two species of mosquitoes that carry the Dengue virus - Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus from tanks and receptacles where clean water is stored. Former Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva asked me to head a committee and we went into the reports on the use of the Cuban BTI not only in Cuba but in several other countries and the reports were favourable.

We recommended that the Cuban BTI should be used and as Cuba offered to give the first lot free of charge, that we should get it down and make use of it. I am sorry to say that measure has not been properly implemented.

When I was Science and Technology Minister, the Industrial Technology Institute came under my purview. We researched and found that there were local species of BTI which could be effective in controlling Dengue and this technology has been developed. But the local company which was prepared to produce it wanted a guarantee that their supply of material would be bought by the municipalities and the Health Ministry so that they can incur the cost in setting up the machinery to start production. But that guarantee was not given. This is one of the factors which has prevented the eradication of the Dengue menace.

Q: Certain UPFA constituent parties showing red light and stressing the need to put the Government on the right track seems to be puzzling. Could you enlighten us on this?

A: To be frank the Government has got more and more support from the UNP and the Muslim Congress. Their politics is right-wing politics and largely in the interest of the capitalist class in this country. Therefore the specific gravity within the Government is shifting to the right. In this context, the Government has followed policies which are more favourable to the capitalist class. The LSSP to which I belong as well as the Socialist Alliance which we have formed with other socialist parties such as the Communist Party and the Democratic Left Front, we have been trying to get a change our policies. For instance, we have said that the taxation policy should be changed and Government taxes should be removed from essential food items so that the cost of living can be brought down.

At the same time, the burden for development should be put on those who have too much money and who are following a luxury life style which gives a bad demonstration effect to the people. This is because the maximum direct taxation has been brought down to 24 percent.

This is 28 percent for any private company. But this has been brought down to 12 percent if that company is exporting. So the result is that there are large number of people who should be paid taxes are escaping from taxation. Because of this very low level of taxation, a large amount of money is being spent on unnecessary imports into the country and luxury life styles.

The outcome of that is our economy is suffering because we are getting into debt internally as well as externally.

We have to increase the amount obtained by taxation. At the moment, 80 percent of the Government tax revenue is from indirect taxation.

The poor man’s dhal and the rich man’s dhal are taxed the same amount. The larger number being the poor , it is they who bear the burden. These policies need to be changed. Direct taxation should be lifted to at least to 45 percent upper limit. If Britain has slammed 40 percent tax , there is no reason why we can’t make ours 45 percent.

If we do that then we will get more money coming from the rich who are living luxury lifestyles and also cut down our imports.

At the same time, if we bring down the cost of living so that the poor are eased from the burden of development. These are the policies that we are proposing. If we are to develop the country and the Government is making use of the capitalist economic system to do that, we have no grouse. Because even countries such as China and Vietnam have turned to capitalist systems so long as it is properly regulated to develop their economy.

The Government is in favour of some regulations of the capitalist system. It should be properly regulated. When you have capitalist development in any part of the world whether it is in America, Britain, India or China , there is corruption, wastage and malpractices which are part of the capitalist system. The Government must take action against the people who are guilty of offences so that we can cut down on maladministration.

At the same time,we have to bring down the cost of living. We have also indicated to reduce the cost of electricity to poor consumers. We are at the same time for change of budgetary policies where more money is given for education and health. The supply of medicine in hospitals can be improved and the price of medicine in the market can be lowered if the Senaka Bibile Drug Policy is implemented. These are the issues that we highlight while we are within the Government.

This Government is a people -friendly Government. It is not a Government which is selling our country to foreign capitalists. It is a Government which has a neutral foreign policy. Therefore we support this Government. But at the same time, we feel that the Government needs to be more people friendly. Our comments are directed towards getting the Government on the right track. If we can do that then we will get the support of the majority of the people and be able to continue to stay in power.

Q: The expatriate Tamil vote is the major force which prompts certain five star democracies to penalize Sri Lanka. How do you analyse this situation with special reference to China, Russia, Cuba and Arab countries who supported Sri Lanka?

A: As we know, the Tamil diaspora is only a section which is pro-LTTE and stands for separation. In my estimate, there is only 10 to 15 percent of the Tamil diaspora who are for those policies.

The majority of the Tamils are for Sri Lanka being one country and who would like Sri Lanka to develop economically and socially in the interest of not only the Tamil people but all the people in our country. The problem is posed by that 10 to 15 percent of LTTE mindset Tamil diaspora.

They have not only a large financial resources but also they have set up global multinationals and have large incomes. At the same time, through their strategic actions control marginal electorates in Britain , Canada, America, Australia and some European countries like Norway. They are influence the policies of those governments and have developed contacts at political level.

They also have a well developed media network and maximise their propaganda campaign round the world specially in countries where they can influence public opinion. We have not been effective in countering the propaganda or the tactics of the pro-LTTE diaspora. This is one of our weaknesses.

We are fortunate that countries like China, Russia and Cuba are supporting us because they know the game being played by America, Britain and the imperialists. Today capitalist economy continues to be in crisis and those countries are finding it difficult to come out though they make claims that they are emerging from that crisis. Eighty percent of the global armament industry is in the hands of America and Europe.

It is by developing the armament industry and selling arms that they can come out of this economic crisis. So they are supporting conflicts everywhere in the world. They are working to change governments and get governments that will allow them to support their own economic interest rather than the economic interest of our country.

The whole concept of regime change is upper most in their minds. It is in this context that we have to be happy that countries such as China, Russia and Vietnam have supported Sri Lanka and even countries like India, South Africa and Japan have taken a neutral stand with regard to the UNHRC resolution.

This situation will not last indefinitely. It is up to us to put our house in order and it is high time that we should take concrete steps to solve the national question and build true national unity.

Q: The old Left is treated as dead as its is no longer in mainstream politics. Was this due to an ideological clash with national ethos or Marxist ideas being unwelcomed by the masses?

A: No, it is simple. If you look at Sri Lanka's history, the Left tried to unite all the communities in one national liberation movement, the Suriya- Mal Movement. Unfortunately, the LSSP which led that was banned and our leaders were put in jail by the British so that there was a vacuum.

This power vacuum unlike in India where the Congress led by Nehru and Gandhi were prepared to get rid of the British totally and established purely an Indian National Government.

In Sri Lanka, the UNP was ready to work as a junior partner of British imperialism and continued the economic system that we inherited from the colonial period which was to the advantage of Britain. Because of that situation, the national liberation struggle that came up in Sri Lanka was really a sectarian Sinhala -Buddhist nationalism which did not include the Tamil and Muslim people. Because of that, the country is divided among these different communities with communal nationalism.

We are therefore not united as one Sri Lankan nation and it is because of this problem that we are having this national question. We had that a 30- year terrorist war and all the other problems that we have encountered as a nation have arisen because of that situation. It is now time that we got out of that situation and came together as one Sri Lankan nation.

If we can do that then I think we have nothing to worry with regard to our future economic and social development.