'Strengthen executive powers of President' - Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne

By Uditha Kumarasinghe

Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne said that executive powers of the President should be further strengthened to face challenges by creating an environment conducive for the people to live within a united Sri Lanka without any fear. Premier Jayaratne in an interview with the Sunday Observer said under the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka, if the powers of the Executive Presidency is not utilised properly, the country cannot go forward.

Some Western countries attempt to destabilise Sri Lanka and create the same turmoil that they unleashed in some other countries.

He said at present the pro LTTE diaspora has collected a large amount of money and now they can continue their fund raising activities freely due to the EU lifting the ban on the LTTE. They will channel the money they have collected to some elements in Sri Lanka who make deliberate attempts to create religious and racial disputes among communities.

We can witness similar attempts being made by Western powers in some countries in the Asian region. They may attempt to adopt the same strategy in Sri Lanka as well. Therefore, what is appropriate is to further strengthen the executive powers of the President.

Premier Jayaratne said the intention of the Opposition is to distort the mindset of the people and attempt to grab power by giving a wrong impression that the President cannot contest a third term. This is yet another baseless argument made due to their lack of understanding.

The President can contest more than two terms as the two term restriction to contest the Presidential Election was changed with a two third majority in Parliament. It is the Supreme Court which has sole powers to give an interpretation with regard to any constitutional matter. So why doesn't the Opposition go to the Supreme Court to get an interpretation? Otherwise lawyers, certain individuals or some Bhikkus cannot decide on this matter.

Q: You have called for the strengthening of the Executive Presidency. Why should it be strengthened?

A: Certain sections and some politicians talk about the Executive Presidency, most of them make these comments without analysing the powers vested in it. According to Clause 33 of the Constitution, an Executive President has powers to implement the decisions taken by the Parliament and the Cabinet. The Executive Presidency does not have some of the powers which were exercised under the 1972 Constitution.

But the present Executive Presidency has some of those powers exercised under the 1972 Constitution. The significance is that under the 1978 Constitution is that the Executive President has powers to suspend punishment given against a respondent by a court. There is no huge difference between the two Constitutions.

The powers exercised by the Executive President are through decisions taken by Cabinet and the Parliament. What is appropriate is to abolish or curtail the powers given to Parliament and the Cabinet, not the powers given in the Executive Presidency. Because the Executive President implements the powers of the Cabinet and Parliament.

We should point out to the people that the Executive Presidency can only be abolished based on these grounds. No one has commenced such sensible dialogue. That is why I told Parliament that just abolishing the Executive Presidency is not an appropriate move.

Under the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka, if the powers of the Executive Presidency is not utilised properly, the country cannot go forward. Because some Western countries attempt to destabilise our country by creating the same turmoil they created in some other countries. The EU also recently lifted the ban imposed on the LTTE.

At present the pro LTTE diaspora has collected a large amount of money and now they can continue their fund raising activities freely due to the EU lifting the ban on the LTTE. The money collected by them will be channeled to some elements in Sri Lanka who deliberately attempt to create religious and racial disputes among communities.

We can witness similar attempts being made by Western powers in some countries in the Asian region. They may attempt to adopt the same strategy in Sri Lanka as well. The executive powers of the President should be further strengthened to face these challenges and allow the people to live within a united Sri Lanka without any fear.

Q: What is your view on the allegation levelled by the JVP and certain sections that the President cannot contest for a third term?

A: This is yet another baseless argument made due to their lack of understanding. The President can contest more than two terms as the two term restriction to contest the Presidential Election was changed with a two third majority in Parliament.

It is the Supreme Court which has the sole power to give an interpretation with regard to any constitutional matter. Why don't they go to the Supreme Court to get an interpretation?

The Constitution clearly states that this is a matter which should be decided by the Supreme Court. Otherwise lawyers, certain individuals or some Bhikkus cannot decide on this matter.

If there is any confusion relating to certain clauses in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has powers to decide and give a ruling on it. Actually the intention of the Opposition is to distort the mindset of the people and attempt to grab power by giving a wrong impression that the President cannot contest for the third term.

Q: The Opposition attempts to portray that the Uva Provincial Council election results show the dwindling popularity of the Government. What is your view on this?

A: I don't see the Government's popularity dwindling. The popularity of the President and the Government remains unchanged.

There may be some shortcomings in certain areas but that is all. The people always think that politicians and the Government in power can fulfill all their requirements. Whatever government is in power, it may not be able to implement everything as expected by the people.

Sometimes this may have a mild impact on the Government's vote base. But the majority of the people have not changed as claimed by the Opposition.

Most of the people are intelligent and are aware about the work fulfilled by the Government during the tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The majority of the people are with the President and the Government.

Q: Despite claims made by the Opposition, how confident is the Government on victory at a national level election?

A: The Government will secure a significant victory at any future national election. Mainly the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities live in Sri Lanla. Most of the Sinhalese cast their votes irrespective of cast or religious differences. Most of the Muslims also cast their votes in a similar manner. This time, around the Tamil people will cast more votes for the Government rather than in previous times.The President will obtain a majority of the votes from these three communities.

Q: Do you think the Opposition will field a strong common candidate at the Presidential Election?

A: I don't think so. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the only common candidate in Sri Lanka. Because he is the leader who treats all communities equally.

The word 'Common candidate' can only be applied to President Mahinda Rajapaksa as most of the others think of their party and race. Any other person cannot be called a common candidate. If other candidates try to come under any front or names, they will not be victorious.

Some Opposition politicians get dollars from foreign countries and use it for their political survival.

Some politicians attempt to promote their race and religion. They don't see the significant development made in the country or its future prospects. They act like blind people. There is a certain group who like that trend. They may field their own candidate at the next Presidential Election. But none of them will be a challenge to the incumbent president.

Q: Do you think the Constitution has to be amended as highlighted by certain sections?

A: I think there is no need to amend the Constitution at this juncture. If the word 'Executive President' is used in the present Constitution, the powers vested with the President should not be changed. Because there is no extraordinary situation to do so.

It would be more appropriate, if the Constitution is amended to change the powers of Cabinet and Parliament. I think these powers too should exist at this juncture. If the majority discuss and express their views on behalf of the people, there is nothing wrong. But I don't think this is the appropriate time to change the Constitution.

Q: President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that the Executive Presidency could be abolished if the pro-LTTE diaspora gives up the Eelam concept. What is your comment?

A: If the Executive Presidency is abolished and the word 'President' is used, the same thing would happen. Only the word 'Executive' will be deleted. There will be no change in the powers. If the title 'Executive Presidency' is changed, the person and the ideology will be the same. If some politicians and certain quarters don't like the title ' Executive President', it can be changed. But the powers vested with the Executive Presidency by the Constitution will remain unchanged. .

Q: With the JHU demanding a 19th amendment to the Constitution , the Opposition and various other factors attempt to portray as the UPFA is divided. What is your view on this?

A: If the JHU , BBS, Ravana Balakaya and another group suggest their set of proposals, we have to realise that this is one country. If all these requests are to be fulfilled, separate states will have to be formed district wise and Acts formulated for those states in accordance with the Constitution. We can't enact five or six Acts for a single united Sri Lanka.

This is an attempt made without realising the ground reality. As I mentioned earlier, this kind of attempts are made to get certain advantages. I thought that the JHU Leader Ven.Omalpe Sobhitha thera would ask Minister Champika Ranawaka to quit from his Ministerial portfolio.

Because Minister Ranawaka was the Power and Energy Minister when the alleged fraud on the purchase of coal to Norochcholai power plant occurred . However, Ven. Sobhitha thera has forgotten that.

These political parties exists under these circumstances. They don't conduct any investigations on such incidents or they don't think of the country's future.

Some Western powers even attempt to divide India. When various strategies are adopted by Western countries to destabilise Sri Lanka, certain elements attempt to create divisions within the country ignoring the country's unitary state, hard earned peace and coexistence created among communities.

The manner some Buddhist monks speak does not suit the ideals of Buddhism. If they follow the preachings of the Buddha, they cannot resort to such aggressive behaviour. Bhikkus should strictly follow the path of tolerance practised by the Buddha.

Q: What the highlights of the Budget 2015 presented by President Mahinda Rajapaksa?

A: The Budget has given concessions to every segment of society including school children, youth and the poor. The Budget has paved the way for the people to improve their income avenues.

It has also sets out clear strategies on the future socio-economic uplift of the country. The Budget has also laid special emphasis to develop the health sector. The Budget has laid a solid foundation which would create an atmosphere for the people to spend a happy and successful life. This is the significance of the tenth Budget presented by the President.

Q: Despite the request made by the Opposition to increase the number of dates for the Budget debate, the lackadaisical attitude of the Opposition can be witnessed throughout the Budget debate. Would you like to comment on this?

A: There should be a vibrant Opposition. They should make constructive criticism on the shortcomings of the Government's programs and make their suggestions to rectify them.

I don't see any such constructive criticism being made on the part of the Opposition. Most of the Opposition members speak during the Budget debate just how they speak on the political platform.

On political platforms, they speak to get the public attention. They don't seriously consider the country or its people.

Their sole intention is to attract the people by resorting to various tactics. That is what they are practising in Parliament as well. Specially when they speak during the Budget debate, they should criticise and point out the Government's flaws by recommending their suggestions to rectify them.

It is regrettable to note that the Opposition does not see any good move done by the Government on behalf of the people.

They should see at least a single praiseworthy thing done by this Government. Opposition MPs of the like s of Mangala Samaraweera adopted a balance approach in his speech made during the Budget debate so that we could also get some valuable information from that speech.

Instead of sticking to the Budget debate, most of the Opposition members resort to same type of political speech they make on political platforms.

Q:How would the EU's decision to lift the ban on the LTTE affect Sri Lanka's post-conflict development and national security?

A: It was the US which was instrumental in destabilizing Iraq. At present they attempt to spread that strategy to some other countries as well. A large number of Tamil people also live in other foreign countries.

When the conflict situations are created in those countries, it would be easy for Western countries to exert pressure and exploit our country. Then they can elect a puppet leader who will dance according to their whims and fancies.

This was what they did in some Arabic countries to exploit their oil resource. I think they lifted the ban on the LTTE with the intention of creating a similar unstable situation in our country.

Although the EU lifted the ban on the LTTE, the Government will not provide any room for the LTTE to resume their activities or even come close to Sri Lanka.

We have a valiant Security Force and leaders who are patriotic and have a feeling for their motherland. We can safeguard our country on our own.

We would not allow any external forces to destabilise our country economically and socially.