President makes strong impact at UNGA - Dr.Rajitha Senaratne

By Uditha KUMARASINGHE

Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne says President Mahinda Rajapaksa's address to the United Nations General Assembly clearly shows the entire world the actions of a true leader. The Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer said if a leader is sure about what he does, such a leader is not scared to go anywhere or confront any opponent.

Q: How do you view the President's tour to the UN as a chance to tell the international community about Lanka's victory over terrorism and other issues?

A: The President's action is the action of a true leader. A true leader is not scared to go anywhere. If you are clear about what you do, you are not scared to go anywhere or meet any opponent.

Even some newspapers had carried that the President won't be going to attend the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and he is being advised by most of the people not to go. But the President went to the UNGA because he is very clear about what he does.

The President not only addressed the UNGA, he also met UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon face-to-face to tell him why Moon is not correct in appointing that committee. The President has courage and vision.

Q: But why are certain Western forces conspiring to tarnish Sri Lanka's image?

A: Because our President is not a puppet. We have produced enough puppets in this country for the West. They all believed the West. Late President J.R. Jayewardene failed because he believed the West. He made India an enemy. Otherwise he would have won the war against terrorism in 1987. The UNP always failed because they were bending to the West. But President Rajapaksa never did that. He went alone.

But he kept the friendship with India as our big neighbour. He was also good with other neighbours Pakistan and China as well. The President was not bothered about the West.

The West knows they have a leader in Sri Lanka who does not bow down to them and does not dance according to their tune. There is no puppet in Sri Lanka today. The West somehow tries to pressurise and bend here and there and get him to implement their programs. But now they have realised they cannot do that. So they use all their powers and institutions for that.

Q: The President took along several who crossed over from the UNP as part of the delegation to the UN and even invited some who are in the UNP, like John Amaratunga to join the delegation. Doesn't this show the President's commitment to bipartisan politics?

A: That is very correct. When somebody crosses over and joins your own party believing you, there is no difference whether he is old or new. Sometimes new members' service to the President is also very important like the old members. Take an example in 2007 budget, we joined the Government and protected it by giving it a majority.

That led to the victory against terrorism as well. We liberated the country because we safeguarded the Government. Though that service, may be, quantitatively less but was qualitatively very high. That is why the President believes in support, not in the time factor, but quality.

Q: You crossed over from the UNP. What is happening to the UNP today? Can anything be done to salvage the party?

A: I think it is too late now. Because now the UNP is in a very big crisis. Actually the crisis in the UNP is a resemblance of the crisis in the capitalist class today. The capitalist class has lost their faith in the UNP.

The capitalist class is working very closely with the present President and his Government. Therefore more entrepreneurs and those who want to build the nation using their funds are attracted towards the present President. That is why the representatives of the class of the UNP and their people are leaving the party and joining the President one by one.

With more development taking place in the country, the crisis in the UNP will be more intensive in the future. The UNP has no future. The UNP won't have a slogan. The UNP was the party of development using the capital of the capitalist class. Now the entire slogan of development has been taken by the present President. Therefore the UNP has lost their main slogan and their main program.

Then what is the purpose of the party? They will have to re-think their future. This is the crisis in the UNP. There is no solution for this crisis. More and more people will leave and the party will be depleted.

Q: But don't you think that a vibrant Opposition is essential for democracy?

A: I don't believe as such. You know in the Third World, some countries have been developed when there was a very week Opposition in that particular country. We can take Singapore, Malaysia or Korea for examples. They all developed with a very weak Opposition. A strong Opposition is a slogan in the developed West. When a country is developed and the people's thinking is advanced, then we need a strong Opposition. But that Opposition is not a destructive Opposition like the Oppositions we have in the Third World. In the developed world especially the West, the Opposition is very constructive. They never try to block the development of a country or any move which would have any adverse effect on the future of the country. But it is not so in our country. Here the Opposition wants to oppose everything. Having an Opposition like that is not constructive. It is destructive. So my thinking is it is better to have a weak Opposition.

Q: Do you think the Lessons and Learnt Commission is making a significant contribution while answering our critics in the international community?

A: Of course. This is the same thing President Nelson Mendala did by appointing the Truth Commission. The Commission did not take any action. But it brought to light as to what had taken place in the apartheid era in South Africa. They discussed of all bad things done by the Whites and Blacks both. They learnt a lesson to correct their mistakes. This is the same thing not to take actions or go behind the past, but also to learn from the past to go for a better future.

Q: What is your comment on the massive victory gained by the Government at the vote on the 18th Amendment?

A: More and more people believe in the President because today he not only represents the SLFP but also the UNP as well. He represents all the classes, even the Left. The President has given leadership to all the classes. So the UNP and the JVP are in a crisis. That result is that we have got a majority vote. We expected 150 votes but we got 161 votes.

This 161 will go up at the forthcoming budget. More UNPers will join the Government. It is the story of leaving the UNP. Every two or three months, the people will be leaving the UNP and its crisis will deepen.

Q: The Opposition claims that the 18th Amendment could lead to a dictatorship. What are your views in that regard?

A: It won't lead to any dictatorship. The President wanted to contest another term and he didn't want to extend his term like former Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga or J.R. Jayewardene.

The President never extended his term even by a single day using the constitution. He never brought in an Amendment like J.R.Jayewardene did in 1978 to be in power for another six years. The President never brought Constitutional Amendments like President Kumaratunga with a new Constitution to have a new mandate.

The President's mandate is the mandate given by the people. At the end of the mandate, he will go before the people and ask for a mandate. So where is the dictatorship?

A dictator will never hold elections in a democratic manner. A dictator will never allow an Opposition to work. If the Opposition loses the people, what can the President do? Who is the Party Leader who will not accept any support from the Opposition? Opposition members crossover to the Government. This is a world phenomenon.

This is not a specific thing happening in Sri Lanka. Crossovers take place in other countries. In India how many politicians crossover. Those who talk of a dictatorship do not know what it is.

Q: Do you think the Independent Commissions will function properly after the introduction of this Amendment?

A: These independent commissions never functioned properly under the 17th Amendment. There was a lot of criticism against the 17th Amendment. You can compare this if we had a hundred percent correct system earlier. But we never had such a system. So we will see with the operation. There will be commissions but the political leadership is the leadership.

The Cabinet will decide. The Government will run the Government not the bureaucracy. The 17th Amendment, handed over all powers to bureaucracy to run the Government. Then why should we go before the people and get a mandate?

It is the Parliament and the Cabinet which enact the law in this country. If we are wrong, the people have the chance to throw it out. That is what happens. We can't allow the bureaucracy to run the Government. People have not given a mandate for us to hand over our powers to bureaucracy.

They have asked for us to take power and deliver the goods. That is what we are going to do. So the bureaucracy can help us to do that. The Commissions will also work. If they do something wrong, earlier there was no way to correct it.

That is why we have given the supremacy to the Cabinet. Even a Cabinet decision can be overruled by the Parliament if Parliament does not agree.

Q: Will the new electoral system address the shortcomings of the PR system?

A: Yes very much. I think all the parties agree on this. Even in Parliament, the people have their own Member of Parliament for their electorate to look after them. Now there is no such Member.

In certain electorates, there is no elected Member to look after that electorate. In some electorates there are two or three Members of Parliament to represent that electorate.

It is a joke. The present system is advantageous to people like us who have made a name and can get votes from everywhere. If we lose our electorate, we will be definitely winning the election. According to the new system, if my party gets defeated, I am defeated in the electorate.

But still I advocate this system and this is more democratic. In order to look after the interests of smaller parties, we have given 30 percent quota to them under the PR system. Therefore the new system has looked into the interest of small parties as well.

If President Rajapaksa is going to be a dictator why should he give more democratic powers to the people and small parties.

Q: Is the Government gearing up for the Northern Provincial Council Election?

A: Yes. We are heading for the Northern Provincial Council Election. We will have it soon. I think the President will discuss with all the parties concerned in the Northern and the Eastern provinces and go for elections allowing the people of the area to elect their representatives.

At present the resettlement is almost over. Only a very few people have to be resettled. They will also be resettled very soon. Then the electoral registers will be there.

The people will be asked to elect their representatives, not the bureaucracy. Then the Governor cannot do everything. There will be more representatives for their province to run their institutions. The powers will be given to the people's representatives.

Q: Do you foresee a brighter future for Northern fisheries now that all restrictions have been lifted?

A: Actually I discussed this with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and got all the restrictions removed. We are providing all facilities to fishermen. Initiatives have also been taken to develop infrastructure.

I am going to submit a cabinet memorandum to build two fisheries harbours in the North.

We do all that to improve the fisheries activities in the North. The North and the East till 1983 produced 43 percent of the fish requirement of the country.

Today this has gone down to 7 percent. That is why we are trying our level best to bring that at least to 36 percent.

We have done lot to develop the fisheries activities in the East. In another one year, we will bring the fisheries in the North and the East to the level that they had before 1983.

Q: What are your plans to increase the fisheries yield, with Sri Lanka inheriting a much longer sea area soon?

A: I have so many programs in this regard. My main target is to allow even the poorest man to feed their children with fish and to get rid of malnutrition.

There is 21 percent malnutrition among the children today. The WHO says the country can bring it down to 12 percent in three years time. I say I will bring down it to zero percent.

That is my target. At present the country's fish production is 393,000 metric tons. In three years time, I will improve that to 686,000 metric tons, only for local consumption.

At present our fish exports amount to about Rs. 21 billion. I hope to improve this to Rs. 50 billion within three years. These are my targets and I am going ahead with these targets.

I have presented my proposals to the President as well and he was very happy about them. The President has a very advanced knowledge on the subject of fisheries because he was one of the best Fisheries Ministers in this country. If you see today's economic growth, the fisheries sector has recorded a 18.3 percent growth. We are the number one in the industrial sector. If you take all sectors in the country, we are the third.

Q: Can we expect to reduce our foreign exchange spend on canned fish etc?

A: Yes. The main problem for the canned fish industry is the lack of tuna and mackerels. Thailand is the world's number one in canning industry. I have negotiated with a company which has 100 trawlers supplying fish for the canned fish industry in Thailand to supply fish to us as well.

They are ready even to bring all the 100 trawlers of fish to Sri Lanka. The first canned fish factory will be opened in Sri Lanka by John Keells in a few weeks time. I have promised all the required fish for their factory and I have brought these two people together.

There are few more small scale local manufacturers in the country who have engaged in this industry as well. I am going to supply fish to them to expand their field.

Another foreign investor is ready to set up a large scale factory for the export market giving 4,500 jobs. I have requested them to give 20 percent of exports to my country and export 80 percent. Somehow in three years time, I will stop our foreign exchange going to the foreign canning industry. That is about Rs. 3.5 billion. I will stop this huge amount of money going to foreign countries and save that money for the President to use for development.