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Full text of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's national telecast on Channel Eye last Friday.

Q: With regard to the recent alliance between the SLFP and the JVP, there has been some concern expressed in certain quarters with regard to the alliance with the SLFP. Is there a cause for concern?

A: No, I really do not think so. The SLFP has long been a left of centre party. We have had many alliances always with left parties, with traditional Marxist parties of Sri Lanka such as the Communist Party, LSSP, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, JVP. But that has not changed the foundations of the SLFP policies which has been formulated by our leader and I do not think we have moved away from the central position of our party.The agreement which we have signed with the JVP, if one looks at it properly and not tries to read between the lines and looking what is not there, it is very clear.

Q: On the policies of the alliance on the economy and the implementation of the MoU, is it correct that there is quite a lot of criticism by the lending institutions who say they are not market friendly, anti-Western, anti-market forces?

A: No, I don't believe so at all. Because in the document itself, the policy document the two parties have accepted and signed, it is very clearly stated, intact it is the policy that SLFP has implemented during last ten years. In other words we believe that we have to look after the more disadvantaged sections of our population.All our history our entire civilisation has been based on that even from the times of the ancient kings for millennia.

You were supposed to look after the poor people and the government is expected to do that today. And I think it is not a bad thing at all. There was much unrest and violence in this country due to poverty and we may not do exactly as international lending agencies expect us to do, but I think we have done quite well. People's Alliance policies from 1994 to 2001 except for last six months of that 7 and 1/2 year period even with a very destructive war going on we have averaged an economic growth rate of six percent for seven years. However, it is during the last half of that year that it went to minus.

There were obvious reasons for that like the bombing of the Airport by the LTTE, the continuous drought, world recession but all the rest of the time it moved forward even with the war and even with the subsidies given to the poor people. We have our own model of development which has been carried out successfully. Even the World Bank and the IMF recorded it as successful. In the '94 to 2001 period I think the JVP also had accepted it. As far as the economy is concerned there is absolutely nothing to worry about it.

Q: The Prime Minister recently mentioned that some of the recent political developments have cost the country Rs. 25 billion, any comments on that?

A: The recent political developments meant the take over of the three ministries by the President. I think that is what the Prime Minister seems to have meant. It is absolute rubbish.The Ministries had to be taken over in order to correct a situation of instability, terrific political instability and the breakdown of national security, impending breakdown of national security on one side and on the other side, the breakdown of law and order and on the other hand as far as the media was concerned a total black out of everything other than the ruling party.

So this was why that was done. And this has nothing to do with the loss of Rs 25 Billion, as the Prime Minister says. I challenge him to prove it with facts and figures. One thing I know is that I have had a round of discussions with the BoI. Even with the war going on, during the first two years of the PA regime from 94 onwards the performance was much better when compared to that of the UNF during the first two years even with the negotiations and continuous ceasefire.

We had much foreign investments. So there is something wrong with the UNF's economic policies and the way they are managing the economy.It has nothing to do with what happened two and a 1/2 months ago. And also I know that tourism is a very sensitive sector if there anything to worry about it is the tourist sector which is one of the first sectors to be affected.

We have an all time high in the year 2003. They could have cancelled all their bookings.

They could have cancelled their Christmas bookings. There was time to cancel Christmas bookings that was the peak tourist period for tourist arrivals. And long before two and 1/2 months ago and the investments were not coming out.

Q: Some sections of the business community and some sections of the business leaders constantly harp about a crisis instability started with the take over of the Ministries?

A: What crisis, where? What is this crisis. There is a crisis in this sense. I do not know if that is a crisis but this is a break down of the government. I don't know if I am to call it a crisis or not but there is a break down of the government. Corruption and corruption is everywhere.

Corruption has increased in the last two years. I do not know who in this government is outside of this, there may be a few. The Ministries are not working and the administration has almost collapsed. As far as the peace process is concerned it was so exclusive, most of the Ministers were out of it except one part of the government and all kinds of problems and if it was peaceful and going on nicely probably we would not worry much.

The Muslims are getting attacked. Muslims in Colombo are being attacked. In the capital city there was a serious breakdown of law and order, the vehicles on the main road of Colombo were taken away and the Ministers and their children are going around in the capital city assaulting people, attacking other Ministers and there families, the government seems to have been incapable in controlling that situation.

The LTTE is setting up new camps, recruiting people. They have three times more armed cadres and conscripting little Tamil children. So there was a break down of the government to a large extent and I do not think it has got any worse or any better since two or three months ago.

Even as far as the peace process is concerned one of the biggest complaints is that the LTTE seems to be making is that there is less development in the North and East, but there was development during the PA government. So there is hardly any difference.

Q: Since you brought the topic of the peace process there are allegations by certain sections of the media that the Alliance (with the JVP) is anti-peace?

A: Certainly that is not true. The Alliance clearly says that in its initial document and a more detailed document which will be made public very soon based on the first one. It clearly says that the resolution of the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka has to be achieved through a negotiated political settlement peacefully. We do not in any way encourage an armed conflict or war and the JVP has also accepted the SLFP's and PA's consistent and never changing stand for the last 12 years which is that we are against war and we are for a negotiated settlement. So I do not see how it can be anti-peace. I am sorry to say the media is so dishonest.

The document is very clear. On many occasions I have said that this Alliance was not anti-peace. Our PA spokesperson, other leaders of the party, our General Secretary have been telling this.Obviously the media do not want to hear what we are saying but saying what they are forced to say by their masters. It is completely false. I also appreciate the LTTE stand that the LTTE has said since this self-inflicted crisis by the Prime Minister and some people in the government, the LTTE has consistently said that they are willing to talk with the government of Sri Lanka who ever they may be.

So we appreciate this stand but it is not satisfactory. That the Prime Minister is trying to wash his hands off from the peace process because now that it has gone some distance with what ever shortcomings it is not a very happy situation to keep this at a standstill because the LTTE also cannot expected to be patient for a long time.

Q: Since you took over as the Minister of Defence you have continued with the Ceasefire Agreement. I said so clearly that the ceasefire agreement stands?

A: Clearly the CFA stands as I stated two and a 1/2 months ago when I addressed the nation at the beginning of November. And several of our party leaders have said that and you do not need anything else. We have done nothing at all to disturb the Ceasefire Agreement.

Q: With regard to a durable political settlement to the ethnic conflict and your commitment to the peace process and negotiated settlement with your political party?

A: The SLFP is the first ever Sinhala based party in this country to tell the world that we believe that the Tamils and the Muslims, specially Tamil people have been discriminated against and that there are many shortcomings in the way the governments have handled this problem of the minorities and that must be corrected. Secondly after we came in our policy was to do our utmost to bring the armed LTTE to the negotiation table to discuss not only the problems of the LTTE, but also the problems of the Tamils.

Some of the problems of the LTTE are the same as those of Tamil people and some of the problems the Tamil people were not so much worried about. The Tamil people had many urgent problems. The LTTE may have to think about it.

After we came to power in 1994, within one week of coming into power we began implementing what we said. We did not for a moment hesitate to implement all those things. We invited the LTTE for talks. We continued talks with the ceasefire. It was the LTTE which broke the ceasefire and returned to war.

Even while at war I have been sending messages to the LTTE to begin talks. One thing I want to emphasisice is that the SLFP's and my own commitment to resolve the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka especially the Tamil peoples' problem while ensuring the Muslim people are not disadvantaged whilst safeguarding the rights and privileges of the Sinhalese majority will never change. An alliance with anybody will not make us change. This is a position we have arrived at after years and years of discussions. For opportunistic reasons of an alliance we will not change our position.

Q: An Alliance with the JVP was seen particularly by the international media as that the President has struck an Alliance with the Marxist JVP, but your existing political arrangements is alliance which already comprises Marxist parties. This shows that there is nothing new in the Alliance.

A: Some foreign correspondents are going on as if this was a new thing in Sri Lanka. I do not know if the foreign correspondents have contracted the same disease that our local journalists are affected with. It is unfortunate. I remember how one of the world's most respected news papers of France reported when the People's Front government came to power in 1970 under my mother's leadership.

Mr. Peter Keuneman became the first Communist Party leader to become a Cabinet Minister in Sri Lanka from a Marxist Communist Party and there were Marxist communist leaders like Dr. N.M. Perera, Dr. Colvin R. de Silva. This is how Sri Lanka has moved forward. The Left was not a destructive blood thirsty force in Sri Lanka.It had been a highly gentlemanly Marxist movement. But the JVP had a bad history this is true, but it is the past.

It has a new policy now. It has a young and dynamic leadership, I got to know them only recently during the past two years. They are extremely realistic and are willing to move forward with the times, as a party well rooted in the soil of Sri Lanka.

Q: Great paradox is n't it that those who spray fear about bringing in the JVP are the very people who are the strongest advocates trying to bring in the LTTE.

A: Some people who are supposed to be top business leaders. They happen to be office-bearers of some of the business organisations, they tell us that we should work and talk with the LTTE, but we should not work with the JVP. There is no rationality at all. The new JVP leadership is much less dangerous, much less anti democratic than the LTTE.

In other countries business leaders are highly intellectual and assist in the forward march of their country. I hope our business leaders too work independently of whatever political party they have voted for.

Q: Sri Lanka has been witnessing religious tension and some attacks on Christian and Catholic places of worship. The Security Forces are directly under your purview. The attacks raise questions on religious amity and pluralistic society in Sri Lanka. Your comment.

A: I believe everybody has a right to subscribe to whatever religion or philosophy of their choice or to speak any language or belong to any political party they want. If there is anybody who is intolerant to this that has to be met with the strictest measures. Unfortunately, the attacks on churches, traditional and non traditional are on the increase.

I have been informed by Catholic and other churches that the attacks have not abated. I have been studying this and I have given very strict instructions to the Police. We have given instructions that in the areas where there is tension, it is the responsibility of the ASP and the higher officers, peoples committees, citizens committees and principals of schools, government servants to control violence. In the meantime we have been studying patterns of this happening.

And I am sure in some areas the Police have been assisting and that has to be corrected. I am discussing with my secretary and other officials on steps to be taken in this regard. By next week there will be more organised institutions to work on this matter. If there are any political party involved in this with the desire to blame the President or the Minister in charge, we will have to deal with it.

Q: In the light of current political developments do you have any special message particulary to the minority communities of this country or specially to the Tamil of this country.

A: It is a very decisive movement in the history of our country. It is time that Tamil people of this country should not leave their destiny behind for a few groups of people. They begin to see what is right.

And that they opt for democracy or terrorism or that they opt for pluralism or autocracy.

They have to decide correctly. They have to decide collectively. We stand for a democratic pluralistic and humanist Tamil political force. If not whatever the Government of Sri Lanka may do, it may be not enough. I am also aware that they have suffered a lot in the past, if not for those suffering, these problems would not have propped up in the last two years. The Government of Sri Lanka stands to ensure their lives and I hope also my Sinhala brothers will continue to give us their support and encouragement.

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