‘No civil war in Sri Lanka’ - President

“There is no civil war in Sri Lanka. What we have is an internal conflict and the current military actions are a defensive operation against the terrorist offensive actions launched by the LTTE.

The civilian population both among the Sinhalese and Tamils is not involved in this armed conflict. Therefore, there is no question of a civil war,” said President Mahinda Rajapaksa in an interview with the influential Tamil Nadu publication ‘Tamilan Express’, relating the situation in Sri Lanka.

INTERVIEW: The wide ranging interview is published in Tamil in the January 25 and 29, 2007, issues of the magazine.

President Rajapaksa emphasizes that the ongoing military operations are defensive and reiterates his unwavering commitment to devolve maximum possible powers to the regions, taking into account the aspirations of all communities.

He points out that the LTTE is not the sole representative of the Tamil people. They have continuously eliminated all other Tamil parties, Tamil leaders, intellectuals and politicians who presented an alternative view, so there is no democracy or pluralism within the LTTE nor does it tolerate these values outside it.

Tamils are the most affected by this. In fact, statistics will demonstrate that it is the LTTE that has killed more Tamils. I am committed to finding a negotiated political settlement which will satisfy the aspirations of all Sri Lankans.

Referring to the role he perceives for India to play in help solving the issue of separatism in Sri Lanka, President Rajapaksa reiterates that India should be involved actively not only in the peace process but also in the development of economic, trade and investment relations with Sri Lanka. After all, we have long cultural, religious and lingual relations with each other.

Here is the complete English text of the interview in “Tamilan Express”, published in Tamil translation.

Q: How do you view the TNA MPs’ meeting the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi? Do you think such meetings would help end the civil war and solve the ethnic problem through negotiations?

A: I wish to make a correction to your question. There is no civil war in Sri Lanka. What we have is an internal conflict and the current military actions are a defensive operation against the terrorist offensive actions launched by the LTTE.

The civilian population both among the Sinhalese and Tamils is not involved in this armed conflict. Therefore, there is no question of a civil war. As the President of Sri Lanka, I am determined to find a political solution and the Government is committed to achieve a negotiated peace which is just and equitable.

During the meetings the TNA MPs had with the Indian and Tamil Nadu leadership, they are reported to have discussed a political solution to the North East problem and the hardships of the Tamil people. In this context, I wish to point out that the All Party Representative Committee [APRC] is already working on finding a suitable political solution.

I am giving high priority to the mechanism of the All Party Conference and I am confident that the deliberations within this forum would contribute to the national consensus on devolution. I invite the members of Parliament from TNA as well as the LTTE to make use of this democratic forum to air their views.

With regard to the hardships of the Tamil people, I must mention that many of the reports relating to this in Tamil Nadu appear in the Tamil media, which are largely one sided or exaggerated.

For instance, if you take the food situation in Jaffna, the total requirement of essential food items for 653,000 people in Jaffna is 12000 MT. per month. We have despatched 48,746 MT. of food by sea and air. This is in addition to the food items that were available at four food storages in Jaffna.

Now there is no shortage of essential food items. In order to address the shortage of grocery items, we arranged a consignment of 2675 metric tones of essential food items which left Chennai on January 4, 2007 and arrived in Jaffna on January 5.

This ship, MV Meres Ruhunu, carried mostly grocery items such as jaggery, sugar, salt, dry chilly, rice flakes, tamarind, mustard and potato to ease shortages in Jaffna.

These items were purchased by the Government of Sri Lanka from private traders in Chennai and the shipment was arranged from Chennai due to the cost effectiveness and the close proximity to Jaffna from Chennai.

I also wish to point out that some sections of the Tamil Nadu media have not highlighted to the Indian public the sincere efforts of the Sri Lankan Government to continuously provide food to the Jaffna population, and the forced closure of 4000 shops in Jaffna by the LTTE, which was the main reason for the disruption in distributing the food and other commodities that were available in Jaffna, and thereby caused a shortage. I am happy to state that the situation is now satisfactory with sufficient stocks of essential items in Jaffna, and the Government has the situation well under control.

I do not wish to comment on your query whether such meetings will help solve the problem in Sri Lanka. Like Sri Lanka, India is a democracy and its leaders, both regional and national, are free to meet persons they wish to. I believe the necessary background assessments would be made about the impact or the outcome of such meetings by the leaders concerned and their advisors.

Q: What kind of role, if any, do you perceive for India in solving the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka?

A: India has been consistent in supporting Sri Lanka to find a negotiated settlement. The APRC team also recently visited India to study the Indian model in order to find a home-grown Sri Lankan solution. India also maintains that she upholds the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.

We are looking out for the best experiences from other countries, and the Indian example is important. I have reiterated that India should be involved actively not only in the peace process but also in the development of economic, trade and investment relations with Sri Lanka. After all, we have a long cultural, religious and lingual relation with each other.

Q: Chief Minister Karunanidhi recently spoke about his being denied an opportunity to visit Sri Lanka. Your comments?

A: I do not know how the Chief Minister could have been denied an opportunity to visit our country, but the Chief Minister is more than welcome to visit Sri Lanka. My Government and I will be happy to receive him.

Q: There is a perception that events and developments pertaining to Tamil Nadu on the Sri Lankan issue often get misrepresented and misunderstood in Sri Lanka, particularly by the Sinhala polity and commentators, leading to misconceptions of various kinds. Your comments, please?

A: This assessment is not correct. I think the situation is the other way around. When it comes to the Sri Lankan issue, the misunderstandings and wrong perceptions mostly prevail in Tamil Nadu.

Often, things happening in Sri Lanka are sensationalized when interested parties exploit the situation. For instance, there is a misconception that the Sri Lankan Government deprives the Tamils living in Jaffna from getting food because the Government closed the Muhamale entry point of the A9 road.

The fact remains that the Government has so far sent more than 48000 MT. of food items by air and sea and what is lacking is the distribution system, because of LTTE’s ‘order’ to the traders, using hardly veiled threats, to close 4000 retail shops in Jaffna. I can give you a number of examples of such misconceptions in Tamil Nadu and no recognition of the Government’s efforts, which are unfortunate.

Q: Do you still stand by your offer to hold direct talks with Prabhakaran? Gen. Sarath Fonseka has said that the Sri Lanka Army would turn to the North after neutralizing the LTTE in the East. Minister Tissa Vitharana, who is in charge of the All-Party Representative Conference on Power Devolution, has also spoken about ‘nullifying’ the LTTE while/before meeting legitimate Tamil aspirations?

A: As to the first part of your question my answer is yes. My commitment to find a negotiated political solution remains uncompromised. With regard to the ongoing military operations, I want to categorically mention that these are defensive military operations and I wish to reiterate my unwavering commitment to devolve maximum possible powers to the regions, taking into account the aspiration of all communities. I also wish to point out that the LTTE is not the sole representative of the Tamil people.

They have continuously eliminated all other Tamil parties, Tamil leaders, intellectuals and politicians who presented an alternative view, so there is no democracy or pluralism within the LTTE nor does it tolerate these values outside it.

Tamils are the most affected by this. In fact, statistics will demonstrate that it is the LTTE that has killed more Tamils. I am committed to finding a negotiated political settlement which will satisfy the aspirations of all Sri Lankans.

The role of the All Party Representative Conference is to recommend proposals for meaningful devolution of power as a solution to the present crisis and consequently make even more unrealistic the LTTE’s demand for a separate state.

Q: Despite last year’s ruling by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, do you think that a re-merger of the North and the East, as perceived under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, would still be a part of a final peace package? Already, the UNP, for instance, has reportedly extended support to any legislative move in this respect.

A: As a functioning democracy that believes in the rule of law, we are bound to honour the decision by the Sri Lanka Supreme Court, the apex Court of the country. However, as you are aware, the APRC is in the process of drafting a solution to the problem in the North and East. When a solution is found, I am sure it will address the issue of the de-merger as well.

Can you explain, for instance, the rationale behind the Sri Lankan Army targeting the Eastern Province that too from the air, immediately after the SLA Chief, Sarath Fonseka, was targeted in a suicide-bomb attack?

After all, the North and not the East, was considered the stronger bastion of the LTTE, and the targeting of the East consequently gave the impression that the SLA was acting to a pre-determined tactical plan after General Fonseka was attacked.

The whole world knows how the current conflict in Sri Lanka erupted. The LTTE which called me a ‘pragmatic leader’ did not allow me to show my pragmatism when they started attacking our defence lines just seven days after I assumed duties as President of Sri Lanka.

I was very patient and did not retaliate because my firm commitment to peace. Our retaliatory action commenced only after the abortive assassination attempt on our Army Commander, which cannot be treated lightly.

The targeting of any place is a military decision based on prevailing conditions. With regard to the East, the situation is that the Government is engaged in a defensive operation to neutralize the LTTE’s power in Vakarai where it was forcibly holding about 30,000 people as human shield. I am glad to say that a large number of these people have now moved voluntarily to the safety of Government held areas in the East.

Q: The Tamil community also seems upset over the Government distancing itself from the ‘Majority Report’ of the Experts Committee late last year, which came closer to their perceived aspirations for the first time after the first ‘Chandrika Package’ of 1995?

A: I want to mention that we are on the path of peace and the majority report by the Expert Committee is one aspect of this process. You may also be aware that there are three other reports which take exceptions to certain sections in the majority report.

I think it is important, as a responsible government, for us to look into every aspect of all the reports submitted before a final decision is made. The majority report, just as the other reports, is meant to be studied by the All Party Representative Committee, to help it in making its final recommendations to Government.

Q: What about ISGA Proposals and P-Toms?

A: As for the P-TOMS it became unworkable following a decision of the Supreme Court of my country. The ISGA proposal has been commented on at the time it was presented. There was a considerable body of opinion that it was a well crafted stepping stone to the setting up of a separate state within Sri Lanka. We have not seen any changes that would remove those apprehensions.

Q: Do you think, in the light of the bus bomb-blasts in the Sinhala areas, for which your Government has blamed the LTTE, the perceived militarist approach of the Government could still bear the desired results without any side-effects?

A: Our commitment to finding a political solution to the problem remains firm despite provocations by the LTTE. The people in the South are mature and will not play into the hands of the LTTE to bring about a backlash in Southern Sri Lanka.

At this point, I would like to refer to your earlier question where we discussed about the wrong perceptions in Tamil Nadu. It is unfortunate that no Tamil Nadu political parties voiced their concern or sympathy to innocent civilians, including women and children, who died in these incidents perpetrated by the LTTE.

Even in the past, these parties were silent when the people of Sri Lanka are targeted by the LTTE. Another unfortunate aspect that has emerged is that these parties and individuals also completely ignore the sufferings the LTTE has inflicted on the large Muslim population which has been chased away by the LTTE.

Even the Sinhalese people living in the North and East have suffered due to the atrocities of the LTTE which are not even mentioned by the media or some political parties in Tamil Nadu. I must reject your assertion about a “perceived militarist approach” of the Government. How can it be militarist to respond to terrorism and violence?

Q: What about the civilian losses on the Tamil side? The Government seems to dismiss it as ‘collateral damage’ inevitable in any war?

A: Human life is precious and any loss of life is regrettable. We are sad at the loss of any life, whether by collateral damage or any other. My Government is on record apologizing for an unfortunate accident that led to the loss of the lives of Tamil civilians.

We do not dismiss them as you say or treat them lightly. There are many instances when the LTTE has used innocent civilians as human shields and also forcibly kept conscripted children in positions which were susceptible to defensive attacks.

However, I would like to mention that approximately 60 % of the Sri Lanka Tamil population is living outside the Northern Province and they live amicably with the other communities, whereas the LTTE has forcibly driven the Sinhalese and Muslims out of the Northern Province and carried out ethnic cleansing.

Q: Do you have a deadline in mind for solving the ethnic issue through power-devolution? What is your road-map for reaching there?

A: The internal conflict in Sri Lanka has continued for many years and it is not possible or practical to arrive at an overnight solution or set any deadline.

Q: How do you view the LTTE’s updating and computerizing their ‘national identity cards’ in the areas under LTTE control?

A: The democratically elected government of Sri Lanka has been issuing national identity cards for all its nationals for many decades, which is still in practice. The Government does not recognize any such clandestine actions by a terrorist group like the LTTE which is banned in most parts of the world, including in India.

The National Identity Card is a document issued by the legitimate government of the country. It cannot be issued by any other organization.

Q: Does your Government continue to share the perceptions of your predecessor on the Sethusamudram Project? If so, why?

A: The Government’s view remains the same on this issue.

Q: How do you intend addressing the fishing row, in which innocent fishermen from Tamil Nadu often get shot or arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy?

A: It is an accepted fact that Sri Lanka is under threat from the sea due to attacks carried out by the Sea Tigers and it is in our national security interest to protect our country and our sovereignty.

We have held many discussions with the Indian authorities at various levels and the fishermen from both countries have been well informed of the prevailing security threat.

However, the Sri Lanka Navy has been instructed to use utmost caution and care in dealing with Indian fishermen who sometime enter into Sri Lankan waters.

I also wish to share with you some recent efforts at goodwill in this regard by our Government in releasing 19 Indian fishermen and five fishing boats following their apprehension in Sri Lanka which I believe was also lauded by Indian fishermen in Tamil Nadu.

Q: What about Kachchativu?

A: This issue was resolved many decades ago and there is nothing new to add to it.

PRIU