Western Provincial Council election:

UPFA will win hands down

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What President Mahinda Rajapaksa is doing right now is what six former leaders have not done for the past 30 years, says Power Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage in an interview with Daily News.

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Nadira GUNATILLEKE

What will be the result of upcoming Western Provincial Council Election?

The Government will win the Western Provincial Council Election and there is no doubt about that. There are a few main reasons which will ensure the Government’s victory.

The first reason is the present trend in the country. The war is about to end and terrorism is about to be totally eradicated from Sri Lanka. The whole country is eagerly waiting to see the end of it.

The people living in the Western Province have been affected much by terrorism and they want to see the end of this game.

There is no accusation against the present leadership of Sri Lanka and people have full faith in President Mahinda Rajapaksa. People trust the President. There is a number of war victories in the recent past and people sincerely believe that they should support the Government to finish the war and end terrorism which destroyed the country for a period of over three decades.

This is the trend in Sri Lanka at present. At the moment Sri Lanka does not have an effective Opposition. People ask themselves why they should vote for the opposition. They do not see any reason to do so.

Why do you think that people will vote for the Government?

The people of Sri Lanka strongly believe that they should strengthen the Government which is about to win the war against terror. The present Government not only fights with terrorists successfully, but also develops the country at the same speed. No previous government could do it.

How soon will the Government be able to eradicate terrorism completely and who is still supporting the LTTE?

President Mahinda Rajapaksa strongly believes that civilians should not be harmed during the humanitarian operations. He wanted it from the beginning.

The Government can finish the war even within a few days. But the strategy of the LTTE is to provoke the Government to harm innocent civilians and use the same against the Government, turning the international community against the Sri Lankan Government and obtaining the support of them.

But Sri Lankan Government did not fall into the trap. Therefore, the Government did not announce a deadline for the humanitarian operation. But it will be completed soon without harming to a single civilian.

UNP leader fully supports the LTTE. After the death of Anton Balasingham, Shiva Pasupathy took over the post of late Balasinghem but he was not that efficient.

He is still there but now it is the Opposition Leader who plays the role of international agent of the LTTE. The UNP leader took over the post and is now doing his best.

He is defending the LTTE 100 percent through all his speeches, especially the last speech he made in India. TNA is also supporting the LTTE and JVP is also supporting the LTTE indirectly by accusing the Government for no reason. Some NGOs are a fully depend on the funds sent by LTTE friendly countries.

This is proven when you see the buildings, equipment and other things recovered from the LTTE held areas recently. Those are the best evidence for the operations of NGOs. This group of NGOs fully supporting the LTTE and unfortunately there are Sinhalese persons also in such organisations.

What are the plans after eradicating terrorism?

The Government will go for a political solution immediately after completing the humanitarian operation. The Government has already understood the need for a political solution. A solution that can be agreeable to all will be given. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has dedicated himself to do justice for the Tamil community.

What will be the position of the UNP in the upcoming Western Provincial Council Election?

At the moment we have a very ineffective Opposition. No one has faith left in it. Today the UNP supporters think that there is no point in voting for the UNP. There is also a serious internal conflict within the UNP. The two wars are going on at Puthukuduyiruppu and Sirikotha are very similar at the moment.

At Puthukuduyiruppu Prabhakaran is fighting within few square kilometres to save his leadership and life while at Sirikotha Ranil Wickremesinghe is fighting to save his leadership. So there is no doubt about the sure defeat of the UNP in the upcoming Western Provincial Council Election.

The present UNP leadership will direct the party to Borella cemetery and finish it off there.

He will not stop his mission until then. The party will be limited to a handful of MPs.

The JVP on the other hand has completely collapsed now. The results of previous Provincial Council Elections proved that very clearly.

Wayamba is the base of JVP frontline leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake. But they got only one member. Polonnaruwa was another JVP stronghold but only one member was elected. Anuradhapura was another stronghold of their labour leader.

Earlier in the Central Province the JVP had nine members but this time only one member was elected for three districts. Now the JVP is confined to stages and words.

What is the responsibility of the other Opposition political parties and people at the moment?

The UNP should support the Government’s humanitarian operation. UNPers want to support the Government but they do not do it because they are scared of the leadership. They all have to support the Government without any hidden agenda.

The Government is about to end a 30-year war. During 1971 insurgency, then Opposition Leader Dudly Senanayake (UNP) supported the government (SLFP).

But at the moment the Opposition Leader does not allow his party to support the Government because of the direct link he is having with the LTTE. UNP wants to support the Government but no way of doing so.

Anybody who does not contribute to this victory, will not be able to remain in politics in future because all of them will definitely be rejected by the people in all future elections.

Any country needs a strong Opposition to have constructive criticism on the Government’s projects and programs. Unfortunately Sri Lanka does not have that.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is doing today what six former leaders could not do in the past 30 years.

It is eradicating terrorism and solving the ethnic conflict.

He is truly a people’s President who has emerged from common people. He understands the pulse of the people very well and love his country, religions and cultures. It is the responsibility of all to strengthen his hands and support his mission.