LTTE ruined Tamils’ culture - President
In
this concluding part of an extended interview to The Hindu at Temple
Trees in Colombo on June 30, President Mahinda Rajapaksa answers N.
Ram’s questions on concerns over what is perceived as triumphalism, the
power of Sri Lanka’s Executive Presidency, assaults and pressures on the
news media, personal friendships, and relations with India. The first
and second parts of the interview were published on July 7 and 8
N. Ram [NR]: Are you not worried by what is seen outside Sri Lanka as
triumphalism following the military victory? That has to be checked,
does it not, in the South?
President: No. The Tamils are happy, the Muslims are happy. They had
that fear for two days. I must admit that. When my friends informed me,
“Sir, we have a problem like this” - they had this fear - I spoke to
them in Tamil and said: “Don’t worry, I will look after you.” People
were enjoying themselves for two weeks.
One day I took a vehicle and went all over just to find out what was
going on. I placed the Army and the police near the Tamil houses.
Nothing happened. Not a single Tamil house was attacked, not a single
Tamil was humiliated. Not a single Muslim.
Do you know that recently there was a fight. Two were killed. I
thought, “Another problem.” Only to find out that a gang had applied for
visas saying, “The Army is bombing us and fighting us” and that they
wanted to escape all this. They somehow got two visas and [to celebrate
that] had a party. After drinking, two fellows were killed. We caught
all of them and questioned them.
They are not LTTEers, they don’t belong to any political party. They
are gangsters. Gang fighting is going on. These are the underworld; we
have to tackle them.
They want to go to some Western countries. I don’t mind; if those
Governments want them, let them take them!
Is the President too powerful?
|
President
Mahinda Rajapaksa.
ANCL file photo |
NR: There is a perception that the presidency has become too
powerful. If so, what is the safeguard? What would be your answer to
this criticism?
President: My answer is that it is not too powerful. That is my three
years’ experience. I can’t take any decision on money matters. My money
is controlled by Parliament. My powers have been taken over by
Commissions. I can’t dismiss any Provincial Council - unlike your
Central Government, which has the constitutional power to dismiss a
State Government and dissolve a State Assembly. So how can I say I am
powerful? I can’t transfer a provincial teacher. I can’t make a school a
national school. So what is this power? To decide on the security, yes.
The power is there. To keep the country in one piece. Otherwise I have
no powers. The Cabinet has all the power. I can request.
NR: You are a man of Parliament, are you not?
President: I always say I am a man of Parliament. I like to debate. I
like to fight, not physically of course. If you are inside Parliament,
you’re in touch. I’m in a prison now. A glorified prisoner, I would say,
with all these security personnel. I’m one who walked from Colombo to
Kathargama, 180 miles in 18 days. I’m a person who went and met people.
I am a person who went to their houses. I was very free: 40 years of
politics was with the people. So suddenly you put me here. I also have
been in remand for three months. But I can’t see a difference now. Of
course I’m getting all these comforts. But what is comfort? This is not
comfort. I can’t get out, I can’t drop in on my friends, I can’t bring
them here. I can’t enjoy anything.
Friendship
NR: They say you value friendship a lot. You have friends in India.
President: I will do anything for a friend - not for any bad work, of
course. But when a friend in difficulty approaches me, I will do
whatever is possible to comfort them. Even when a country needs a
friend, I always trust that country as a friend. Personal friendship has
become important even in international relations. That is why I always
treat India as a friend. A little more than that: a relation, I would
say. Because of that, I will not get angry with others also.
NR: You are happy overall with India’s response to the recent
development?
President: Yes, India was very helpful, first by understanding what
was happening. We had a list and we knew what was possible and what was
not.
We bought the weapons we wanted from China. It was a commercial deal.
China helped us and when somebody helps you, you appreciate it, don’t
you? But we paid them on international terms.
We were very clear about this. That is also why I stood by Pakistan.
When they were isolated, I got up and defended them. Then I canvassed
for India during the process of choosing a Secretary-General for the
Commonwealth [Kamalesh Sharma]. I think no other country’s leader would
have been doing that openly.
There were people in Sri Lanka who were interested in the job. But I
said I wanted an Indian candidate. “In this region, we must have a
leader.
Here’s the SAARC leader, at that time. So make them also powerful
internationally and then we have a friend to defend us in international
forums.” That was my reasoning.
Media issues
NR: There has been international concern over the assaults and
pressures on journalists in Sri Lanka. Some of these journalists were
your personal friends, especially Lasantha Wickrematunge who was gunned
down in January 2009. Then, in June, a Tamil woman journalist [Krishni
Ifhan n‚e Kandasamy of Internews] was abducted in Colombo by
unidentified persons [who questioned her for several hours before
releasing her in Kandy].
President: Most of these cases were created, I would say. If you
fight someone in the street and that man comes and hits you, can the
Government take responsibility? But we have not done anything against
journalists even when they attack us. For example, even though we had
evidence that a Tamil newspaper owner and editor supported the LTTE, we
treated them as journalists. I invited them here and they even entered
into arguments with our senior officials.
Some of our journalists want complete freedom. They can attack
anybody, they cannot be charged. Under the Constitution, only the
President has immunity from prosecution. But the journalists also think
they have the right to do whatever they want and get away with it -
because they are journalists. Some of them said they would get together
and do something about this. But what are some of the newspapers doing?
They use media power to blackmail innocent citizens and collect money. I
am a politician, I can take it. But public servants, what recourse do
they have? The journalist writes something and then publishes a
correction - it is useless. If they write falsely that this person is a
bribe-taker or a rapist - there are such instances - what does he do? He
can’t go home; he can’t face his children. How many people can afford to
go to Court with a civil [defamation] case?
Newspapers must take responsibility. If they won’t do this, then you
will have laws to make them do this.
Lasantha was my friend; he used to come and meet me, told me of
various things that were happening, even in my party. He would drop in
at two o’clock in the morning and I used to send him back in my vehicle.
NR: His last call was to you?
President: Yes, but unfortunately I was in the shrine room. It was a
bad time. If I was out, they would have given me the phone. I was very
angry with my security people.
Cultural values
President: I always respect the family culture of the Tamils. That is
very important but it has been ruined by the LTTE.
There is this 19-year-old girl in one of the IDP camps; she has had
seven children! Every year she got pregnant because then the LTTE would
not take her away to fight. And they don’t even know the father.
NR: And the parents also supported this?
President: Yes, to keep the child. This is in a traditional family.
This is the society we are living in. We don’t want to publicise all
this, although I did mention it in one of my speeches. The point is you
can’t ruin the culture of a country, the future of the young generation.
The drug dealers are doing that. We must do everything to stop them. |