Government confident of two third’s majority – Minister Yapa

Nadira Gunatilleke

Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa is a lawyer by profession and entered politics in 1989. He is the nephew of the late I.M.R.A. Iriyagolla, the famous Sinhala writer and a former Education Minister.

Minister Yapa entered Parliament at the 1994 General election. Here are the extracts on an interview conducted with him. The Daily News interviewed him on the current developments in the political arena

Question: What will be the outcome of the next Parliamentary election?

Answer: The Government is very confident in obtaining a two third majority in the next Parliament in the upcoming General election. People want a stable

Government and a Government that supports President Mahinda Rajapaksa. This is a special era that is different from any other past era of Sri Lanka.

This type of era was there only once a few decades ago. But that environment is not here today. Everything has been changed.

The people are full of hope and confidence. The patriotic feeling of the people is very strong. They have been re-awakened with such feelings. The feelings for the nation in the public is very strong. The next Parliamentary election is going to be held in Sri Lanka under this environment. The Opposition has nothing to present to the public.

Question: Why does the Government expect a two third’s majority in Parliament ?

Answer: The Government requests people to give a two third’s majority of seats in Parliament in order to completely change the existing Constitution based on Machiavelli’s philosophy or to bring some major changes into the present Constitution. The main intention of requesting a two third’s majority in the Parliament is making this significant change.

We are a Government that strongly believe in reforms. But these reformations should be done based on the national identity, mixed with the cultural heritage, the possibility of accepting by all ethnicities and the possibility of living as one family.

Question: How do you see the advancement of media and technology?

Answer: Information and media has achieved a significant development during the past years and today it has reached new height where the mobile phone has become one of the main tools used in both communication and media.

The public can reach media through their mobile phones and anyone can obtain access to media as a consumer or a contributor using a mobile phone. Both good and bad effects can be pointed out when studying the advancement of information technology and media.

When people started to receive a large and unbearable amount of information through the media they got confused. Because of this confusion, they tend to believe whatever is said in the media. Because of this situation, fabricated ‘news’ and ‘information’ got new strength and reached the public speedily.

When inaccurate ‘news’ and ‘information’ started to hit the public, people started to double check and get the accurate information whenever they receive information or news.

Although the information and media achieved a significant advancement, no development or advancement in the quality of work took place.

No matter how hard the Government tried to establish a standard and quality in the media, media crusades are carried out according to the requirements of the media institutions.

This fabricated ‘news’ reach people without any delay or interruption. Media personnel communicated fabricated and malicious ‘news’ to the public based on his or her personal beliefs.

This is not something healthy and lead to advancement. The Government waited and watched, hoping one day this trend will be changed and a type of self control will be developed in the field of media with the contribution and agreement of media personnel but it did not happen.

“I believed a self controlled system based on ethics but I have no hope on that any longer and I do not believe it any more. I think the time has come for the introduction of relevant Acts and Ordinances on Sri Lankan media to which are already in practice in developed countries. The main objective of doing this is setting standards in the media field and obtaining the contribution of media towards the development of the country “, he added.

Question: What is the impact of eradicating terrorism and establishing lasting peace?

Answer: Terrorism is one of the biggest challenges that a country could wish to overcome. Freedom, the protecting basic human rights, developing the understanding of democracy, flowing of free thinking, possibility of living without fearing for life are some of the benefits that come with the total eradication of terrorism.

A free environment is required to achieve creative thinking abilities. Under the great leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the 30 years long war ended. If a free life in a free country is the best gift the present generation can give to the future generation, President Rajapaksa and his Government gave it to the children of Sri Lanka as a gift.

His far-sighted leadership achieved that great victory. It secured the people’s right to lead a happy life.

We have now reached the time that need to develop infrastructure facilities for that free and happy country. “We will be able to live in Sri Lanka as one family with a Sri Lankan identity in the future. It will be a country that protect traditional Sri Lankan culture and social ethics”.

Question: What are the main factors that stand behind the downfall of the Opposition ?

Answer: The way our Opposition acts at this moment is very pathetic. The Opposition does not have anything to present to the people. They do not have any idea about what people want and the expectations of the public.

They are not close to the people at all. Without trying to realise the expectations of the people, they are trying to achieve their vicious expectations. From the beginning the Opposition is in a program that is entirely based on jealousy, hatred, taking revenge and snatching power no matter what they do or who they destroy.

Even after the Presidential election, the Opposition has not abandoned their strategy which was totally rejected by the people.

The people realised the jealousy, hatred and aim of taking revenge exist in the Opposition and it led them to leave the Opposition in large numbers and groups. We have never heard or seen an Opposition before which is this much weak, without the basic feature of an Opposition and unable to understand public opinion.

The Opposition has been becoming into small groups now. This happened because the Opposition did not understand what the public needed. Today there is no force called ‘the Opposition’. They have been lost now and the public has already understood it. The Opposition destroyed its own self.