PSC solution on resolving conflict:

President to stand by Parliament’s decision

*Parliament will take responsibility for a solution

*Solution would be a joint effort of Parliament

‘I will stand by a solution arrived at by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on resolving the conflict. ‘The PSC will provide an opportunity for all parties in Parliament to participate in the process of finding a solution. Parliament will take responsibility for a solution, besides emerging strong in the process’ President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa

Speaking to newspaper Editors and Heads of media organizations at the monthly breakfast meeting with these personnel at Temple Trees, President Rajapaksa also said that the PSC process, rather being a ‘time-buying’ exercise, would be conducted in accordance with a time frame determined by Parliament.

‘The solution would be a joint effort of Parliament and will be the result of a participatory process. If Parliament provides me with a solution I will implement it’, he said. External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, Preseidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and several other state officials were associated with the President at the meeting.

Explaining the rationale for the government conducting talks with the TNA on a solution to the conflict while going ahead with plans for a PSC process, Prof. Peiris said, in answer to a question, that the solution that is arrived at with the TNA too would be taken to Parliament.

But this is a long drawn process. The PSC effort, however, would run parallel to the state-TNA talks process he said.

The aim is to ‘telescope the two processes into a single time frame’. When asked why the government was not filing legal action against Channel 4 for the canards perpetrated by it, the President said that the government was mulling the possibility of filing a lawsuit and that legal opinion was being consulted.

He said that Channel 4 and other organizations of its kind were indulging in the ‘freedom of the wild ass.’

He cited the cases of proliferating websites which were responsible to no one but were freely disseminating defamatory and scurrilous material.

The President also explained that the government was preparing two reports in relation issues arising from Channel 4. These were not answers to Channel 4 but outlined current work undertaken by the state. One report detailed the humanitarian work being carried out by the state in the North.

The other report which is in preparation, relates to defence matters. The President also recollected that all Colombo-based ambassadors were invited by the state to witness via UAV the atrocities being committed by the LTTE at the closing stages of the conflict in 2009. He said that the Channel 4 creation was a mere sensational and fictitious film and not journalism of any kind.

Bombs were shown as being dropped in one place, for instance, but people were shown as dying in a completely different location. ‘This is fabricated material that could be submitted to the LLRC. The closing stages of the conflict were a life and death battle for the Security Forces. How could there have been time for rapes and other such excesses, the President questioned.

The following are some of the responses given by the President to issues which were raised by journalists:

On recent talks with India: No special demands were made by the Indian side. Our talks were most cordial and our relations are fine.

Provincial polls: Elections to the Northern Provincial Council will be held next year. This is a certainty. Nothing major occurred during the recent alleged incident involving the TNA in the North. The government would not hesitate to take strong punitive action against any wrong doers.

On talks with protesting university Dons: We cannot provide an exorbitant pay. There is a salary structure to be followed closely. But the issue is not the salary. It is up to journalists to probe this. However, there are signs of a resolution.

Right to Information: We do not oppose this. I’ll strengthen R to I. There is a Commission to tackle corruption. This can be resorted to. In fact issues can be taken up with me and I’ll help.

Channel 4: Foreign notables tend to only believe the LTTE. When these persons were questioned by Ambassador Kohona, for instance, at the Channel 4 screening recently they had no answers. At the screening only the President, the Defence Secretary and Minister Basil Rajapaksa were mentioned. So, one could figure out what the aim of Channel 4 was. We’ve nothing to hide. Nor are we condoning any wrong-doing by our Security Forces.

Arsenic issue: I’ll continue to eat rice. In fact I always eat red rice. We will only go by scientific studies. We won’t be misled by hearsay.

On the Commonwealth Games: Hambantota is being transformed into a Sports City. For this purpose, hotels, roads and other infrastructure are required. It is for all this that some money is being spent. If we want national progress we have to go forward. Expenses on infrastructure are not a waste of money. It results in progress. We should have a vision of the future and not stagnate. We should be far-seeing and march forward.

Sense of priorities: We do not neglect important sectors, like education and health. Only the building of structures like hotels is entrusted to the private sector. What is important for the people’s well-being is handled by the government. Due to infrastructure development in the South, an acre of land in Suriyawewa, for instance, is fetching Rupees 500,000. Thus has development helped in raising land values.

(L.O.)