Geneva resolution strengthened people’s relationship with govt - Minister Fernando

The Geneva resolution further strengthened the relationship between the government and the people. It further distanced the people from the Opposition, said Cooperatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando during an interview with the Daily News.

Following are extracts of the interview:

Q: How do you interpret the Geneva vote?

A: The Geneva issue is not something new or one which has developed recently. It is only one part of the long term LTTE crusade against Sri Lanka. If we talk about winning and loosing, Sri Lanka has recorded a landmark victory as a small country against the world giant, USA. Everyone accepts the fact that the US is the world’s most powerful country. When it brought a resolution against Sri Lanka, 15 countries stood by us while eight abstained from voting which means that they did not want to support the resolution. Twenty four countries stood by the US. This clearly shows the way power acts.

Q: How can the victims of the LTTE be assisted or compensated apart from funds and development projects?

A: The whole world knows that certain sections of the Tamil Diaspora are LTTE representatives. They have collected funds from the Tamil people. If they sincerely love the Tamil community, they should spend these massive funds to assist and compensate the victims of the LTTE. They never do this and it clearly proves that they represent the LTTE and not the Tamil community. We like to tell the Diaspora that it was President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his government and the heroic Armed Forces which saved the Tamil community from LTTE custody. The LTTE used Tamil children as child soldiers. This shows who the true saviours of the Tamil people are.

Q: What will be the future of this anti-Sri Lanka crusade launched by the foreign and local LTTE supporters and their agents?

A: The local and foreign LTTE supporters and their agents will do whatever possible in future to achieve their aims. There is no doubt about that. We won the humanitarian operation but the foreign LTTE network is still intact and functioning well. The most pathetic situation is the countries which talked and acted against terrorism in the past, came forward to assist the terrorists and promote terrorism this time. They will definitely experience the repercussions of their acts one day.

Q: What can be done by the the Sri Lankan government and the people of Sri Lanka to safeguard the motherland?

A: The main and only objective of the Sri Lankan government is protecting the country and the people, and ensuring their well-being. The government will never allow any type of terrorist activity to take place in this land ever. The UNP and the JVP joined hands with the TNA, LTTE Diaspora and certain countries in the West to feed terrorism. The government will never let the representatives of terrorism cause any harm or put pressure on this country or its people.

Q: In the past, the behaviour of Sri Lankan political parties did not help in solving the ethnic issue. What can be done now?

A: This is not something new. I represented the UNP. The UNP always wanted to grab power no matter how they do it. If they can betray the country and grab power they will definitely do it.

The JVP will do the same. If they cannot come to power through democratic, free and fair elections, they will do it using guns and bullets. We saw how they went to the Northern Province as soon as the humanitarian operation ended, and gathered and organized persons who were involved in terrorism in the past. Both the JVP and the UNP want to snatch power even if they have to betray the country.

The government, especially President Mahinda Rajapaksa loves the people and this land. This is why this government won elections without vote-rigging, or malpractice. This is how President Rajapaksa became the most popular leader in Asia and achieved a two thirds majority within the current constitution which was not possible earlier. People gave him power because they have confidence in him and they know that he sincerely protects this country and its people. The Geneva resolution further strengthened the relationship between the government and the people. It further distanced the people from the Opposition.

Q: The Sri Lankan media acted positively during the humanitarian operation. What is the responsibility of the Sri Lankan media at this juncture?

A: The Sri Lankan media supported the humanitarian operation because they did not have any other option at that time. The people were on one side during the humanitarian operation and the media could not oppose them. Otherwise, they would have listened to the Opposition leader and acted according to his instructions. They would have listened to the JVP and acted differently. The excellent leadership provided by President Rajapaksa made the media helpless and forced to act with the rest of the country and respect the wishes of the Sri Lankan people. President Rajapaksa regularly met media heads and requested them not to betray the motherland during that crucial time. Now all local media institutions should help and promote the collective resolution to address the ethnic issue.

Q: How will you solve the issue of the quality of paddy?

A: Today the farmer is using new technology. The farmers harvest hundreds of acres within a few hours. In the past, human labour was required for this purpose. Farmers told me that the price they received for wet paddy was more than enough and reasonable.

They said so because they had to spend a lot of money to dry paddy. No farmer told me that the price they get for wet paddy is low. No farmer said that high quality paddy was sold at a low price. The government is ready to buy standard paddy produced by Sri Lankan farmers all over the country.

Q: Comment on the recent vegetable harvest issue.

A: The price of vegetables has gone down and it is very low at the moment. The supply was much higher than the demand. When the supply exceeds the demand, the price goes down. This is temporary. The price of vegetables will become stable. This is common for all commodities and everywhere in the world. This is the behaviour of the supply and demand.

Q: What do you think about the current cost of living?

A: The cost of living is low. The cost of living in Sri Lanka has become stable. The main reason for that is the end of the war. Now commodities (essential items) come to the Northern Province directly and not via Colombo. There are adequate stocks in the country. Therefore, commodities cannot be sold for high prices. The government acted wisely and imposed a price control for certain items. This is how the government keeps prices stable. The Opposition spreads rumours on the possible increase of prices of certain commodities and creates fear in the public.

They have undertaken the advertising campaign for increasing CoL and helping companies to increase prices of commodities. The tongues of the Opposition never bend to tell the truth and say that the government is managing the economy well.

Q: Do you have a message for the public?

A: As a Member of Parliament who joined the UPFA government from the UNP, I have to say that from the beginning, the Opposition Leader and the Opposition believed that there will be over 50,000 deaths and the Sri Lankan government will definitely lose the war against the LTTE. They asked Sri Lankan youths to be prepared to chase away President Rajapaksa. During the last week of the humanitarian operation the Opposition Leader visited Norway and tried to stop the humanitarian operation and save Prabhakaran. Both the JVP and UNP tried to halt the humanitarian operation. When they could not do so, they were forced to congratulate the government. The JVP first assisted President Rajapaksa but retreated once they witnessed the success of the humanitarian operation. They did not think that the President will win the war. They thought the country will become unstable.

Today, the Opposition Leader walks on the carpeted Jaffna roads freely and campaigns for the Diaspora. Today, all anti-Sri Lankan elements have joined hands. I request the Sri Lankan youths not to be misled, keep your eyes wide open, be vigilant and march forward with President Rajapaksa to achieve development. I make this request because there are elements which still expect various types of influences to come here and make our country unstable. Last time it was our heroic Armed Forces which saved our country and this time we will sacrifice our lives to save our motherland. There is no doubt about that.