I tell Tamils, there is no problem - I too speak Tamil

President Mahinda Rajapaksa answered questions put to him by Rajpal Abeynayake on Tuesday’s elections and a host of related issues, at President’s House in Kandy this week. We publish below the transcripts from that exchange.
(A few questions included were from representatives of other English newspapers.)

Mr. president, how confident are you about this election.

Can’t you see my face!
I have already started working for after this. I’m very, very, confident. It’s not a question mark.

What is your main message at this time in this election.

Protect democracy without getting caught to the Goebbels agendas. I believe that the people’s rights will be protected.
I have to add, all races, all parties, everybody should get together with me to develop this country and take it forward after the 27th.
I will win, and I invite everybody to join me in the plan to keep the peace and develop the country.

What can you say about the deaths of media persons, crimes which have been unsolved.

All are the same. The culprits have not been found. Nobody has found who killed Kadirgarmar. It’s upto the police to investigate. Instructions have been given to expedite the process.

There are many allegations that too many members of your family are in high government jobs.

Tell me one, tell me one.

I won’t know all by name

We have relations in Jaffna, we have relations in Akurana — Hameeds and all these people are my relations. So are Nadesans, Sirimannes etc.,

You have so many relatives?

You tell me the name and I will write the relationship. This is a small country and there are intermarriages, etc.,

But you are not favouring anyone

Why should I?

I think there is the Uva province chief minister, defence secretary, etc., etc.,

Those are politicians, no? Uva province man — he was elected by the people. It’s the mandate of the people. From 1956 there have been people like D.M. Rajapaksa.
D. A. Rajapaksa was elected uncontested to the state council. Then Lakshman Rajapaksa, George Rajapaksa were in politics. Then Mahinda Rajapaksa came into politics. If the people didn’t like (the Uva chief ministerial candidate...) he would have been rejected. I came from Medamulana, and people accepted me as the leader of this country. Why so?
Before I became president, Basil, Chamal, they were all in politics. We are a political family.

There is a committee to look into Tamil affairs. What’s the progress there?

What do the people of the north want? Political solution, or to live in a decent house? They want to go and l live in a house - - have basics such as water, electricity, to have a job and to live their life. The priority is to resettle these people in a decent environment with basic facilities. There must be democracy first. We have to live in one country under one umbrella.

You said there are only two kinds in this country.

I say so today also.

Even if they are all patriotic, the needs of people in various regions are different. For example, the Muslim people in the east have different aspirations.

Those who are not in the east have different aspirations. Some people have problems related to education...
These are administrative problems. None of these are policy questions. These are extraneous. Races have aspirations. Their identities are intact. So it’s the same all over. Go to a Sinhala village in Moneragala. They are not taught English. They don’t have Science education. These are problems that are therefore common to all — not unique, say, because one community is Muslim and one Tamil. Therefore when I said that there are only two races, what I meant was, that I see no difference between Tamils, Sinhalese, and Muslims. There are only people who are patriots. A small child also said that the other day to me — in his own way. The other issues are grievances. Attending to those is a different story. To take those and say the Muslims didn’t get this or the Tamils didn’t get that, is not right. If it’s gold for the north it’s gold for the south. Not copper. The other things are extraneous administrative issues..

Regards the TNA. Don’t you think you could have secured their support for half of those promises (the opposition made) - - even less.

This is the issue. I do not have to lie because of an election. If I cannot give something I say I can’t. If I can, I say I can. I have always been like that - - if I cannot, I do not misguide people. If I can give I give, if not, I say I cannot. About re-merging of the north and east, removing military camps, about autonomy — when these issues are brought up, I say these are not things that can be done.
Sambandan, Adikalanathan, all of them wanted these things. Now Sarath Silva says they signed a letter with Sambandan...

But you have removed high security zones yourself?

High security zones? Those are removed according to plan, it’s a process. Any country has high security zones. Katunayake has a high security zone around the airport.

The issue is that you have removed high security zones after Sarath Fonseka promised to remove high security zones. It’s the same thing he is doing..

No, no. It’s not so. I am not a person who does whatever Sarath Fonseka says. I went according to plan. I have never said anywhere that high security zones will be removed. I’m going according to plan. I keep high security zones when they should be there. Otherwise we resettle people. We have done so in many places.

But the Sunday Times said that you are removing high security zones.

Sunday Times headlines are various. The next headlines would be an even worse four-letter-word. I say clearly that those are political headlines. These are like what you put all of a sudden sometimes — political headlines. These are political headlines that mislead people. These are not what I say. If there is a plan, we go according to plan. We will not suddenly change those plans. We have not removed high security zones for political reasons. We have removed them according to a plan, announced in May. I have never said I’m removing camps.

Are you saying that a political solution is necessary for the country.

A political solution is needed for anything — anything has a political solution. There is a political solution for any issue in the country.

No no, about the Tamil issue. Is there a time frame for a political solution?

About the time frame, can I say I can give it today? But the problem will be solved in my watch. It won’t go any further.

Is that political, this ‘solution’?

Political of course. What can be solved militarily has already been finished, right? Terrorism has been eradicated; it’s easier now. Now terrorism cannot raise its head — so we will go with a political solution.
We brought forward many formulas. 13th amendment, for instance. But there was no solution. So now we have to see how we can do (this) with all races. But there will be no solution that divides the country. No division of the country into separate pieces - - no such solution.

But don’t the Tamil people have some hope that you will give an indication of this solution at this election, now.

No no. I told you. It’s not the ideology of the old politicians. For thirty years the many new thoughts on this didn’t have space to emerge. For 30 years the Tamil aspirations were suppressed by terrorism. Now, new young leaders will emerge. At future provincial and parliamentary elections there will be new formations replacing the old lot. Those today do not think the way those others who have been under Prabhakaran think. The ideas of the Jaffna people on the other hand are not the same as those who had escaped to the safe confines of Colombo. There are intellectuals there. So we have to take forward this process, taking into account the aspirations of those who were suppressed before.
The diaspora will also change.

So when will you give an indication about your political solution.

After the elections. I have been involved with the TNA with discussions. So many years ... I have been trying with the TNA ... but they are the people who never (reciprocated.)

What happened to the APRC proposals that were given to you.

Some have signed these proposals, some have not signed them. The TNA, the UNP, were not there (at these deliberations.) The SLFP has not signed it. So it’s not a proposal, it’s a draft.

What are the development projects for the north?

De-mining, water, electricity, housing.. The private sector is coming forward in a big way. There are IT projects, BOI projects... so the development is huge. So there is massive development in the north.
We have signed the contracts for the railway line etc.. If we can’t pay back loans no one will give us loans. Even during the war, all or debts were paid on time upto the minute, upto the second.

When you took oaths as president, you took an oath to uphold the constitution. You have not implemented the 17th amendment

Why was the 17th amendment not implemented? Is it my fault? I’ m responsible for it you think?

Yes

They never sent up the names.

No, all the names have been sent to you. It’s a fact.

No no, even so, somebody has sent a petition saying that one such person named, works in parliament, and draws a salary. This is the thing. When the names are sent, somebody else says one person is working in parliament, how can he be in the independent commission?

So who has sent such a petition? These are people nominated by political parties.

Yes, sent by political parties, but other parties also send other names. They can’t send one name properly. How did it take so long? Previously when he (Ranil) was opposition leader, he did not send (names.) That’s’ because he thought he can do everything by himself when he is president. So there was a delay there.
Then during my time they sent the names after so many years. So I contended that this system, this legislation, is flawed, and that parliament should amend this bill and send it back. So about this name, this one person’s name — he works in parliament and accepts a salary from parliament. He cannot be independent and take a salary from parliament. This is a flawed amendment. I have always said that. This is why I say these are political needs . amendments based on various people’s political needs. These were promulgated without any study. This is why I say a constitution is not something you do for the day. What is the independence of this? This is not independent. How can you say this is independent?

Now the elections commissioner has officially announced he is retiring. What happens after that?

After that there will be a constitutional change, and a new person will be appointed.

Then about the coming general election what’s the position regarding the commissioner?

We will see. We have to face it at that time. The commission they established recommended a politician. Chandrika was correct at that point — she didn’t want to appoint him.

Your regime was described by the general on TV yesterday as an extremely corrupt regime?

He has the dictatorial madness. Can’t you see that dictatorial insanity in the way he talks? If he, on a stage, at a press conference, utters words such as kalavedda, padadaya..(bastard no?) ...etc.,

No he did not say padadaya he said paharaya

Paharaya. Paharaya. What is paharaya? This language. He says prisons will be filled. That he will have bones licked... Idi Amin also did that. Pol Pot, Hitler, also did that. Why would he fill jails? IGP’s uniform will be removed, army commander’s uniform will be removed, he says.
He says he will bring people by the ear and shoot them. What are these statements?

But he says there is anarchy now, today.

He? I’m the one who is governing, right? After the 26th, on the 27th, I will look after that.

Yes, but the opposition points to extreme corruption .. the misuse of state property..

Whose property is he using? Not state property is it? Whose car is he using? Whose security vehicle is he using?

Not those.. but the contention is that the government is on a massive scale misusing state property to steal this election.

What these people are trying to do is to show the world there is something like that. Because I am winning, and because he cannot bear that up, he is speaking out insanely. They are the ones who are corrupt. They are the ones who are corrupt along with NGOs and their henchmen. This is what they are getting at. Because I am winning, these people are insane. Because of that they are repeating: corruption corruption corruption. Is it the first time? What is the large scale (malpractice) that you see??

Many allegations. The Ranna Tangalle murder for instance

Tangalle murder? The victim is a SLFPer. The bus is SLFP. The shooter is SLFP.

It was a UNP rally.

No it was not. Do not lie. This is the thing no? What news that comes to the paper... get it correct.. They were going to distribute spectacles for Sajith’s birthday, and SLFPers went along. My photograph is at her (the victims) home. This is not a political killing. Everybody’s killing is not political. That woman is mine.
You are talking of Tangalle. You are not talking of Ranga Bandara shooting at people going for one of my meetings. You are not talking of bombs being thrown at an election office. You are not talking of one individual’s neck being severed.... it was in no paper. A provincial council member’s neck was severed. It was not in a single newspaper. What are you talking? You are taking of a SLFP woman dying in Tangalle. When they came to claim the corpse we realized it. They are SLFP. The victim is SLFP, the bus is SLFP, my picture is on it... Look at the newspapers.
This is the thing. The story that comes out first stays. This is the Goebells method. Their propaganda is splashed by you people in big ways in the papers. So it is that first round news that goes to the country. They say that a person pasting posters was shot. But he was shot from the side. If what they say was right he would have been shot in the heart. Look at the line of shooting. What’s wrong is when you people are always pointing the finger at the government.
No, it’s we who are at the receiving end. We have not started anything, we are the ones getting attacked.
Sometimes the problem is that even the government MPs do not send these complaints to the elections commissioner. They send complaints to NGOs. But who are these NGOs? They are connected to the UNP. This is one group that is talking of human rights, independent commissions etc.,

How about the free lunches given to public servants by you. It’s not legal; that’s not permitted?

It’s not just today that I have given people to eat .. from the day I was born, in our house, people are been given to eat.

Not anybody who comes .. you have fed public servants.

No, no, I have not fed public servants. I have not fed a single public servant. If it’s a public servant I have not endangered his job. Whether it’s a public servant, whether you are a journalist ..anybody who comes to my house, is given meals. I do not change my traditions due to politics.

You have treated customs officers for instance to lunch.

No no, I did not treat customs officials. They sent a letter saying they are coming for a discussion. I did not get them down. I told them not to send them. I do not know whether customs people came separately. I cannot remember who comes. There was a separate discussion planned with customs, not over lunch. But they did not come. They have said they want to meet the elections commissioner, I said do so but I did not ask them to come. They wanted to come from their unions.
All doors are open to people who come to my house ... here .. and in the village. They eat even in the kitchens, in our house, in the village. They even sit in our kitchens and eat, in our houses. Am I to stop it?
This is with my money. I am not like one of the Colombo 7 people who eats and then, wiping his mouth, comes out and asks, “ah machang, how are you?’’ I can remember that that sort of thing happening during my school days.
I am not that type. I am from the Giruwawa, I say. I am not a Colombo 7, Kollupitiya person, born in such places.

What is the message you give Tamil speaking people.

For those who speak Tamil ..(I say..) , now I too speak Tamil. So there is no problem at all.