Commenting on UNP Parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake’s leaked audio clips, Justice, Human Rights and Legal Reforms Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that politicians or the Justice Ministry has no authority whatsoever to look into the conduct of judges, inquire or punish them for any alleged misconduct. It is something the Government and my Ministry are very concerned about because we want to ensure the independence of the judiciary and rebuild the faith of the people in the judiciary. The Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer said the people must be assured that the judiciary remains independent and there can’t be any influence on it. It is also a matter for the Government to ensure that the judiciary should be rebuilt and appropriate measures taken to repose public confidence in it.
Q: Would you like to add something to UNP Parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake’s controversial audio clips as it reflects badly on the independence of the judiciary?
A: As I am the Minister of Justice, I can’t make public comments on what has happened. What is pertinent to my Ministry and the judiciary is that the conduct of certain judges is under scrutiny by the relevant authorities. So, I must allow that to happen and see what the outcome of these proceedings is.
Thereafter, I as the Minister of Justice and the Government have to take appropriate action. The Ministry has no power whatsoever with regard to the conduct of the judges to reprimand, sack or take any action whatsoever against them. As regards Magistrates, District and High Court judges, the jurisdiction to inquire into their misconduct is with the Judicial Service Commission.
Regarding the judges of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, it is with the Chief Justice. So, the politicians or the Ministry have no authority whatsoever to look into the conduct of the judges, inquire or punish them. But it is something of great concern to the Government and my Ministry because we want to ensure the independence of the judiciary as well as to rebuild the faith of the people in the judiciary. The people must be assured that the judiciary is independent and there can’t be any influence on it. It is a matter for the Government to ensure that the judiciary should be rebuilt and appropriate measures should be taken where necessary. But what measures we should take should be considered without interfering with judicial independence.
Q: Is this drama a mere one man show or an organised political campaign by anti-government elements?
A: That is yet to be known and established. So, I don’t want to comment on something imaginary.
Q: The UNP’s latest move is to have its own Prime Minister to work with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Is this a workable scheme ?
A: They are living in a fool’s paradise. They lost the Presidential Election very badly because there was no unity in the UNP and their policies are no more acceptable to the people of this country. They have forgotten the basic norms which are honoured by the people of this country. They said there is no ‘Sangha’. They said there are only the ‘Buddha’ and the ‘Dhamma’. But the people affirmed that the ‘Buddha’, ‘Dhamma’ and ‘Sangha’ are there and as such the Triple Gem should be recognised. The UNP’s policies are not people-friendly.
Q: Is the Government well equipped to fight the General Election? Will the escalation of commodity and vegetable prices have any adverse effect on the Government?
A: Yes. We are very well equipped to face the General Election. We have the experience of the last Presidential Election. With that experience, whatever shortcomings we had in the campaign will be rectified and we will definitely get two thirds majority at the forthcoming General Election. I don’t think the escalation of commodity and vegetable prices will have any adverse impact at all on the Government because people didn’t merely think of the ‘stomach’ but they seriously considered the future of the country at the last Presidential Election. So, with their common sense the people know that whenever there are terrible rains in the country the crops get devastated and as a consequence you can’t get vegetables at the same prices as earlier. Therefore, I think the people are not so silly as to be unrealistic.
Q: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appears to be keen to eliminate red tape, bottlenecks, duplication of work and overlapping in Government departments. How will this impact the life of the average citizen?
A: Really, the average citizen is waiting to see that the public service is streamlined. There should be easier ways of getting work done in the public service. Therefore, the bottlenecks and all other constraints have to be eliminated to ensure the people-friendly smooth functioning of the public service.
Q: Have you devised any mechanism to nominate only decent, educated people to contest the forthcoming General Election discarding the misfits?
A: Yes. As far as the SLFP is concerned, we have a very strict procedure for selecting the candidates. I can only talk about the SLFP. I hope all other parties will also fall in line with this.
Q: The Government views the 19th Amendment as hampering development and efficient governance paving the path for confrontations between the President and the Prime Minister. Your views?
A: No. There are also positive aspects in the 19 th Amendment while there are more negative aspects in it. In my view, the Constitutional Council which we set up under the 19 th Amendment was more politicised than earlier. Therefore, the non-governmental organisations and politics played some part. Of course, I am not happy with the performance of the Constitutional Council and the appointments it made. They would have taken correct decisions but some decisions taken are questionable. Actually, it is time for us to refine the 19 th Amendment.
Q: Today, the UNP is in complete disarray over its leadership issue and other related matters. Could you explain how the UNP can function at this rate as a viable Opposition in Parliament?
A: We have to wait and see as to how they are going to operate. But the problem is when your house is not in order how can you move forward.
Q: Concerns are raised by the UNP politicians about the non-availability of fertiliser to paddy farmers and the failure of the Government agencies to buy their paddy harvest at prescribed prices. What has gone wrong?
A: It is part of the administrative mechanism. That is what President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is going to rectify. We can’t rectify all the malpractices and weaknesses overnight. We have already started that process and it may take some time to put the public service in the correct order.
Q: A two third majority is a must at the General Election for a stable Government without being at the mercy of the minority parties. What are your arrangements with other constituent parties to achieve this target?
A: We are forming a very broad alliance. However, my view is that we have to win the hearts and minds of the minorities to ensure a landslide victory at the election. As far as the SLFP is concerned, we are making a great effort to realise it. The other thing is that the UNP is in total disarray. So, naturally the minorities will want to join hands with us. That is the simple political scenario which we have found in all previous elections.
Q: What is the progress with regard to the talks between the SLFP and SLPP to form a broad political alliance to contest the upcoming General Election?
A: We have held extensive discussions and reached a final conclusion. In fact, we have agreed about the constitution of the new alliance as well. So, there is no problem at all. It is only the matter of signing the final documents which is remaining. It is only where the symbol is concerned that there are two views but we have agreed completely on all other issues.
Q: In the North and the East, the major problem appears to be non- political but purely economic. Has the Government decided on any development programs to alleviate poverty among the people in the two provinces?
A: You have to wait till the next Budget because we are going on a Vote on Account. I am sure President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Government will address this issue very seriously and ensure the development of the North and the East.
Q: The SLFP high command has since decided to remove former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga as the SLFP organiser for the Attanagalla electorate and suspend the party membership of over 20 SLFP Local Government members who extended their support to the UNP Presidential Candidate at the last Presidential Election. What will be its impact on SLFP voters in the country?
A: SLFP voters will be really happy. They don’t want our party to be demeaned by actions like that. I mean in the Presidential Election or other elections, if they want to work for the UNP, there is no use they being in the SLFP. It is respectable for them to resign from the SLFP and join the UNP rather than keeping the two feet in two different places.
Q: How do you regard the recent visits of the Japanese, Chinese, Russian delegations and a top US official to Sri Lanka in the context of the new Government’s foreign policy?
A: It shows that all these countries are interested in building good relations with us. They don’t want to corner us but they want to be together with us. So, that is a great achievement of the new Government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.