Minister of Industrial Export and Investment Promotion and Civil Aviation Prasanna Ranatunga said since the inception, those in the Opposition under the pretext of the Covid-19 pandemic engaged in a deliberate attempt to postpone elections due to their division and political bankruptcy. They tried their best to postpone the election and this can be clearly understood when one looks at those who had filed Fundamental Rights petitions. Minister Ranatunga in an interview with the Sunday Observer said that even some of the members of the Election Commission had a keen interest to postpone elections. The Supreme Court has given a ruling to conduct elections so that those who made a big hue and cry to postpone elections will also have to face the election. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Election Commission to hold the election without further delay.
Q: How do you view the decision taken by the Supreme Court to dismiss the Fundamental Rights petitions filed against the dissolution of Parliament and holding General Elections on June 20?
A: This would become a historic decision in our country. I see this as an occasion where the supremacy of the law was upheld. In a democratic country, it is a fundamental prerequisite to conduct elections. According to the Constitution, the President after four and a half years dissolved Parliament to go for an election. However, the Election Commission Chairman postponed the election due to the prevailing situation in the country. Since the inception, those in the Opposition under the pretext of the Covid-19 pandemic engaged in a deliberate attempt to postpone elections due to their division and political bankruptcy. They tried their best to postpone the election and this can be clearly understood when one looks at those who had filed FR petitions.
Even some of the members of the Election Commission had a keen interest to postpone elections. The Supreme Court has given a ruling to conduct elections so that those who made a big hue and cry to postpone elections will also have to face the election. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Election Commission to hold the election without further delay.
Q: It is the common phenomenon of an Opposition to exert pressure on the Government in power to conduct elections. However, the present Opposition through filing FR petitions attempted to postpone the election. Is this a clear testimony on the present plight faced by the Opposition?
A: Normally, it is the Opposition which demands to hold elections. We could see how the former Yahapalana Government continued in office. They deliberately postponed the Local Government elections for two and a half years. Nobody knows what happened to the Provincial Council elections. The present Opposition comprises such people who always attempted to postpone elections. At present, there is a huge division in the UNP and both factions are accusing each other and the people have categorically rejected them.
The UNPers have lost their confidence in the party. They are well aware that the UNP would definitely be defeated at the forthcoming General Election so they would not cast their votes. Nearly 6.9 million people who voted for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa are anxiously waiting to form a stable government to carry forward his vision to rebuild the country. That is why we request an election without any fear. The Opposition attempted to postpone this election as well. However, the FR petitions filed by them were dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Q: Is there any necessity to conduct an election at this juncture?
A: Yes. This is mainly due to the political instability created in the country during the four and a half years regime of the Yahapalana government. There was no political stability in the country those days as the then President and Prime Minister were moving in two different directions. As a result, there were no investors and the country’s development was at a standstill. We have a country and an economy which had collapsed due to the Central Bank bond scam.
Therefore, political stability should be restored in the country, only then would investors come to Sri Lanka. Under these circumstances, an election should be held with immediate effect and we are confident that we would be able to secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament. It would pave the way to implement the political manifesto of the President without any hindrance. We hope the majority of the country’s people also have this view.
Q: The UNP Working Committee has suspended the party membership of 99 members who had submitted nominations from the Samagi JanaBalawegaya(SJB). How do you look at this infighting going on between two UNP factions?
A: The Yahapalana Government came to power in 2015 giving false pledges to the people. They destroyed the country during their four and a half year tenure in office. However, they couldn’t survive by falsehood. That is why this massive division has been created in the UNP. We could see that the people defeated SajithPremadasa at the Presidential Election. Therefore, the SJB is led by a leader who was rejected by the people a couple of months ago. The SJB is not a political alliance and it is a political party.
The UNP breakaway group which was defeated at the Presidential Election has formed a new political party. In addition, another group which was continuously defeated at the elections over the past so many years gives leadership to the UNP. Both these groups were completely rejected by the people in recent times. Today, UNPers have got stranded due to the division in the party.
The TNA which attempted to disrupt the country and extremist Muslim leaders are also in one camp. Those who attempted to betray the country and consolidate power are in one camp while crooks who plundered public funds are in the other camp. Now, both these crooks are fighting with each other. We have a big challenge to fulfill the pledges given by the President in his election manifesto. This is why we are trying to form a stable Government under the leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. I don’t think the UNP would be able to recover from this crisis soon.
Q: The President during a recent meeting with politicians and relevant officials to discuss internal matters in the prisons, emphasised that effective measures should be taken to stop underworld leaders and major drug dealers directing criminal activities from prison. Would you like to comment on this?
A: After ending the war against terrorism, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the then Defence Secretary along with the Police, STF and Army launched a program to curb the underworld. As a result, all leading underworld figures left the country while some remained in jail for the protection of their lives without seeking bail. Those days, citizens could live in the country without any fear. Those underworld leaders who fled to foreign countries spoke about human rights and they were used by the then UNP led Opposition. After the 2015 Presidential Election, all those underworld leaders came back to Sri Lanka. That is why the highest amount of drugs was brought to the country in those days.
The LTTE was also strengthened internationally during the past four and a half years of the former Yahapalana government. We also informed the then President and the Prime Minister regarding the situation. Today, we have to face cyber-attacks due to the steps taken by the former Government to strengthen those elements. The LTTE remnants which were silenced after 2009 were given rebirth by the former UNP Government. As a result, the underworld and the LTTE launched joint operations. Once again the underworld leaders have started to handle criminal activities from prison.
Some political leaders of the former Yahapalana Government defended these underworld elements. Immediate steps should be taken to prevent these underworld elements operating in prisons. The people are also of the same view expressed by the President in this regard.
Q: The Attorney General has directed the Director of the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) to obtain a warrant and arrest former OIC of the Welikada Police station, ASP Sudath Asmadala for fabricating evidence in former UNP MP Patali Champika Ranawaka’s serious accident at Rajagiriya in 2016. Your views regarding this matter?
A: The Constitutional Council (CC) consisted of a majority of the ruling party MPs of the former Government. Thus it was not independent. The CC chaired by former Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, had a majority of the then Government members. They didn’t appoint independent persons to the CC and they nominated those who favoured them. That is why the people have lost their confidence in independent commissions. It is not only Patali Champika Ranawaka. W e could also see the misleading statement made by former UNP MP Rajitha Senaratne, at a press conference prior to the Presidential Election along with two persons who had links with the underworld.
We can witness how politicians like Champika Ranawaka had influenced the Police to cover up his nakedness. Former IGP Pujith Jayasundara who is now in remand custody attempted to ‘bend’ the law and he himself said this to the media. When there were seniors, it was this CC which nominated Jayasundara to the post of IGP to cover up the wrongdoings of the Yahapalana Government. Therefore, it is not only the former Welikada Police OIC but the then IGP should also be held responsible for not conducting a proper investigation about Champika Ranawaka’s accident.
Similarly, legal action should be taken against politicians such as Rajitha Senaratne who attempted to mislead the people prior to the election by conducting press conferences with underworld figures. The people are confident that the culprits would be brought to book by the Presidential Commission appointed to investigate the Easter Sunday attacks. After the Easter Sunday attacks, the then Government appointed a Parliamentary Select Committee to defend some politicians who helped those criminals. However, the people decided that Yahapalanaya is an utter falsehood and that is why they defeated that government at the last Local Government and Presidential elections.
Q: You have said that the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test for Covid-19 infection has been made compulsory for all passengers arriving at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). Could you explain?
A: That was effective from June 2. Foreigners are waiting to come to Sri Lanka when we lift our restrictions imposed on the tourism industry. They have shown a keen interest to visit our country due to the steps taken by the Government to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. The repatriation of Sri Lankans in foreign countries is being done while ensuring the safety and security of the 21 million people living in the country. Considering the prevailing situation, we hope to open the BIA for foreigners from August 1 in keeping with the guidelines issued by the health authorities.
Q: It has been reported that nearly 522 Sri Lankan repatriates have been affected by Covid-19 and a large number of them are Kuwaiti repatriates. Will this have any adverse impact on the Government’s anti-Coronavirus campaign?
A: No. As a result of this, there is a certain delay on the repatriation of Sri Lankans in foreign countries. Before those two flights came from Kuwait, the number of Covid-19 affected Sri Lankan repatriates was at a very low level. According to the information received by us, before the repatriation of those Sri Lankans, blood tests had been done in Kuwait. However, it takes some time for the coronavirus to infect the blood. As the Kuwaiti authorities say that is why they have not been able to detect them. Once they returned to Sri Lanka, PCR tests were done on all of them and that is why the number of Covid-19 repatriates increased. At present, on the directive of the President, a Committee has been appointed to conduct PCR tests at BIA for all passengers.
Q: Has Sri Lanka faced any foreign exchange crisis due to the collapse of the tourism industry?
A: This Covid-19 pandemic has made a serious impact on our economy. This is a common phenomenon faced by the world economy and all countries. Through the BOI, we mainly focus on the US and European markets. At present, there is a slight setback of the orders placed by those countries. Fortunately, 99 percent of the BOI approved garment factories have resumed operations to carry out the orders placed. Over 65 to 70 percent employees of these factories have reported for duty. We hope we would be able to recover from this temporary setback due to measures taken to control the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Q: The Opposition attempts to give the impression that as the old Parliament was not reconvened on June 2, the act by definition will violate the Constitution. They say the President is not vested with power in compliance with the Constitution to close Parliament for over 3 months. Could you elaborate on this?
A: The Opposition wanted to reconvene the old Parliament and remove Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa from his post using their majority in Parliament. If they also moved a No Confidence Motion against the President, then the President cannot dissolve Parliament. The Opposition attempted to make use of that strategy. There is no need whatsoever to bring back the former Government which was categorically rejected by the people at the last Local Government and Presidential elections to Parliament.
Under the leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the country is being governed well in the past few months. The former Yahapalana Government could not even prevent the Easter Sunday attacks. World leaders and the WHO have also commended the moves taken by the incumbent Government to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. If the former President and Prime Minister were in power, they would have appointed yet another Commission putting up the argument whether the word ‘corona’ starts from the letter ‘c’ or ‘k’. That is how the former government behaved. The present government successfully faced the challenge adhering to the guidelines issued by the health authorities.