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People have no faith in Parliament and political parties
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UNP has been active in Opposition since 2020 polls
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Will work with all parties in the Opposition
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New voters coming in; 2019 not base to build on
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SLPP 2019 base is no more, will have to build afresh
"With regard to fake news, I don’t know why they are so worried. They spread so much fake news before 2019. Their victory is partly based on fake news. Let them come up with the (counter-terrorism) bill first, then we will speak up. However, the question is if the media is ready to stand up" Ranil Wickremesinghe[/caption]
As the Leader of the UNP, do you have a plan to turn the party around and restore it to its former glory? If so, what are the challenges associated with this?
The UNP is one party that contested the last parliamentary election with a solution on how to handle the Covid-19 pandemic at that time. Even after the results came out, we came up with a very concrete plan. Similarly, we had plans for the economy and the environment, but many did not want to carry our plans forward; they did not even want to look at them. The UNP has solutions and we are credible.
Where does support for the party stem from?
Party support stems from hardcore UNPers, but a large number of around two million did not vote. They had the option of voting against us. However, they decided that it was not worth going in to vote. One must remember that the voter bases of all parties are now changing. 2019 was a watershed. What we will have in 2023 and 2024 will be quite different. A lot of new voters are coming in with new thinking, so we cannot take 2019 as a base to build on.
Under your leadership, what are some key areas in which the UNP will rally for change?
First, we will take up the main issues of the people and push the Government to make some concessions. Covid-19 is still out of control and the State Intelligence Service is also getting involved. This is no solution. After this, we will address issues relating to the economy and the long-term consequences of the X-Press Pearl tragedy and also the state of education in the country. All these issues are adding up. We will come out with the solutions later on, but for the moment, the people need some sort of relief. It is positive that the people want to know about what we plan to do in the next three to four years, but we want to do something for them immediately. This will be done through the Opposition putting pressure on and forcing the Government to at least acknowledge these issues before implementing measures to curb them.
What is your outlook on the political situation of this country in terms of parties?
Presently, the people have lost confidence in Parliament and the political parties. It is a dangerous situation. If there was to be an election today, some will stay at home in fear of getting infected with Covid-19. It comes down to how the parties build up from now. The Pohottuwa (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) base of 2019 does not exist anymore. They will have to form a new base.
There has certainly been a lot of speculation with regard to your return. Some Opposition MPs believe that this is in line with the Government’s alleged plan to replace Mahinda Rajapaksa with you in the role of Prime Minister. What do you have to say about this?
I am not discussing what the SJB (Samagi Jana Balawegaya) has to do. If they want to fight with me, let them fight, but I am not fighting with them.
In the past, some accusations were levelled against you, claiming your leadership style to be ‘dictatorial’. How would you respond to this and why do you think such accusations were made?
I am not dictatorial. Look at the charges made against the present President.
Let’s go back to your term as Prime Minister during the Maithripala Sirisena-led Government. The public viewed it as a breath of fresh air. However, failure to deliver on promises resulted in a drop in public opinion. What went wrong?
What are the promises which we did not deliver on? Tell me one by one and I will explain. We brought in the 19th Amendment. I gave the people a free country. I gave them the freedom to criticise me and throw me out. The people don’t have that now. The media is afraid to stand up and say this.
Many of your loyalists directly blame you for the failures of the Yahapalana Government. Why is this the case?
As far as I am concerned, I left every household better off in 2019. Is that a failure? We had freedom, is that a failure? We had the ambulance programme; we had the new school building programme; we put a lot of money into health and education. This is why the health sector is holding on. Whatever the relevant ministers needed in this regard, we found the funds. We expanded university education and even the road network. So tell me what is it that we have not done?
Regardless of the many achievements of the Yahapalana regime, public opinion still suffered. What was the cause of this?
First, the people became very critical after the Easter attacks. Secondly, I did not run for the presidency, the people went on the programmes of two new candidates. My record was not up for discussion.
Do you think the change in opinions towards the Yahapalana Government had an impact on the results of the 2019 election?
The Easter attacks certainly had an adverse impact. People questioned why actions were not taken when information about it was available from India. It also had its own ethno-religious consequences. Then, two new candidates came and none of them put forward the work we had done. Our efforts went unanswered and they were not put to the test. None of the candidates pointed out that they were building on our success. If someone came on the Yahapalana Government’s record, then it would have been different. President Maithripala subsequently joined with the Pohottuwa after the results. The Yahapalana Government at a national level has not been put to the test.
Would the result have been different if you contested for presidency instead of Sajith Premadasa?
That did not happen, so why answer that? I was not the candidate; I supported Sajith Premadasa.
What were your reasons for supporting Premadasa?
They felt that there should be a new candidate who would be supported by the others and they went along. However, the JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna) and President Maithripala Sirisena did not support us.
Moving to current times, in your opinion, is the Opposition and its Leader fulfilling its role as the Opposition? If not, what needs to be done differently?
I will not bother to talk about the Leader of the Opposition. I am already getting attacked, but I do not get into controversies, whether they are about the Leader of the Opposition, the JVP, or the TNA (Tamil National Alliance).
Will the UNP work together with the SJB?
We will work together with all parties in the Opposition who are willing to work on some common subjects. There will be times when they want to go their own way. Every party has to decide what they want to do and what common issues need to be worked on together. I have to speak to the whole Parliament and the whole country. People are getting fed up with all this name-calling on both sides, which results in nothing.
You have made assurances to make way for new leadership from time to time. Many view this as a time-buying exercise. What are your thoughts on this?
That is not the case. There is a new set of leaders and it is they who suggested for me to enter Parliament.
Do you have any plans to push for the post of Opposition Leader of Parliament?
I am not the Opposition Leader. I do no not want to get into that controversy. I am quite secure as I am. If anybody wants to create such controversy, they may do so, but I will not get into it.
A topic of much controversy relating to the present Government’s leadership is its relationship with China. If it were up to the UNP, how would your party maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with this superpower?
Multilateralism is what we are looking at. We must have good relationships with all countries and be neutral. India is our closest neighbour and we have thousands of years of cultural relations that need to be maintained. Japan and China have been our closest friends. From the US to the EU and Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Maldives, and more ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) nations, we must continue to foster our friendship with these nations. If we are to break away from these friendships like what the Government is doing, accusations of taking sides will continue. I am not against China; I am very much for working with China, as much as I am with all other countries.
What are some of the key failures of the present Government which you have identified, and how can such failures be corrected?
Look at the state of our education system: What are the concrete measures being taken for students? Look at the fertiliser issue – people aren’t able to cultivate this season. Then there is the bungling of the X-Press Pearl issue which could have been avoided if action was taken early on. Then there are stories of the sugar and coconut oil issues. Moving out of the Sri Lanka administrative service is another. There are many other issues that need to be spoken of.
From Europe to America, the topic of human rights in Sri Lanka is the subject of much debate and opinion. What are your thoughts on this?
The whole thing has been messed up. At one point, the issue was resolved. After all, it was not us who went to the Human Rights Council. It was an agreement between then President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ban Ki-Moon in May of 2009. We were in trouble and we managed to extract ourselves from it. If this would have been carried on, the issues would have ceased. The issues were created again. Then to make it worse, we praised North Korea. I don’t think anyone has done this kind of thing before. The Government has to improve its record on human rights. Running after MPs and locking them up and calling them into police stations just because they criticise the Government will result in people marking Sri Lanka as a country that is not a full democracy.
From the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to the recent laws on ‘fake news’, which some believe to be an effort to crack down on dissent, would you say such elements should be present in a healthy democracy?
We had the counter-terrorism bill ready. When Easter Sunday happened, we had to act under the PTA. When that phase was over, we should have brought in the counter-terrorism bill. The PTA is what we got from the UK, which is their law from 1974.
With regard to fake news, I don’t know why they are so worried. They spread so much fake news before 2019. Their victory is partly based on fake news. Let them come up with the bill first, then we will speak up. However, the question is if the media is ready to stand up. The media is telling everyone else to stand up but they aren’t standing up. However, online media seems to be taking on a big campaign against it. Across the rest of the electronic and print media, what are they doing? They must show the way and the people will follow.
What about the recent amendments to the PTA? Some fear that through this, the Government wants to take on an approach similar to what is seen in Xinjiang, China.
I don’t think we can draw similarities to Xinjiang and the problems there. As far as this is concerned, it was not necessary for Sri Lanka. We didn’t have any problems. This was purely to extend the whole grip of the Government. This is where the Opposition could have done something about it, both within and outside the Parliament.
In your view, would you refer to Sri Lanka as a democracy?
We can work out a democratic way. If we are more vocal and organised, it will be so. The question is what will the media do. Everyone asks what the UNP will do; we are prepared to fight it, but tell us what the media is going to do? Does the media want to have a free ride on us? Despite the many instances when we have taken this up, it hasn’t even been reported. Social media has, but the others do not. The media must lead this fight, but they are not fighting.
If the current state of affairs in the country continues, what would be some of the immediate consequences, and what would you advise the Government to address first?
The consequences will make life far more difficult for most. The economy will take a longer time to recover. As to what should be done, I will certainly mention it in Parliament. We put in a lot of effort, which was not supported by the media; from discussions with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to the MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) deal, we were attacked. In everything we did, we were attacked and now we must face it.