By Chandani Kirinde

President Mahinda Rajapaska met with several journalists from the English and Tamil Sunday newspapers at the –President’s House in Kandy last Wednesday in one of his last interviews with the media before Tuesday’s presidential election. He answered questions on a range of subjects.

Here are excerpts: -

Journalist: If you are elected for a second term, what will you give priority to? Will it be the national problem or something else?

We have an economic plan. Development is the one thing that is linked to everything else. So if there is any problem at present, those will be discussed and solutions will be found along with development. Our priority is peace. Our programme is not intent on going for any other programmes meant to break up the country and allow terrorism to raise its head again but one in which everyone can live without fear and suspicion.

Journalist: You have said you will use this election to get the people’s mandate for constitutional changes .What are these changes?

Constitutional changes cannot be done haphazardly. The 13th and 17th (Amendments) have become issues because they were done in this manner. Whatever amendments will have to be done after winning the trust of all communities. This cannot be changed in 24 hours. With the victory we will look at this.

Journalist: How positive are you of winning next week’s election?

(Laughing) Can’t you see it in my face. I am very confident. I have already started working after the 27th. Now it’s not an election campaign.

Journalist: What is the margin by which you hope to win?

I will not say that but it will be a comfortable margin not a thin one.

Journalist: There are allegations that many of your family members are holding high government positions?

Tell me one. Tell me one. Other than one. Do you know I have relations in Jaffna? I have relations in Akurana, Hameeds and all, they are my relations. So are Thiru Nadesan’s or Sirimanne’s, first cousins, second cousins, so many.

Journalist: So because you have so many relatives they are holding government jobs?

So, everybody is. If you tell me your name, I will find a relationship to you. Sri Lanka is a small country, inter marriages and marriages.

Journalist: Aren’t you favouring people because they are related to you?

Why should I, why should I. I have many. I didn’t know. When you become president, there will be more relations. So everybody is related to me.

Journalist: She is asking about people like Uva province Chief Minister Shaseendra Rajapaksa?

He is a politician no? He was elected by the people by a thumping majority. People could have just rejected him. It is the mandate of the people. From 1936, from D.M.Rajapaksa, then D.A.Rajapaksa were elected uncontested to the State Council in 1945.Then Lakshman came, George Rajapaksa came into politics, Mahinda Rajapaksa came into politics and ultimately Nirupama also came into politics.

If he wants to be in politics, he can but people can reject. If we have not been able to keep faith, we would have been rejected. Coming from Beliatta, a remote village in Medamulane, people accepted me, no? Why? They trusted me. Otherwise they would have said, “This fellow has come from Medamulane,” and rejected me. How many members of my family were in politics when I became the President? Basil was in politics, Nirupama, Chamal, were in politics. We are a political family .Everybody has been in politics.

Journalist: Are you going to bring a political solution to the ethnic problem?

First we had to defeat terrorism. We have now done that. No separatism will be there in this country hereafter. Now it’s up to the people to get together and find a solution.

Journalist: There was a committee appointed to find a solution. What happened to that?

There were different recommendations coming from time to time. What is needed are recommendations that consist of all the political ideologies existing in the country. Today what do the people in Jaffna want? What do people in camps want? What does the resettled man want? –a political solution or to get a decent house to live in? It is the politicians, NGOs and diaspora who want this. What are their basic needs?

They want to go to a house with a road, water and electricity and do a job and live. All the other things are interconnected with these. The priority is to resettle these people in decent houses, decent environment and give them basic facilities. All other demands are slogans.

These are slogans of politicians or NGOs. There must be democracy first. Without political stability, for 30 years people were unable to vote. What is the political solution? Along with democracy, the representatives of the people will attend to that solution. I went to Menik Farm .One person had come from Colombo and asked me to merge the north and east.

There was a boy there who said, “Don’t divide us at this time. We want to live in one country under one umbrella. Don’t push us again to the gun and take us back many years.” He said that. This is the new hope.

Journalist: You said there are only two races in the country?

I say that even today.

Read more at I am confident of winning with a comfortable majority.

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