President’s son for 13th Amendment

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

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“I think we first need to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil people who live in Sri Lanka and resettle the IDP’s as soon as possible and give their lives back to them. Then I’m sure the international Diaspora will understand.”
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By Nilantha Ilangamuwa

(May 25, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I deem it a rare and unique meeting when I met with Namal Rajapaksa, son of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the present situation in the Island Nation after the historical win against the Tamil Tiger terrorists who are seeking separatism. His voice is very clear and understandable. “My father always believed that a person should fight the fight that should be fought but not the fight that person can win,’ Namal said.

According to Namal, “He ( the President ) always believed and still strongly believes that there should be a political solution or in other words there should be equality among all communities in Sri Lanka and that there is no place for any form of discrimination.”

Speaking to Sri Lanka Guardian, Namal Rajapaksa said, “First of all we should resettle the people who have been liberated from the LTTE, and give them new hope of life, give them vocational training, educate the younger generation and give them equal opportunity as any Sri Lankan would have, then we can talk about political developments such as the 13th Amendment.”

I was pleasantly surprised to have met this young person who has an excellent grasp of things our country needs most. I found in Namal something unique as we interacted on many issues pertinent to peace and harmony of the country. He is certainly a different person than most of those I met in the recent times.

Here are the excerpts from our discussion:

Let me first know about your academic standing?

I will be completing my Final Year in LLB in few weeks time.

According to a well-known philosopher in Germany, Mr. Friedrich Nietzsche, “what was silent in the father speaks in the son, and often I found in the son the unveiled secret of the father.” So, I think you are the person who knows very well about your father. He is a patriotic leader who has eliminated the most wanted ruthless terrorist organization in modern world. I would be happy if you can clarify the thoughts and vision of your father that paved way for victory?

My father always believed that a person should fight the fight that should be fought but not the fight that person can win. He has proved it during the early 80s and early 90s when he was one of the few people who stood up for Human Rights at a time no one spoke about it. Now he has proved it again by defeating the most ruthless terrorist organization in Sri Lanka and brining the country under one Flag and one jurisdiction which was believed impossible by the majority.

He always believed and still strongly believes that there should be a political solution or in other words there should be equality among all communities in Sri Lanka and that there is no place for any form of discrimination. The LTTE stood between Sri Lanka and its development as a nation and thus it had to be defeated militarily.

Here in Sri Lanka, mission has been accomplished against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. What is your opinion on these developments?

Yes the Mission is accomplished against the LTTE or Terrorism but there is a possibility of ad-hoc incidents taking place for sometime as we can see from other examples such as NI with IRA. However, I strongly believe that there won’t be any LTTE activities in an organized form. And now it is our duty as the youth and as Sri Lankans to look towards the future and work towards the development of our nation.

Some people criticize the government saying that it wields family power and they claim that anyone called Rajapaksa can take high ranks in the government. How do you respond to these allegations, as a son of the President?

Well there are few members of Rajapaksa family who are actively involved in my father’s administration, but I firmly believe that all of them deserve their positions and are suitable for their respective designations as proved by them. It can also be said that the Presidential Secretariat has become a friendlier place than ever before and has opened its doors to young active Sri Lankans to take part in His Excellency’s administration.

How do you read the so-called ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka?

Well if there is an Ethnic crisis, I think it is more of a politically motivated crisis than an actual ethnic problem. However it is imperative that we address the issues faced by the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. We all know that there is a gap between the two communities because of the LTTE and it is up to the Government and as Sri Lankans we all should work together to build a bridge between the two communities.

What are the options do you think available to achieve a sustainable solution for this problem, after the elimination the Tamil Tigers?

First of all we should resettle this people who are liberated from the LTTE and give them new hope of life, give them vocational training, educate the younger generation and give them equal opportunity as any Sri Lankan would have, then we can talk about political developments such as the 13th Amendment. But the most important thing is to resettle them and get them back to normal life.

You are a leader of a volunteer organization, which is focused on Sri Lankan youth. What is the vision behind setting up such an organization and what are your achievements so far? And please let me know about your future plans for youth empowerment in Sri Lanka?

Well we first started as a sports Organization. We are still actively involved in developing sports in Sri Lanka, especially in the rural areas. We are even building a swimming pool in Jaffna which should be completed in a matter of few months.

The ‘Tharunyata Hetak’ youth organization is committed to unite, develop and nurture the youth of Sri Lanka together in the name of peace.

The ‘Tharunyata Hetak’ youth organization works towards creating bonds between the youth of Sri Lanka with mutual understanding, national patriotism and development highlighting significant qualities of goodwill, friendship and harmony. Carving a peaceful environment among the youth of Sri Lanka regardless of political geographical location, economic differences, religion or race is the motto of this enlightening youth association. All youth from different ethnicities encompassing Sinhala, Tamil, Burgher, Muslim, Malay, Borah, and other races and religions will help towards the goal of bringing peace not only to the youth but for the whole country. The youth of today are the lifeblood of this country and we must make sure that we keep their interests at heart. Sympathy surrounds Sri Lanka’s poignant history that has taken a number of young lives. Hence we are dedicated to learn from our country’s grave mistakes by ensuring that youth are not needlessly wasted for unintelligible acts of suffering and rebellion. We hope to instill faith and hope in the hearts and the minds of the youth of Sri Lanka, the future generation that will take our country forward.

When you talk about projects we have small projects going on almost every other day. At this moment we are doing a project to collect drinking water for our brothers and sisters who have been liberated. At the same time we are conducting Grade 5 seminars Island wide.

Generally youth in Sri Lanka keep away from politics as they are said to be more concerned about things which are based on enjoying life. So… in this context, what is the future direction for Sri Lanka?

Well generally the urban youth keeps away from politics or getting involved in politics actively unlike the youth who come from Villages or rural areas. I think the reason for this is that more rural youth are dependent on politicians for their future, especially when getting jobs. This should be changed and I think it should be more independent and jobs should be given on educational and vocational training or experience more than a political background. But things are different with urban youth who are more independent and have more opportunities when it comes to their future. This is what we are trying to change via our youth organization to make rural youth more independent and give them similar opportunities that are open to urban youth.

Are you planning to become the President of Sri Lanka one day?

I don’t think anyone can plan to be a President because a President is democratically elected and at the moment my plan is the be a good citizen and to work towards the development of my country.

Do you think the political system and the electoral system in Sri Lanka must change?

Well there is nothing wrong with the political system in my country other than the fact that we need young educated people who love their country coming into politics. There should be some changes made to the electoral system as we have experienced in the past as with the present system there is no majority government in place and there might be discrimination on the basis of preferential voting.

Let me know your views on Sri Lanka’s foreign policy and international relations and the power of our Diaspora?

I think the government is very clear about our foreign policies and is straight forward as any other country and since 2005 we have developed good relationships with regional countries such as India, Pakistan, China, Nepal and the Maldives. We have also been able to maintain good relations with countries like Iran, Libya, Turkey, Israel and Russia and we have always been friends with Palestine. Even the West has always been good with Sri Lanka.

When you talk about our Diaspora I think we have a very strong international Diaspora, especially in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. Our Diaspora is powerful as long as they stay together and work together as one. I think we have still not got what we should be getting from these people who live abroad even though we get some sort of support.

How can Sri Lanka address the issues of pro-LTTE Diaspora and change their stances after the war?

Well I think we first need to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil people who live in Sri Lanka and resettle the IDP’s as soon as possible and give their lives back to them. Then I’m sure the international Diaspora will understand. At the moment they are under the wrong impression about Sinhala people because most of the Tamil people left Sri Lanka in the early 80s and 90s and they don’t know anything about Sri Lanka other than killing and suffering of Tamil people and most of the second generation Tamil youth don’t even speak Tamil and they go along with their parents and pro LTTE media so I believe with proper development and at the same time educated Tamil representatives in politics will change their perspective.

What are your plans for future?

Well I’m just about to finish my first degree and I want to do my masters degree. I also plan to develop our youth organization further.

What is your message to our Tamil-speaking Sri Lankan brotherly citizens, some of who are concerned/upset about the latest battlefield developments?

We all are Sri Lankans and I believe there should not be any discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or the language you speak. As our President stated there is no minority anymore. We are all Sri Lankans who love our nation …. And, yes, we will rebuild the nation and we will rebuild the lives of our Tamil and Muslim brothers and sisters in the North. I would like to invite all Sri Lankans to join this cause as the government cannot do it alone. We as citizens and especially the younger generation should get together and hold hands to develop our nation
It is important to have peace within the communities otherwise there is no point of having any political solution.

Do you think it is good for all Sri Lankan schoolchildren to learn all 3 languages -- Sinhala, Tamil and English -- from primary school?

Yes. I strongly believe that we all should learn all languages. I regret for not learning Tamil when I was schooling even though now I’m working on studying Tamil. It is important to know all 3 languages.

-Sri Lanka Guardian