— probe ceased, ne under

Other ga cases Constitutional changes next year

ner in which the media” reported his speech to war heroes who received documents for houses and lands from him at a function at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) on October 12. “The media reported that matter in such a way that it would create some controversy. Some important parts were not published in the state media. The English language media in particular tried to give a wrong interpretation and thereby create a wrong impression among the public. My speech was for 45 minutes. They suggested I had asked investigations to be stopped.”

QA: Things like saying that I am against ongoing investigations. That is why they said that my SLFI speech was contrary to the pledges given during the elections. The English language media, in particular said that I had made a statement against the mandate given at the elections. That is the wrong impression created. If my full speech was taken in context, the view which I was trying to make is clear. People can easily criticise, but when you are running a Government you face various challenges, and those who criticise do not have the experiences of these challenges.

They may be able to easily make statements. It is the person who carries out the duties who knows the difficulties. In 2015, the 19th Amendment was passed with a two thirds majority with the help of those SLFP members who were not in the Government. I don’t think anywhere in the world a two thirds majority has been obtained for Constitutional changes. Only, I know about the effort taken for this. It is, as a result of it, the Independent Commissions came into existence. I created these Commissions through the 19th Amendment. What I said was that the Commissions should function impartially and independently without a political agenda.

“The investigations on large scale frauds have stopped. Only minor investigations such as the misuse of a vehicle, purchasing flag posts, and distribution of carom boards are being carried out and action filed in courts. But the expectations of the people were higher. They wanted serious frauds and corruption investigated.

“The FCID was created to investigate and take action on large scale corruption and fraud. The FCID was given a limit. But, now it has taken over all investigations. I assume it has some 400 cases. The FCID was not set up to investigate private disputes, management issues of companies, issues of board of directors, financial disputes in companies etc. That was not the purpose. Especially we wanted priority given to cases of misuse of state funds and state property and to give priority to cases of corruption, misappropriation and fraud. This is what the officials there should be doing.

“But”, the President said, “the objectives are not achieved when they concentrate on other things. Even the other institutions are same. Take the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). The Commissioners are good. They are all performing their duties honestly. The other staff should understand this. They should work honestly and impartially. That was my criticism. It was about working impartially and independently. I have been speaking of these issues within the Government for the past one year. It was how the officials at the lower ranks should act upon. That was not about telling the Commission to stop investigations or bring pressure on the investigators. I was talking about a broader issue. But, the media interpreted it in a wrong manner.

“As a result a wrong impression was created among the public. Even today what I say is that the investigations and cases of large scale corruption should be expedited.”

QWhat type of wrong interpretation was this? Could you give an example of such cases?

A: “One of them is the investigations about the deposit of moneys in a bank in Dubai. That investigation has stopped. The Avant Garde Maritime Services Limited ship is with us for the past one year. The Government Analyst’s report on this is hilarious. I hear the report says that the weapons in the ship had rubbed against each other and the numbers had got erased. Now the situation is that there is no case and we are taking care of the ship for the past year. The Thajudeen murder case (being probed by the Criminal Investigation Department – CID) is being suppressed. There is the case about the procurement of MiG-27 fighter jets. I can cite more examples. The people want to know about them.

“I need to speak out so that the truth is revealed. Otherwise the public will assume that I am not taking care of this. It is not our duty to intervene in the work of the investigative agencies. We have created them and expect them to act independently. If some of the officials, at the lower ranks do not perform their duties, the objectives are not achieved. That is the reason to make such a statement.

“I made a statement about the arrest of former Commanders. The media distorted and reported it. As the Minister of Defence, and as the Commander-inChief of the Armed Forces, I should be made aware if a serving or retired Commander is arrested and taken to courts. Like those serving, even those retired have links in the armed forces. The public perception should be understood when action is taken. We should not act against the will of the people. We should act in a manner where the wish of the public is fulfilled.

QA: “The officials should know how to do that. I do not select the cases. It is the responsibility of those officials in the respective institutions to investigate cases regarding what people expect action to be taken”.

QBy this, do you mean that action should not be taken over some cases?

A: “I have not said that. What I say is that action should be expedited and done efficiently”.

You mean in a manner that the public appreciates it?

A: “Yes”.

Are you satisfied with the functions of the Bribery Commission, FCID and the CID?

A: “Actually, the officers are taking a great effort. I am aware of that. But they need to expedite cases and they should be more efficient because it is beyond the expected time period of the public. The people expected speedy investigations and results. It is already 20 months. The investigations should be expedited as it is nearly two years. The delay is the question”.

QHow do you hope to expedite them? Is it through higher officials or through the Ministers?

A: “The Ministers are not relevant to the investigations. It is not the duty of the politicians. It is the duty of the officials who are carrying out the investigations. Earlier the politicians used to intervene. We have stopped that. Earlier telephone calls were given before judgments were delivered in courts. Investigations were stopped. It happened in that manner earlier. However, now there is no such intervention and we expect investigations to be done in the right manner. That remains the question”.

QSome say that former ministers are loyal to the Government as there are investigations against them. Your comments?

A: “That is not the reason they have joined the Government. We invited them. They did not come by force. Our manifesto said that we will form a consensual Government or a National Government. I too said this. Besides, according to the Parliamentary election results no party could have formed a government on its own. The UNP had 106 members and the SLFP (UPFA) had 95. Since no party could form a Governmen on its own it was essential to get together to form a consensual Government. Nobody came by force, but we invited them. If they did not come in we could not have formed a Government. We could not have had a Government with 106 members”.

QThere is belief that the aid and assistance expected from the US and other western countries were not what you expected. You also reportedly mentioned this. Can you comment?

A: “The Asian countries generously support us. India, China, Pakistan, Japan and Korea support us. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand are other countries also support us. Western countries too help us, particularly some of the assistance that was stopped during the Rajapaksa government’s era is now being received. For instance, specialised training provided to the armed forces from the United States and Britain has been resumed. Economic assistance from countries like the US and European countries is being received. There is investment coming from Western countries from the private sector which is strong in those countries. The ban on fish exports to European Union was lifted with the support of Western countries. We are confident that the GSP + facilities will also be restored. Therefore, the US and European countries are providing assistance. But most of the help is coming from India, Japan, China and other Asian countries.”

QHow do you do that? It was said during the previous regime that the development of the North was given to India and the South to China. What is your Government’s approach?

A: “We do not distribute districts or areas to countries. They are false reports. But, when investments come in, we decide on them. Foreign investments are one aspect. There are local investments as well. We also should look into how we could improve local industries. As an agricultural country how do we give prominence for agriculture? How do we develop local industries? For this purpose how do we get modern technology from Western and other countries? If a country needs to develop, it is more than economic assistance, we should depend on modern knowledge and technology.

“With this our intellectuals can develop the country. What we need to concentrate on bringing in is modern technology and knowledge. We need to improve the country on our own. The tourism industry is taking a leap. The fisheries industry is another. As an island nation the fisheries resources are important. We have not exploited the fisheries resources properly. Not even five per cent of it has been used. Within the country we have mineral resources which need to be given consideration. As a country, to develop, we need local and foreign investments as well as private sector to improve the Agricultural sector, self-employment, rural development and local industries”.

QA: “The incident in the north where two student deaths were reported is tragic. There is an investigation going on. There is a judicial process. We are sorry about the incident. Such incidents should not take place. The incident is a grave mistake. We have decided to pay compensation to the families of the two students.

“I think if these incidents involved students in the south, it would have been much worse. Therefore, we should not consider this as something which happened in the north. Wherever the incident took place, there will be unrest among the public in that area. There will be protests. Therefore we condemn such incidents and they should not take place”.

QA: “No. Going by the current investigations what has happened is clear. Four to five policemen are in remand custody and the Judiciary will decide on the case.

QA: “It cannot be done this year. Our expectation is that it will be done next year”.

QA: “That is mentioned in the manifesto. All things mentioned in the manifesto should be implemented”. A: “What I have said will not be changed”.

What is your policy on selling of state institutions?

A: “I do not agree with the word ‘Selling’. The media also use the word ‘selling’. Our policy is that profit making institutions should remain with the Government. They should be further developed. For the loss making institutions, we should have a scheme to develop them with the help of the private sector. This does not mean a total sale. We should enter into joint-ventures with the private sector. If there are unbearable losses there is no harm in disposing them. I will not allow institutions like Litro Gas, Lanka Hospitals (former Apollo Hospitals) and Ilmenite to be sold.”

QYour comments on the recent incidents in the North. Do you think that there were any outside elements linked to it? Will the new Constitution be ready by the end of the year. Will the Executive Presidential system also be abolished? You mentioned that you will serve only one term. Do you still maintain that position? Sections of the media have reported about speculation over a cabinet reshuffle. Any comments?

A: “We have not discussed such a thing so far”. Like some of his ministers, President Sirisena is quite conscious about the public discontent over delays or even stalling of some high profile investigations. Other than diverse political necessities that have more often brought about this situation, understandable though an undesirable feature of the UNP-SLFP alliance, there are a number of other issues too.

It is no secret that in some instances the investigators have been left to complain that there has been pressure from political leaders. On the other hand, at least a section of the ministers close to President Sirisena and are monitoring developments argue investigators are trotting out this reason for delays in most cases.

In essence what these ministers are underscoring is a need to probe the probers. That no doubt will be as time consuming as the 20 month delay already encountered. The irony here appears to be the lack of a proper Government mechanism to keep tabs on progress or otherwise of the investigations. It is still not too late to identify the real reasons and expedite the process. This, however, will have to be carried out without interference in the investigations. Of course, it is fraught with the same danger that has slowed down at least some of the mega probes.