What I did for Polonnaruwa has not been done since the time of Kings: Sirisena

Maithripala Sirisena broke the mould by challenging his boss and defeating him to become the President of Sri Lanka in 2015. And now, he has followed his erstwhile leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa to return to Parliament and continue his political journey from the House.

His victory at the Presidential election was a watershed in Sri Lanka’s contemporary history. He was the pivot around which all forces against the Rajapaksa juggernaut of that day united.

Excerpts from the interview:

On why he contested the Parliamentary rather than Presidential election

During the Presidential election that Gotabaya Rajapaksa contested as SLPP candidate, the SLFP and SLPP held talks to form an alliance. President Rajapaksa and I met many times to discuss the founding of this alliance, for nearly one year before last November’s election. Each time, President Rajapaksa requested that I support him at the Presidential election. Mahinda and Basil Rajapaksa, too, met me before the election to discuss the formation of the alliance. All three even attended discussions with me together. The f inal one was at the Presidential Secretariat. It was as a result of these talks that I decided to contest the Parliamentary election.

The SLFP Parliamentary Group and Central Committee also asked me to contest as SLFP Chairman. So did over 70 SLFP Councillors and Pradeshiya Sabha Members in Polonnaruwa.

I will not contest for the presidency or prime ministerial position again. The country is now in a very difficult situation. We are facing a multitude of crises, economically, politically and socially. President Rajapaksa is an excellent leader and our party and I, personally, have joined forces with him purely out of good intentions.

Some people sling mud at us, saying we intend to join forces with others once we get into Parliament. I reject such disgusting allegations. Our politics has always been clean. My politics has been based on principles. That is why we entered into this alliance and why I chose to contest.

On why he didn’t abolish the Executive Presidency

We needed a two- thirds majority in Parliament to do that. We didn’t have such a majority. The Government had 106 seats while the opposition had over 90. How could I abolish the Executive Presidency without a two-thirds majority?

On why he changed political direction and started criticising the 19th Amendment

I have not changed my political direction at all. I have been in politics for 53 years, and all those years were spent on one political path. I have always had the same political vision and set of principles.

All Presidents before me promised to cut down their powers but did not do so. I spent two days in Parliament winning over MPs for the 19th Amendment, and it was approved mainly due to my intense lobbying. If I had kept away, the 19th Amendment would never have passed. I was the one who convinced every single SLFP MP to vote for the amendment. The UNP had only 47 seats while the SLFP and the UPFA had 142 seats. A total of 215 out of 225 MPs voted for the 19th Amendment because of me.

The best thing about the Amendment is the independent commissions. I am also glad it reduced the powers of the Executive Presidency. I was so critical of the Amendment later because, upon closer inspection, I realised that Ranil Wickremesinghe and his NGO cabal had transferred certain powers of Executive Presidency to the Speaker. This meant the country had three leaders under the Constitution: the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker.

The Speaker had control over the independent commissions. The 19th Amendment clearly states there should be regulations to govern the independent commissions. But the former Speaker chose not issue them. This is why the Election Commission, Police Commission, Public Service Commission, the Human Rights Commission, etc, have now come under attack. The Speaker controlled the commissions. I criticised this practice as the Speaker is only empowered to look into the affairs of Parliament. He has no right to get involved in ruling the country. The 19th Amendment, however, gave the Speaker an avenue to rule the country.

On whether he’d still be President had the Executive Presidency not been abolished

If you recall, I addressed the nation in front of the historic ‘Magul Maduwa’ in Kandy four days after I was sworn in as President where I said I had no intention of running for a second term. I kept my promise. I reduced my powers and I did not run for a second term.

On whether his rift with Ranil Wickremesinghe was because he took himself too seriously

I’m not the one who took myself too seriously. I swore in Ranil Wickremesinghe as Premier as soon as I became President, but he broke the pledges in our agreement during that first week itself.

I had pledged to adopt a scientific method when appointing our Cabinet. An expert committee I appointed had already sorted out the ministerial subjects according to such a method. He chose to give Highways and Higher Education to one person and jumbled up many other subjects. I did not choose to pick a fight then as we had only just formed a government.

The rift started during the Central Bank robbery. Wickremesinghe and the UNP started attacking me from that time. If I had let them continue to rob the country without appointing a Presidential Commission to probe the matter, they would have still been happy with me. They distributed the billions robbed from the Central Bank among themselves. That’s the real story. Those who ask these questions don’t talk about that.

On the positives of his tenure as President

There are plenty of positives. It was because I became President in 2015 that democracy was re- established in the country.

As journalists, you know that it was during my tenure media freedom was at its peak. That amount of freedom had not existed under any previous President. No President has ever been more attacked by the media than me. No journalists were forced to flee the country during my tenure, no one had their limbs broken and no one was murdered. No media institutions were set on fire.

The media were free to write whatever they wanted under me. People were also free to protest and to hold Satyagrahas. I would say that democracy simply overflowed under my rule. The passage of the Right to Information Act was a historic milestone of my tenure.

At a time when various monks were starting to interpret the Tripitaka in a wrong manner, I declared it a national heritage and handed it over to the United Nations to make it a world heritage. It will be declared a world heritage in a couple of years. I also declared sacred areas in Sri Pada and Somawathiya.

I signed gazettes declaring 165 unprotected forests as forest reserves. No Government has ever done more to protect the country’s environment than mine. I deployed the tri-forces and police to protect the environment. I established environment units in every school and village.

No other Government has implemented such a comprehensive drug eradication programme. We managed to apprehend international drug lords like Madush and bring them back to the country. We also did a lot of work on rehabilitation of those addicted to drugs.

The first Act I presented to Parliament in 2015 was regarding pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. There has also been talk in this country for over 50 years on the need to introduce a new Act on pharmaceutical drugs. I managed to pass the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act within three months of becoming President. No one talks about that now.

All the talk prior to the 2015 Presidential Election was about electric chairs and international courts. I stopped all that. I discussed these matters with world leaders and I told them to let me develop the country and bring about reconciliation.

No President has visited the North as many times as me. I went to the North on 27 occasions and to the East on 17 occasions, to look into their development.

I met with people every morning, wherever I was in the country. They came in large numbers to see me. Among the other achievements are the Suraksha Insurance scheme, the 1990 Suwaseriya Ambulance Service and the Moragahakanda- Kaluganga reservoir development project.

To list all that was achieved under my tenure, I’ll need to write a book running into 1500 to 2000 pages.

I strengthened international relationships, both with the East and West. Not only did I establish diplomatic relations with world leaders such as Xi Jinping, Obama, Modi, Putin and others. I also made them my personal friends. That did a great service to this country.

I did a lot to safeguard the country. I abolished the trade pact with Singapore, which Ranil Wickremesinghe signed in secret. I opposed the agreement he signed with China on the Hambantota Port. They tried to sign it in my office but I chased them away. That’s how I worked.

On whether this meant there was major conflict between Wickremesinghe’s principles and his

That’s the thing. I did not have a PM, a Cabinet or a Parliament to back me. I’m the only President who ruled the country without the backing of any of them. I maintained this Government almost single- handedly for four- and- ahalf years.

On whether he let down those who wanted him to deliver a Yahapalana Government

Not at all. I got a lot of work done even amidst the conflicts. There were shouting matches, fights, resignations and firings. I removed Ranil Wickremesinghe as PM and installed Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. I did a lot of work for the country.

I turned Polonnaruwa on its head with all the development projects I initiated. What I did for Polonnaruwa has not been done since the time of Kings.

On whether his sacking of the Prime Minister was an impeachable offence

Well, if that was the case, they should have done it then. Why talk about it now?

On being accused of spitting the UNP by promoting its breakaway leader

What can I do about the crises within the UNP? I’m not a member of the UNP. That is a matter for the UNP members. The UN Pers came to me with a sheaf of betel leaves and begged me to become their Presidential candidate since they could not find one among their members. I never went to them.

How can I promote a breakaway leader of the UNP when I’m not even a member of their party? That should be done by those who hold the UNP membership.

On whether the SLFP he presides over is just the party rump

We aren’t the tail of anyone. Political parties the world over undergo difficulties, but they emerge stronger. I can firmly say that the SLFP has a very good future ahead of it. We are part of an alliance now and I can see that the SLFP is on track for a bright future.

On whether he will hand back SLFP leadership to Gotabaya or to Mahinda Rajapaksa

That is complete garbage. Who made up this story for you? We have never had a discussion on handing over the party leadership to anyone. Any matter on party leadership is up to the SLFP Central Committee. Any rumours being circulated about a change in party leadership are completely false.

On recent media reports that he told SLFP activists in Kalutara that there will soon be a change in party leadership

What I said was that we will bring a lot of new, young, educated faces to the party in future to strengthen the party and take it forward. I told them that we will take more educated young people into the party.

On what portfolio he would like

There are still some 300 projects under the‘ Awakening Polonnaruwa’ programme that I launched during my Presidency yet to be completed. I want to see those projects finished. Farmers are able to plant in two cultivations seasons a year now due to water being plentiful on account of our reservoir projects. I want to improve the situation further to help them plant three seasons.

Regarding the development of human resources, I want to establish more technical and science colleges. The trilingual school that India gifted to me will be completed in Polonnaruwa by the end of this year. The kidney hospital that China is building here is also ongoing. Construction of a Vocational Training College, which will be erected using aid from the Netherlands, will begin soon. All of these will be for all children in the country, not just for those in Polonnaruwa. I want to see all that work in Polonnaruwa being completed.

I don’t care if I get a ministerial portfolio or not. I will continue working regardless. I know how to innovate. During my years in politics, I have been a minister for 26 years, a President for slightly less than five years. Even when I was President, I undertook work that did not come under the scope of the President. I looked into environmental protection, child protection, drug eradication, treatment of kidney patients and many other national projects. I am not someone who is constrained by books and circulars. I know how to innovate. Whether I get a ministerial position or not, I can innovate and do a lot of work.

On him telling a meeting in Polonnaruwa that he isn’t returning to Parliament to be a peon

I meant what I said. I’m going as an MP, not as a peon. When I go there, I will get to meet professionals, foreign delegates and those with various connections. I will obtain their assistance and complete the development of Polonnaruwa.

On him challenging his leader in 2014 and going back to him in a secondary role

I have never played a secondary role anywhere. I am the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Nidahas Podujana Sandanaya. Mahinda Rajapaksa is the leader of this alliance. I am also the Chairman of the SLFP and the UPFA. There are no complicated threads to untie here. Our biggest challenge is to bring the country out of the abyss it has fallen. The country is facing a severe economic crisis. Ordinary people don’t really understand the enormity of the crisis we are facing. Even most politicians don’t understand it. We need to stop with all this mudslinging and get together to form a strong government. We have to bring our people out of poverty. Going forward, I intend to focus my energies on these issues.