“Country run according to the whims of a few” - Ven. Rathana Thera

Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera, who recently said he would act independent of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) as his party, speaks about the ideology of his new political movement and the plans for the future in politics. He played a pivotal role in the formation of the new government. He shared the following:

When I say a state of confusion, it does not mean an extremely bad situation. Had the previous rule existed up to now, the situation would have been even more complicated by now. It would have led to a revolt against the government then. Today, society is free. There is space for dialogue. However, there is confusion in the way the government is run today. That has to be corrected

• Situation would have been even worse if the previous rule remained

• All LTTE cadres, military personnel should be released forthwith 

• Police service should be structurally changed

• Armed police service needed to combat crime

• Civil police service should be decentralized to the provincial level

• Most enjoy their perks today because of me

• For one year within the party, I did not speak with Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka even for five minutes

Q: What is the way forward for your newly formed National Council?

I intervened in the installation of this government representing Pivithuru Hetak, an organization spearheaded by me. For that, I had a series of meetings. Its role became crucial in the establishment of this government. It was possible to elect President Maithripala Sirisena because of my involvement. Next, I believe I would be able to do active politics for another ten more years. During this period, I thought I should unite all national forces. There are civil society organizations, social services movements and, above all, religious organizations comprising Buddhist monks and the clergy of other religions – Christian, Hindu and Islam. I thought of a broad forum where all of them could stand together. Especially, there is intelligentsia concerned about the country’s future. Yet, there is no forum for them to speak. I wanted to fill that vacuum. Today, we see the country being run according to the whims of a few individuals. We have to stop it. We have to work out a broad, national programme to change the course of this government. More than a programme, it is a vision for the country to be worked out.   

Q: Some people say the country is in a state of confusion today. You also said the country is run according to the whims of a few. Do you feel that you are also responsible for it because of your role in the installation of it?

When I say a state of confusion, it does not mean an extremely bad situation. Had the previous rule existed up to now, the situation would have been even more complicated by now. It would have led to a revolt against the government then. Today, society is free. There is space for dialogue. However, there is confusion in the way the government is run today. That has to be corrected.   

Q:  You are just one member in Parliament. How can you do it without the support of others?

At that time, there was a great deal of trumpeting that Mahinda Rajapaksa could not be unseated. We did it. An individual with dedicated commitment could do a lot of things with the backing of others. I have committed my life to a course.  

"I signed the agreement along with Champika Ranawaka because we were together in the same party for a long time. The UNP also invited me. I declined to contest elections. I feel ashamed to contest election. Most enjoy their perks today because of me"

Q: Do you think some more MPs would join hands with you?

I cannot say it at this moment. Let alone the parliamentarians, it is clear to me that a large number of people would rally behind me.   

Q: What is your opinion on President Sirisena and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe?

You are asking very difficult questions. It is not nice for me to express my individual opinion regarding them. In general, there should be consensual approach between the parties they represent. That is to bring out a vision for the country. In the absence of it, we see them working separately. The government is not on a common agenda. The government does not stick to a common approach. Instead, small individual groups are at play.   

Q: There is a perception that you formed this movement in view of the Presidential polls scheduled for 2020. What is your response?

At the beginning, I never had the idea of unseating MR and be replaced with President Sirisena. Even now, I have no idea of what’s to be done in 2020. There is a long time left for it. It is difficult for us to say whether President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe will be contesting. Also, we do not know whether another one will come in their place. There is a duty cast upon us. That is to prevail upon the current government to deliver. We cannot get it done by quitting the government. Anybody can dream of becoming the next President. There is no ban on it. I have never uttered that so and so should become the next President. We believe in creating ideologies and then find the individuals who can drive them. If one focuses on Individual centric politics, it is nothing but political bankruptcy. We believe in the formation of ideologies, not individual figures. In politics, individual centric approach is pursued by one due to political bankruptcy 
and imprudence.   

Q: What is the national economic policy of your movement?

Today, there is no vision for development in the country. Some believe in industrialization of this country with foreign investment. We do not have foreign investors as such in the world today. Only China can pump in money for investment in the globe. The United States is now encouraging its companies for inbound investments. It is opting for national economy from free, liberalized economy. Britain is embracing the same model. Industrialization, as a model for growth, had a golden space after the World War II. Now, that era is gone. We had a chance between 1970 and 1990. Today, it is longer there. The energy crisis is looming, oil and coal resources would be exhausted completely in another 50 years. We feel the effect of environmental damage caused by the excessive use of these resources.   

Q: You promote organic farming. What is the impact it has made so far in the economy?

With the use of organic fertilizer, we cultivated lands. Of that land extent, 90% was devoted to high yield paddy crops. Here, we have to consider the advantage of cultivating traditional paddy varieties. We promote high yield crops in organic agriculture. There is lamentation that crop yields less in organic agriculture. Also, it is lamented that it is difficult to find or produce organic fertilizer. We have rubbished all that.   

Q: How many acres have you cultivated in this manner?

In the past, we had our land extent scattered throughout the country. It was around 20,000 acres of paddy cultivation, 3,000 acres with other crops. We had some 3,000 acres of tea cultivation. We cultivated less this time because rain failed in these areas. Leaving aside these lands, we planned to cultivate newly identified 50,000 acres yet in two identified locations this time . We strove to do it. It was an arduous task to encourage people to opt for it. We have trained around 2,000 farmers. It is a revolution. The result is high yields. In organic agriculture, the harvest improves. It is more climate-resilient. It is less water intensive. If we opt for organic agriculture, we can save Rs.80 billion to be spent otherwise for agro-chemical imports.   

"Today, we see the country being run according to the whims of a few individuals. We have to stop it. We have to work out a broad, national programme to change the course of this government. More than a programme, it is a vision for the country to be worked out"

Q: What is your position on the Constitution making process amid allegations that plans are in place to do away with the foremost place accorded to Buddhism?

There are proposals in the documents worked out. There is stress on the removal of the foremost place to Buddhism. There are proposals to that effect. Also, there are proposals to do away with the unitary status of the constitution. It is a concept paper. If the executive presidency is abolished in full, the unitary status will automatically be abolished. As a result, we had a policy agreement with President Sirisena right at the beginning. We only wanted to reduce powers of it, that look draconian in nature. In this exercise, executive powers needed to uphold the unitary character should not be scrapped.   

Q: Would you defeat that exercise through your movement?

There is nothing to defeat. A two-thirds is needed in Parliament to do it. The President has no mandate to do it. Both the PM and/or MR have no such mandate. Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has articulated clearly that it would not be abolished.   

Q: Recently, you have advocated the devolution of police power. How should it be done?

I only talked about the structural changes of the police service. We have to bring about a change in its outlook. I am saying that even the dress code should be changed. We have to restore its image. We have to categorize the police service into two. We need an armed police service specifically trained to combat crimes- murders, drug trafficking, house-breaking and all. Armed police personnel are not needed to carry out civil functions such as traffic control, the conduct of state events etc. For that, a separate civil police service should remain. The civil police service can be decentralized even to the north. But, the armed police service should be vested with the centre. For people in Jaffna, there is no need to depend on police personnel from the south to conduct their events and all. Crime combatting should be solely with the police service coming under the purview of the central administration. Yet, the police power related to civil affairs should be decentralized as much as possible. For that purpose, a separate unit can be set up in the police. Its service can be decentralized to the level of Divisional Secretariats. It does not mean devolution of police power to the provincial councils.   

Q: Where did you get such an idea from? 

This is my idea. I spoke to the TNA as well. Its views also helped me in the formation of my opinion. In Costa Rica, there is no military. In Europe, the police personnel are clad in white. Ours is a civilized country. We have to depart from feudal thinking. Instead of colonial police service, we should think of our own police service. We have to amalgamate the military and police intelligence services.   

Q: There is an allegation against this government about the victimization of intelligence officers. Could you share your views?

It is an endless exercise to identify those responsible for crimes committed in the war situation. We rehabilitated 11,000 LTTE combatants, and some of them were recruited to the Civil Defence Force. They may be the ones responsible for the massacre of Bhikkhus in Arantalawa; the bomb attacks on Dalada Maligawa or Jayasiri Maha Bodhi. Why is the TNA advocating punitive action actions against the members of the security forces only? Didn’t the LTTE commit murders? So many Tamil political leaders were wiped out by the LTTE.   
I am saying that all the LTTE cadres serving in jail at the moment should be released. Alongside, all inquiries against military personnel should be stopped forthwith. We have to resolve the matter in that way once and for all. Our leaders do not have the guts to say it. That is the Buddhist approach. A general amnesty should be advocated for all. Otherwise, it would be a futile, endless exercise.   

Q: We encountered criticism against you in the social media. Your latest move is criticized as another gimmick to stay in politics after your earlier moves were rendered invalid in politics today. How do you respond to this?

I became a member of the clergy at the age of 14. It happened without my knowledge. After I knew, I sacrificed my life for a worthy cause in society. I never had an idea of becoming a parliamentarian. Yet, I had a political purpose to change the direction of the country. I gave my thought to it. There were duties cast upon us as the situations warranted in the past. All should look at it positively. We sacrificed our entire lives as youths to this cause. We were beaten by the police. We were jailed. We had a continual struggle based on ideologies.   

Q: Recently, you said you would be independent in Parliament. At the same time, you said you would not leave the government. What is this contradiction?

I never said I would leave the government. For one year within the party, I did not speak with Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka even for five minutes. Then, how could I hold any responsibility there? There is no need to say that I am independent during the period. It is virtually there. The JHU never asked to say that MR would be defeated. The JHU never asked me to have the crucial public meeting at that time. I only voted against the Casino project first. The JHU also voted against it. But, I did it first. There is no ideological clash with the JHU.   

Q: The JHU is asking you to resign from the MP seat. How do you react?

At that time, I could have secured an MP’s slot with whatever the party I would have liked to. I could have signed the agreement for it with Premier Ranil. I had a political clout. With that clout I got it. I could have secured votes with that clout from whatever side. Both the UNP and the SLFP wanted to accommodate me. I signed the agreement along with Champika Ranawaka because we were together in the same party for a long time. The UNP also invited me. I declined to contest elections. I feel ashamed to contest election. Most enjoy their perks today because of me.   

"We cannot get it done by quitting the government. Anybody can dream of becoming the next President. There is no ban on it. I have never uttered that so and so should become the next President"