“Determined to address issues in the North” Jeevan Thiagarajah

The Northern Province continues to be a sensitive area in Sri Lanka. Allegations of militarization, human rights abuses and lack of sufficient funds being allocated to the area are some of the issues often raised.

Observations made on military checkpoints

Key proposal to be made to Tamil Nadu CM

Sword group operating Bollywood style

Nexus between crime and law noted

Having talks with diplomats on human rights issue

Jaffna could well be the first cycling city

Former member of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and former head of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA), Jeevan Thiagarajah was recently appointed as the Governor of the Northern Province.
Thiagarajah has outlined some of the priority areas he hopes to focus on while he has also had several meetings with officials and politicians in the North as well as foreign diplomats.

Daily Mirror spoke to the newly appointed Governor.

Excerpts of the interview:
Q What made you accept this very important position in the North?
I’ve got a very odd response. I was already serving as a member of the Election Commissionof Sri Lanka. I just finished about 11 months of a potential five year term. Now serving in the Election Commission is pretty much public service. Very much public service. So I had already kind of taken up a public service role. And when I was asked to switch my job, it was essentially an extension of another public service role. The back of it is that without being arrogant or egoistic, my entire working career from 1983 has been about contemporary history, which is about the contemporary issues that you spoke about in the introduction. So, I would be a complete idiot if I haven’t learned something about what went on and who should have or what should not have happened in the last three and a half decades. So trying to deal with the job of a Governor was not hugely challenging, let’s put it that way.

Q Do you see a lot of issues that still require serious attention in the North? We see a lot being highlighted in the media, especially social media. Do you see some of these issues on the ground?
Answer is yes. Let’s put it this way. There have been issues and the issues have remained inconclusively. Now the reason it was inconclusive could be different factors. But whatever it may be, there are issues to be dealt with. Issues related to the citizens on the ground, issues related to commerce, issues related to investors and investments. Issues related to members of the public service. Be it education, health. Environmental issues, drains which look utterly and absolutely filthy and unattended and clogged up. Mosquitoes who take the life out of you most of the time of the day. Yes, there’s a whole bunch, a whole array of stuff which needs to be dealt with.

Q So that would give the impression that successive Governors have not then really looked into these issues.

You see, I was asked this question sometime back. Governors come and go. Governors come at a particular time and leave at a particular time of time. Let’s put it that way. I wouldn’t say history because we are talking about 10 year period. So General Chandrasiri came at a particular time, Cooray came another time. Palyakkara came at another time and Ruren Raghavan came at another time.Charles came in at another time. Each had a moment of time to deal with issues of their time. Now, I don’t know what the environment was. What the tools that were at their disposal? And I can’t get into their heads to understand how they looked at it. So, I wouldn’t really comment on what they did or did not do. I can certainly tell you what I will do.

There is going to be a 24/7 operations room which deals with impending floods, early action, natural disasters. But also to me poverty is a disaster for the human being. Basic wants, that’s a disaster. We wish to be able to listen, respond and act throughout that very fast. So, we will definitely stitch together that kind of response mechanism.

Also corruption basically is not a language which can be spoken in this province, at least to the extent we know. Illegal stuff like sand mining and all that kind of stuff, they will have to go and do that somewhere else. That’s not going to work. Violence is a no

And my final point is that we want to be a province which welcomes people to be a second home for them. That’s the direction we’re going, and we want to really, bluntly spoken, want to make money for these kids. We want to invest in this business and let it rise. And it’s a combination of the strategy used by Singapore and the kind of development in Malaysia

We would be critiqued and criticized largely and loudly by people for being completely nonfunctional. So, I don’t think most of us want to critisised for being completely incompetent or nonfunctional. 

Q But do you have the tools that you require to address the focused areas that you are looking at?
Absolutely. I’ve asked for the fine print from the Attorney-General, and I’ve actually said, look, in heaven’s name, who is this human being, the Governor? What on earth can he do? Why is he able to do what he’s supposed to do? In the meantime, pending all of that, the person of the Office of the President? He is a HE for the time being and he has directed nine Governors to go out and work as his Governors. So the person or the office of the president should be playing the same role, broadly speaking, at the provincial level. I do have a letter for a variety of different reasons, which is dated 2nd December, from the secretary to the president pretty much telling me, you just kindly go and do your job and he has informed several people saying this chap is going to do his job, please support him.

Q And does that include the military as well? Because that is one of the more sensitive issues there that the military administration gets priority over civil administration.
Perception. Everybody looks to see the strengths and weaknesses of their manager. As far as I’m concerned, there’s one Constitution we work under. The military has one commander in chief. That commander in chief happens to be my appointing and dismissing authority. And I do regularly meet with the security forces and the police together in one space. We talk of the same issues. We conclude on the same issues, like was the administration.

 
Q What are the main areas that you would be looking at?
At a macro level, I’m drawing on the best known possible advice that I can draw on in the areas of health, education, sports, environment, water, agriculture, poverty right away. I’ve got most of it up and going. We have a very exciting thrust coming in combining water, environment and agriculture. It is more than likely that Governor of the North Central Province who has loads and loads of experience as chief minister and now Governor, the two of us will definitely work together. And the two of us are likely to reach out to Governor of East because I think we are contiguous. 

For example, we will look at food security. If the three of us work together, I think we can hold food security in the country. So that’s one aspect. 

I’m seeing a whole bunch of sad, unfortunate pending issues of discrimination faced by public servants at the low end, and the biggest mistake you made is that we just keep on going around like a merry go round. Somebody comes into the province and goes around in circles for several years in one position for 5 and another one for another five. And you just become completely anesthetised to public perception. Then you become friends with each other. Then the friends run the province, which is just garbage, to say the least. So this garbage has to be shifted out, no more merry-go-round and self serving, self interested human beings looking after themselves. There are also accusations which is subject to proof. Let’s say the province has annual floods it floods in the same place. The accusation is that it’s extremely profitable when it floods for those who are supposed to intervene. There is going to be a 24/7 operations room which deals with impending floods, early action, natural disasters. But also to me poverty is a disaster for the human being. Basic wants, that’s a disaster. We wish to be able to listen, respond and act throughout that very fast. So, we will definitely stitch together that kind of response mechanism. 

The other one is that we are going green and we are going green heavily. We attach a premium to our greenness. Investments would be. You know, rather unusual, let’s put it that way. We’re going flat out for investments, but it doesn’t mean that, you know, it’s the BMW to be running it and the poor will remain poor. That is an outrage which I do not wish to see. So when we develop an area, the people of the area also go up. Also corruption basically is not a language which can be spoken in this province, at least to the extent we know. Illegal stuff like sand mining and all that kind of stuff, they will have to go and do that somewhere else. That’s not going to work. Violence is a no. Jaffna could well be the first cycling city. I think Colombo took on that particular city. But we wish to be, you know, close second to Colombo very soon, not back in a place where the well, once the Jaffna Cultural Center gets up and going it would be great fun. Poverty is a difficult one. Unemployment is a difficult one, but we cannot say its difficult and look the other way. We need to deal with it.

Of course this protest or picket line up, which is good for the time being, they’re unarmed and not with any rocks or anything far more sinister. They do protest. But I must confess, protest, if unattended for too long can lead to something more serious. We shouldn’t get there. And my final point is that we want to be a province which welcomes people to be a second home for them. That’s the direction we’re going, and we want to really, bluntly spoken, want to make money for these kids. We want to invest in this business and let it rise. And it’s a combination of the strategy used by Singapore and the kind of development in Malaysia.

Each had a moment of time to deal with issues of their time. Now, I don’t know what the environment was. What the tools that were at their disposal? And I can’t get into their heads to understand how they looked at it. So, I wouldn’t really comment on what they did or did not do. I can certainly tell you what I will do

At a macro level, I’m drawing on the best known possible advice that I can draw on in the areas of health, education, sports, environment, water, agriculture, poverty right away. I’ve got most of it up and going. We have a very exciting thrust coming in combining water, environment and agriculture

 I’m seeing a whole bunch of sad, unfortunate pending issues of discrimination faced by public servants at the low end, and the biggest mistake you made is that we just keep on going around like a merry go round. Somebody comes into the province and goes around in circles for several years in one position for 5 and another one for another five

 

Q Something that has been spoken off in the recent past has been about the security issue in Jaffna. There have been reports of a sword group operating in Jaffna. And then there are also some reports of LTTE elements moving around in the North. Is there a security issue?
Yeah. Blunt, candid. We have contraband broadly, specifically the ganja and the whatnot. So this is the kind of the landing point and the road route to the rest of Sri Lanka, that’s factually correct. We’ve also got kind of a fondness to promote extremism. Religious intolerance is there. Without branding any particular agency, forms of violent extremism which may have ceased to exist in the country, live in other countries offshore, which have roots in the Northern province and those roots are active, are supporting. There are transactions and these conversations are going on. Its very unhealthy. I’m being rather sort of kind by saying it’s unhealthy. It doesn’t have any good intention whatsoever. So its there. There is a threat, no doubt about it. And until that threat is there, I think the security forces will keep their shutters up. No doubt. 

The fourth dimension is Avaa. It became a fad. You know, Bollywood style. They’ve actually turned out all manners of ornamental swords and designed it and customised it. Evidently, some of these guys, when they go on the road on a motorbike, they drag these sword looking things on the grounds. Sparks fly. A whole bunch of movie stuff going on. Of course jumping into houses, Karate Kid, chopping a few hands and all, that’s gone. The instructions are very strict. Of course, money changes hands so that sometimes there’s a nexus between crime and law, which you can’t micromanage. But the policy is, don’t even think about.

Q Something that has been discussed on social media is the presence of security checkpoints in the North. Some say that they are required and other say no. What is your take?
There are checkpoints that I see, yes. But let’s say, you know, without commenting on other parts of the country, don’t you have sudden check-points in the city of Colombo in the middle of the night? There are checkpoints, but I would say that if you really want to sniff out people who shouldn’t be doing things, they are not going to come and say did you see my badge? I’m a member of this. So I think you need to use a lot of prior information. You have to be extremely, very smart about the use of the information and data. An analogy would be, let’s say, if you see the convoy of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom going on the road, people ask where is his security? How come? A few cars and some bikes running around it. Thats saying something more. I am also saying something else here. That in confronting some of these things that you use other methods, other methods which are not necessarily visible all the time to confront it. But the optics, I presume the optics also have a role to play.

Q So in essence, you’re saying that these checkpoints are not really required.
I’m not saying that. I just said that the optics on this is necessary because the optics are necessary. But you know, you’re not going to be carrying an armload of gelignite with you, as you travel on a motorcycle on the main road. But it’s also about saying the law and order is watching you. We are watching you.

Q But doesn’t that spread fear in the North, especially in people coming from outside?
I hope not. That’s the way I put it. But I think the proof of the pudding is, how many buses do this night run? There are buses doing a huge run. The positioning of the checkpoints is such that you can’t be driving through those checkpoints without being stopped. I have made my observations about the practice at these checkpoints. I have clearly indicated my observations on the checkpoints.

Q An issue that has been there since C.V Wigneswaran was appointed as the chief minister of the North, is that the provincial council does not work well with the existing Governor. The provincial council is now dissolved but do you think that you can work with them to address some of the core challenges, core issues that are existence in the North?
We have to. Because I think whatever our personal characters, personalities, preferences may be, we have to work together. We are meant to work together. Simply put, we would be in violation of the Constitution. We’d be wasting resources. We would be critiqued and criticized largely and loudly by people for being completely nonfunctional. So, I don’t think most of us want to be critisised for being completely incompetent or nonfunctional. 

Q The idea of bringing back the Sri Lankan community in Tamil Nadu was something that even the former Governor had been considering. Is that a process that you are going to be setting the groundwork for?
 Yeah, I can now speak publicly of the fact that I have got the clearance to write to Chief Minister Stalin. So I actually did a draft and I got the clearance of the text. I’m looking to find ways to ensure that he gets the copy of the letter fairly quickly. And one of the areas which I like to discuss with him is to enable, subject to everybody agrees, that Sri Lankans who are refugees in Tamil Nadu get to come here. Spend some time, maybe, let’s say, two years and see if it works, if it works then fine. If it doesn’t work, that they have a right to return to where they were as well. So yes, the answer is yes. And before they come, we would really like to help them to prepare, identify where they used to be, where they were, where they wish to be? What are the essential services they require? There’s absolutely no doubt we want to do that.

Q The human rights issue takes centre stage every time the North is discussed. Families of the disappeared are looking for answers. Families of those killed during the war are looking for answers. What do you see yourself doing to address some of these issues?
Sure. I do not claim to be the front end of the enterprise simply because we have and this is not ducking it, we have what is called a unity cluster. You have the office of missing, the office of reparation and office of reconciliation. Together, they have a scintillating policy, to say the least. They need to now make that real. So we are dealing with it. We need to show integrity and credibility and responsiveness. This is really up to them to present that. There is no shortage of support from us to do that. There are only two countries in the contact group or co-chairs on Sri Lanka and Geneva, but each met me here as well. We’ve invited engagement. We want to talk to each other regularly. They have very kind, very helpful ideas for us saying, you know, do you realise what, 2022 is on this subject? What are your plans about that? I gather the Foreign Ministry is also doing certain things. So we are alive to the need to be responsive and to conclude and to do things.