Speaking to The Hindu here, an assured and cool Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed confidence that the national government he leads was on a good wicket and would be able to consolidate the political and economic gains made since January 2015. He said that the project of seeing through major constitutional change would succeed, and that, as part of that process, an enduring devolution-based solution to the Tamil question would be put in place.
The wide-ranging interview, which took place recently at Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister, covered or touched on political developments, the economy, devolution and the Tamil question, Sri Lanka-India relations, some other major international developments, and the political prospects of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Praising the attitude of the Tamil National Alliance leaders as “very, very constructive…[and] very, very positive,” he noted that substantial progress had been made through discussions involving the various Chief Ministers and others, and that “everyone accepts the need to resolve” the Tamil question.
Asked about the elephant in the room, the Opposition, which was adopting an ultra-nationalist stance and was poised to raise a cry that the nation was in danger, Mr. Wickremesinghe responded: “We’re all patriots, we’re all nationalists. So we have no problems dealing with anyone who wants to raise that cry. They will find that people don’t accept it. What we will decide on the nature of the state and other issues will be acceptable to everyone. We are politicians.”
Asked about the political implications of the rift within the Sri Lanka Freedom Party between the pro-Rajapaksa and pro-Sirisena groups and about the possibility of a comeback by Mr. Rajapaksa, he explained why, in his reckoning, the group around Mr. Rajapaksa sitting in the Opposition was not much of a problem and why the former President would not be able to make a comeback. Noting that people liked the idea of the two main parties working together and wanted to “see the delivery [on promises and policies] taking place,” he asserted: “As our policies succeed, people will realise that Mahinda Rajapaksa was a failure.” However, until then “you’ve got to live with a thorn on your side, and I think our political parties are capable of doing that.”
Expressing keenness on concluding the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), which was under discussion, as soon as possible in 2017, Mr. Wickremesinghe spoke warmly about bilateral relations and economic cooperation with India, and especially with the five southern States.
