"I am a prisoner within these walls… it’s almost as if I am in a nunnery"

We were not elected on the promise of peace only, but on several platforms. Peace was just one of them and a lot has happened. We have brought in new constitutional proposals. We have done a lot of work to increase awareness amongst the people, especially amongst the Sinhala majority, of the need for a political solution. We have tried our best as far as the LTTE is concerned but when they broke the peace I gave an address to the nation saying that we have been compelled into themilitary conflict again by the LTTE but it is not a war against the Tamil people. We have received the approbation of the majority Sinhala people, the acceptance of the Tamil people and the Muslim people. A (recent) Gallup survey showed a 54 to 55 per cent Yes to devolution.

There is a feeling that the right time to make a breakthrough would have been immediately after you captured Jaffna from the LTTE.

That is why we struck while the iron was hot. I brought the devolution proposals to the country three months after the LTTE struck and then we were waiting for Jaffna and that was a good time. The UNP had quite clearly told us that they will support us in the select committee and then they backtracked. We thought they were honest. But they played a very odd game.

But if you have the people’s support, why not just go ahead and hold a referendum on your devolution proposals? Or have you put off the referendum because of political interests?

Nonsense! We have not done anything for politicalconsiderations. We have a mission and we have gone on with the mission despite all sorts of political pitfalls. What is the use of having a referendum if you can’t make it law?

Do you think you still have the support of Tamils who voted for you in the last elections?

You know Sri Lankan people are very impatient. They think you can do things as fast as lightning. The Tamil people are disappointed that we have not been able to solve this problem soon. But I also know they believe in our sincerity, they know that we have done a lot, but have not been able to achieve the final goal.

Do you see an olive branch in (V.) Prabhakaran’s recent statement that he’s ready for talks on talks?

Well, you see, Mr Prabhakaran has lied so much through his teeth, he has broken so many promises that it is very difficult to believe anything he says. But we have always said, even if we don’t believe somebody, if it is necessary for the sake of the country, one has to talk.

The LTTE is a pretty ruthless.How fearful are you for your life?

(laughs) Well, it is terrible. I am not frightened, I have no fears. If I did I wouldn’t have taken on this job. But it has affected my political as well as my personal life. I am a prisoner within these four walls. I am a person who is a hands-on politician. Until this war began I travelled the length and breadth of this country going from village to village and I used to go and sit with the people and talk with them. I am sure the main opposition party must be delighted with Mr Prabhakaran for what he has done.

My personal life is certainly affected. I am a total prisoner in this place. It’s almost as if I’ve gone into a nunnery. I am person whose idea of entertainment is to go for walks on the beach, visit museums. I love the theatre, I love the cinema, I like music. I can only see or listen to them at home. But I know it is for a limited period of time. I am not going to hang around in this job for a long time, so it’s like a meditation.

Do you think yourcensorship of the media has taken away from your credentials as a democratic leader?

Many democratic countries, including the mother of all democracies, the UK, have imposed media censorship during war times. And the media in this country has been very irresponsible. It was demoralising the forces, some of the lies they say. We would like to lift it as fast as possible but when that moment is we will have to decide.

There is a feeling that this whole mess can be sorted out only through third-party mediation.

We don’t want mediation, we want facilitation. A facilitator just puts the two parties together and remains in the background…

So have you approached a facilitator?

For the moment I cannot say anything. We will let you know in time.

Do you agree that without a green light from India, there can be no resolution of the Sri Lankan conflict?

Sri Lanka and India are two sovereign nations who have had very good relations and at times not very good relations. At themoment, the Indian governments that have been there, and this government, has come to a very good agreement that India will respect our sovereignty and we will sort our problem by ourselves.

Still, Sri Lankans don’t seem to trust India completely.

There is no dislike but a general fear and I think that fear is one that most small nations have about very big dominant neighbours. But I believe it is very possible to change this.

There is also the fear here that if the ethnic problem drags on, the kind of support we saw in Tamil Nadu for Tamils here, might resurface.

Our experience is that if the Indian people, including the Tamils of India, see that the government in power has a just and fair policy of dealing with the Tamils here, they wouldn’t want to interfere. I strongly believe that situation exists now.

When you go to Delhi later this month, it has been reported that India and Sri Lanka will sign a free trade agreement? How will it help Sri Lanka?

It helps us a great dealbecause it opens out a large market which has been closed to us for a long time. As far as India is concerned, Sri Lanka’s markets were open to India and we have been much more open than India for quite some time. So what we may be getting from India now is what India has had from us for more than a decade. But in addition to that, we are also giving the maximum concessions that India has asked for.