Politicians promoting wrong development approach- JHU

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) entered mainstream politics riding on the sympathy vote created by the death of late Gangodawila Soma Thera and the growing tide of nationalism. Although they generated a lot of media hype at the beginning, in the recent past they have been strangely silent.
The Nation met Athuraliye Rathana Thera to learn more about this unusual silence on the part of the JHU…

 If they were able to carry out their plans, this country would have lost all its natural resources. Despite all their faults it is Rohana Wijeweera and Prabhakaran that prevented them from carrying out their disastrous policies. They prevented our politicians from destroying all our forests and replacing them with concrete jungles.

By Rathindra Kuruwita
Q: In the last few months the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) seems to be in political hibernation?
A: It might be true that we have not been holding political rallies or demonstrations, but we have been very active in several fields including the environment protection, and drug and alcohol prevention.
Presently our main focus is to create a broad people’s alliance to influence the Government to follow a proper national plan which the government does not seem to be following.

Q: You say that the Government does not have a proper national plan but you are a part of the government. Don’t you think that your statements are contradictory to your actions?
A: We can’t always choose what is perfect; sometimes we have to choose the better of what is available. This Government is at least trying its best to combat terrorism and have made tremendous progress, compared with the other governments. That is the main reason why we support the Government.

But if you really want to win the war, victories at the battlefield are not enough. A country should have a strong economy to safeguard the national interests. If not foreigners will come and take control of the country’s economy. As you can see Indians, Chinese and Europeans are in control of our economy. The reason for that is our politicians have been promoting a wrong development approach.

Q: What do you mean by a wrong development approach?
A: In the last 30 odd years we have been trying to measure economic development through the number of highways and number of power plants we have. There was a time when the whole world thought like that. But that period is over. In this world of environmental pollution, energy crisis and Carbon markets, no one believes that this is the correct method anymore.
If they were able to carry out their plans, this country would have lost all its natural resources. Despite all their faults it is Rohana Wijeweera and Prabhakaran that prevented them from carrying out their disastrous policies. They prevented our politicians from destroying all our forests and replacing them with concrete jungles.

I am not saying that these things are not important, but priority should be given to ways that save energy and environment. The best example for this sort of unnecessary development is the construction of Norochcholai coal power plant. Coal is not only a very high polluting source of energy, it is also a source that is destined to become expensive. With China and India consuming a lot of coal and with the rise of oil prices, they will use it more and more.

We can always use methods that would limit energy consumption, instead of building highways and fly overs and coal power plants, we should encourage eco friendly ways of transport.

Successive governments who professed to focus on the national economy have never done anything to improve renewable energy sources. Sri Lanka is full of water, so many rivers and waterfalls but we are not using them. We are depending on oil like no other country.How can anyone talk about “a national economy” when they allow all our hard earned foreign currency to be drained in this manner?
Our objective is to build a strong people’s organisation that could influence the government to follow the right path.

Q: You are talking about forcing the Government to follow the right path. But as a part of the Government isn’t it easier for the JHU, who is a part of the government to do this?
A: One must not forget that we got this power only a few years ago. But I also admit that we have not been able to carry our message to the government. That is why a strong peoples’ movement is necessary.
The people of this country are gradually moving away from physical labour. In developed countries the most important job is farming, but in this country it is a third rate job. So that is why we think that military service should be compulsory.

Q: Don’t you think that this would only increase the militarisation in the country?
A: People of this country need to go back to their traditional way of life. By this I did not mean go back to villages like Pol Pot, but to adopt a more simple way of life in a world of energy crisis and scarcity of resources.
Two years of military service will inculcate the values of simplicity, labour, strength and discipline in our young men.

Q: JHU has always claimed that it wanted to safeguard the rights of Buddhist monks. But when they were attacked in front of the Temple Trees the JHU was strangely silent?
A: No, that is a false statement. We issued a statement condemning the attack the very next day. One cannot justify the attacks on these monks by claiming that they did not adhere to a proper code of behaviour. These young students were led to the streets by the improper actions of the authorities at Buddhist Universities.

Young Bhikkus like all other students, need a proper environment to study, and it is the responsibility of the authorities to fulfill their needs. Teachers and administrators at a Buddhist University should be compassionate and understanding, but these people have nothing of these qualities.

The curriculum of these so called Buddhist universities are all wrong. What they learn at the university does not help the young Bhikkus to serve the people or build their own spirituality. Just by learning sutras is not enough, they should also be taught how to help the poor. But these universities don’t even teach meditation.
After leaving the universities they are relegated to teaching O/L Buddhism. Why should anyone waste the best time of their lives for this?

Q: The JHU insisted that the TMVP should be included in the APRC. But you did not participate in the APRC discussions last week?
A: That does not mean that we have changed our opinion. Our central committee met last Tuesday and we decided to participate in the APRC.

Q: Shouldn’t you also try to get a party like the TNA involved in the APRC?
A: Professor Tissa Vitharana openly invited them to participate in the APRC, and if the TNA wants to participate in the APRC they should be given the chance.

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