Q&A with Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa

In a meeting room at Temple Trees, the stately British-colonial residence that now makes up the President’s official compound, Mahinda Rajapaksa sat next to a framed 14th century temple painting and spoke with TIME’s Jyoti Thottam about winning the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The leader of the Tigers, Velupillai Prabhakaran, had become practically a mythical figure in Sri Lanka. What went through your mind when you heard he had been killed?
Thank the Lord. Thank the [Buddhist] Triple Gem. That was a gift.

(Read “Prabhakaran: The Life and Death of a Tiger.”)

How did he die?
We know that he was shot — that’s all. I was not interested in finding out how he was shot, but whoever that was deserved some credit. The most important thing is that he is no more. I would have preferred to bring him here and have a chat with him. I have never seen this man.

What would you have asked him?
Why he did all these mad things. [Laughs.] What else I can ask him?

The U.S. and European governments pressured you to call a cease-fire — which you resisted. Are you worried about jeopardizing that relationship?
I don’t think they’re so petty-minded. They’re the people who encouraged us to defeat terrorism. We followed what [George W.] Bush said. We accomplished what he wanted: eliminate terrorism. They must give credit to us. We fought their war. We showed that you can defeat terrorism.

Some say that the final offensive was a test case for the notion that the international community has a responsibility to protect civilians caught in the cross-fire.
It’s my citizens. I am responsible for them. I have to protect them and get them out. If I allow some foreign country to come and do that, [the LTTE] would have killed most of the people. It is my soldiers who will protect my citizens. They are my people, they are my voters … The international community must help the government if a government is elected properly by the people.

(Read “Viewpoint: Obama Failing Sri Lanka Test.”)

What if an elected government is acting against its own people?
Are you going to punish [all the] citizens for that or the man who is responsible? Take me. Say that I violated all these human rights, killed people, right? Do you punish me, Mahinda Rajapaksa, or the innocent people of this country by sanctions, embargoes, travel advisories? There are ways of punishing me if you want. There, now by saying that I will get punished. [Laughs.]

Many people feel the cost of ending the war was too high in terms of human rights, in terms of civilian casualties.
I reject that totally. There was no violation of human rights. There were no civilian casualties. If I did that, it wouldn’t have taken 21/2 years to finish this. I would have done this in a few hours. These are all propaganda.

The U.N. stands by its number: 7,000 civilian casualties.
7,000? No way. In the eastern province, zero casualties. I won’t say there are zero casualties in the north. The LTTE shot some when they tried to escape.

(Read “The Tigers’ Last Days.”)

Would you be willing to have a truth and reconciliation commission?
I don’t want to dig into the past.

Many people feel that’s exactly what Sri Lanka needs.
Then you will have the north and the south fighting each other again. I don’t want to open up this wound.

Do you believe in some kind of self-governance for the Tamils?
Don’t say Tamils. In this country, you can’t give separate areas on an ethnic basis, you can’t have this. With the provinces, certainly there must be powers, where local matters can be handled by them.

I’ve heard concern that new roads make it easier for people from the [Sinhalese-majority] south to move to the Tamil-majority north and east. Is there an effort to change the demography of the Tamil-majority areas?
No, but it’s happening in Colombo. The eastern-province Muslims have come here. The Tamils have come here. You ask them, Why are you coming here? Can I stop them? No. If anybody wants to come and live in any part of this island, it is the right of any man.

Read the Rajapaksa Interview for more excerpts.