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by Nandaratna Rajapaksha

When one looks around what is most visibly seen today is an attempt to split the country on the basis of race and religion. If this small country is allowed to disintegrate according to ethnicity Sri Lanka would soon be reduced to nothingness, said Mahinda Rajapakse Minister of Ports, Shipping and Fisheries addressing a rally after he laid the foundation stone for a Fishery harbour complex project at Ambalangoda on Friday November 9th.

This public meeting was held near the Ambalangoda public market.

He said, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has a transparent plan on his political agenda for the withdrawal of troops from war zones and to place the Northern and Eastern provinces under LTTE control for a trial if he wins this General Election.

In the context of what Ranil himself says if, by some chance or other the UNP wins the poll the country will witness a drastic political change which would be seen as ominous of disaster for the whole country.

In such a situation the North and the East will invariably fall to the LTTE. The enemy will subvert the state. Ranil Wickremesinghe manifests a fierce determination to ascend to power even by putting the country's security at risk. He said a cluster of Tamil politicians who hold on to the notion of separatism act in unison to support the country's break up.

These Tamil political groups who have formed an alliance with the UNP have openly said that they chose Ranil as their leader because they want to make a combined effort in launching a sustained agitation campaign in and outside Parliament for a separate state of their own.

He said the UNP leader feels himself secure and protected when he goes to the North and East but he needs bodyguards when he tours the South.

Wrong policies of the UNP could endanger the Sinhala population. Sixty thousand Sinhala youth were killed during the UNP's infamous massacre in the recent past. The Premadasa regime did not hesitate to liquidate their rivals Minister Rajapakse said.

He said the decision that you make on the fifth of December will undoubtedly be the most momentous decision in the history of Sri Lanka. If you have any thoughts on the future survival of this Sinhala race, the religion and the motherland you will not make an error in your judgment.

Before I conclude, I would remind you that President Kumaratunga has placed much emphasis on spurring economic growth in the Southern province. Before the advent of the Chandrika Administration in 1994 all previous governments had just one Cabinet Minister from the whole of Southern province but we see an increased number of Cabinet ministers from the South in President Kumaratunga's government.

Please use your vote to elect PA candidate Sharn Vijayalal as your new MP for Ambalangoda and thereby show your support to President Kumaratunga's efforts to improve and develop the Southern province, said the Minister.

Minister Rajapakse added that the construction work on the fishery harbour complex at Ambalangoda will be completed within three years from now according to agreed terms with the Asian Development Bank and the project will cost Rs. 400 million.

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