Address to the nation after assuming office as the fourth Executive President of Sri Lanka - November 12, 1994

I assume office as the Fourth President of Sri Lanka at a momentous turning point in the history of our nation. The people have overwhelmingly demonstrated their collective desire for democracy, for peace, for honesty and efficiency in government affairs and for an economic policy which will offer to everyone the privileges so jealously guarded by a handful of self seeking unscrupulous elements.

I have no words to express appropriately how deeply touched and overwhelmed and how humbled I am to witness the immense confidence and faith the nation has reposed in me and my government.

The scale and dimension of the mandate that has been given to us knows no parallel in the history of elections of the democratic world. Yet, it is even more significant to note that all the peoples of Sri Lanka, in all their diversity, have spoken in one loud and unswearing voice.

I take this opportunity to bow in homage before the courage, the political acumen and the quiet determination of our people in the resolve to triumph over the might of state terror and political victimization.

I take this opportunity to pay homage and gratitude to my parents for teaching me the lessons of honesty, sincerity and commitment to the people of one's land is worth much more than money could buy. I also pay gratitude at this moment to my husband Vijaya for the courage and the support that he gave me right throughout our political life together.

The unsurpassed dimensions of this victory cannot be understood merely in terms of an achievement of an individual or even in terms of a political party.

Our people are well aware that whatever strength of mind, heart and the will I possess, is entirely at the service of the nation.

I have long dedicated myself to the well-being of my country and today is the suitable day for the renewal of that commitment.

This victory is not mine alone. It is the fruit of painstaking labour and resolve of every segment of the Sri Lankan community spread all over the country during the days of darkness which engulfed our land in the recent past.

The magnitude of this victory is indicative of the extent to which the people of a country motivated and enthused can strive against overwhelming odds and achieve posterity through emancipation from the harshest tyranny.

It is to the vast mass of our people, who have made their contributions to and kept this struggle alive in the face of terrific odds, in the darkest epoch in our country's contemporary history, that I pay my warm and humble tribute on this occasion.

In the words of my father, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, "the indomitable, unconquerable spirit of our people" has proved strong enough to challenge and eventually to prevail against the oppressive regime of the past seventeen years.

It is appropriate at this time to take stock of the current national condition and to reflect on the reasons that underpinned this avalanche of popular feeling.

The people of our country in displaying their strong resolve to give me and the People's Alliance, a victory of this scale signify their profound desire for change.

Their vote is in essence and above all else, a vote for change. The changes, which Sri Lanka's electorate looks forward to are as diverse as they are far-reaching. Preeminent among the changes that our people yearn for is the rejection, absolute and uncompromising, of violence and terror they had endured in silence-the pain of senseless killings and disappearances of their loved ones.

During the era that spanned almost two decades, human life became incredibly cheap. State terror raised its ugly head and continued unabated in its destructive path.

A callous regime, which looked upon political power solely for the attainment of its narrow and selfish ends, violated all canons of decency, equity and fair-play with impunity and left behind a society yearning for sense of security and fulfilment in the absence of all accepted norms and values.

The people of Sri Lanka have told with patent clarity to all who care to listen, "gone are the days when might was right, when everything was negotiable and when the state refined and streamlined all forms of organized violence".

The verdict of the people was in favour of the supremacy of law; the enthronement of democratic ideals and values and the restoration of decency, morality and conscience to the process of government.

Our people have voted decisively against corruption and the abuse of power, which had taken deep root and spread right through the social and political fabric of our nation.

It had terribly bedevilled every civilized institution we held sacred.

The people have demanded transparency and accountability in all spheres of government. They have insisted that political power is normally justifiable only so long as it is used for purposes connected with the well being of the people and the uplift of their condition. We have brought to an end an era when politicians were a law unto themselves.

The country has endorsed in the most explicit terms, the measures, which my government has already taken to wipe out political violence and state terror and to restore integrity and honour to the politics of the country.

The crippling burden of a high cost of living and the economic hardships caused by inadequate employment opportunities and a variety of other evils which have bedevilled the economy demand urgent action.

We have been accustomed to an economic order, which in the name of an open economy has enabled unconscionable benefits to accrue to a small coterie, while the rest of society languished in poverty and squalor. Essential services including health and eduction were woefully neglected.

One of the priority tasks of our new government is to ensure that our economy is truly free and competitive, that there is honesty and transparency in all transactions. Clear development perspective would ensure expanded and vigorous growth of national production and thereby the generation of new employment and income opportunities for our youth.

Foreign investment will be encouraged and protected. We will also ensure that the benefits of this development will reach the poorer segment of our population through equitable and efficient distribution of income transfers and increased employment.

Our people have acted with extreme restraint, intelligence and political acumen in the face of strong efforts to push them into the abyss of dark, dangerous and wild attitudes of racial and religious bigotry and hatred.

They have given a mandate for peace and human values. They have convincingly proved to the world, that all the might of the bullet can be defeated by the ballot, their commitment to democracy is poignantly courageous.

The youth of our nation have responded to our call to eschew violence and take up with us the banner of freedom, of democracy, of human decency and prosperity for all.

We pay homage to our youth for placing their hope in our ability to deliver the goods.

The ravages of war in the northern part of the country have inflicted an enormous toll in terms of loss of life and resources. The verdict of our people in the recent elections leaves me in no doubt of the depth and intensity of their desire and commitment to peace.

This must be, however, peace with honour for both parties to the conflict for it to be strong and durable.

My government and I will continue our quest for peace recognising that the path is a difficult and tortuous one. We will ensure that our approach to peace will fully address the necessity to safeguard and strengthen the rights of the Sinhalese people, while recognising dignity, self-respect and equality of treatment for all communities.

This will form the essential basis of a negotiated solution to the ethnic problem.

Convinced, as we are, of the gravely harmful effects of the Executive Presidential system of government and of the vigour and vitality of the democratic way of life of our people, we have solemnly pledged to eradicate this blemish from the constitution of our country.

In dedicating myself and my government which I head to the accomplishment of these goals, I ask for the continued support and co-operation you have given us.

The hope and faith you have placed in us is the beacon which lights our path. The guidance and support you extended to us give us the courage and dedication to go on. Let us together climb those unreachable heights.

Let us realise the difficult but beautiful dream.