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| Wednesday, 18 February 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| Prime Minister thanks people Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the nation via the Sirasa TV last night thanked the people of this country for placing confidence in his Government for the past two years, in its efforts to revive the economy and to find ways and means to bring sustained peace to the country. He said the 20-year war had cost 65,000 lives, displaced many, caused destruction to private and state property in an unprecedented manner when he tookover the reins to run the adminstration, and added that he never promised anything for two years but the progress that was made was remarkable. The Prime Minister recalled that peace was restored with the mediation of Norway with a truce signed with the LTTE which resulted in strengthening the economy and giving freedom to the people to organise themselves after two decades. He said "there was much more to be done" both in the North and South, though there was no war. The Premier recalled that he undertook a nation in 2002 with a collapsed economy, the Gross National Product (GDP) far exceeding loans and a 24-hour power supply that badly affected the economy. The Premier said he took immediate steps to limit loans, curtail Government expenditure, and that it resulted in strengthening the Stock Market as investors flocked to the country, therby helping to reduce inflation to record an economic growth of 5.5 per cent. He said the peace process initiated by his Government helped a massive Rs. 4.5 billion aid pledge at the Tokyo donor conference, which money would have been utilised for 64 major development projects covering the entire nation. Recalling the recent political developments, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe noted that the takeover of three ministries of his government by the President created confusion pushing the peace process into peril. "Yet we hoped to work with the President in cohabitation but as time went by it looked fruitful till the sudden dissolution of Parliament on February 7. Explaining the nature of this sudden dissolution, the Premier described it as the first instance in the democratic history of the world, where a government elected by the people has been dissolved without reason or warning. "Its like kicking the will of the people," the Premier quipped. He expressed regret, on the President's move to dissolve Parliament as the Mano-Malik talks were reaching a stage where the Executive and the Government could have reached a consensus to work together. "The dissolution was caused to satisfy the newly formed Freedom Alliance," the Premier pointed out. |
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