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| Friday, 3 December 2004 |
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| Anura Bandaranaike replies TNA's Raviraj: 'Our family has sacrificed in blood for this nation' Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike told Parliament yesterday the Bandaranaike family had sacrificed in blood for this nation. Addressing the Speaker, he said: "N. Raviraj, MP, has, on November 24, 2004, in the House, during a course of a debate, made several incorrect, palpably false venomous mischievous and misleading statements about the Bandaranaike family. His speech was made in Tamil and I received the translation only yesterday. As soon as I received the translation, I informed the Hon. Speaker and the Hon. Deputy Speaker, that I will be raising a matter of personal explanation, under Section 84 (10) of the Standing Orders of Parliament and also under Sec. 78 of the said Standing Orders. Mr. Raviraj, had stated in Parliament, that my late father ruined the country and that my late mother followed suit and my sister is continuing it and says that, the salvation of the Sinhala masses will be realised only when the Bandaranaike clan leaves Sinhala politics. It is common knowledge that the person behind Raviraj's statements is a gutless, back-boneless and miserable loser, consumed with jealousy and envy who sits in darkness of the background and manipulates these MPs like puppets on a string. It is my duty, as the only Bandaranaike in this House, to set the record straight. My father, the late Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, was a Member and a Minister of the State Council, for nearly 20 years and was the first Leader of the House of Independent Sri Lanka. In 1956, he became a legend in Sri Lanka politics, with a magnificent victory, commonly known as the victory of the common man and became a hero to millions, which still remains. His name entered the Guinness Book of World Records, as the only candidate at a General Election, who polled the largest percentage of the total polled at the General Elections of 1956, which was a world record for 20 years. His victory reduced the powerful UNP to 8 seats in Parliament and the late President J. R. Jayewardene lost his seat in Kelaniya by 35,000 votes. Raviraj refers to my mother and how pathetic he sounds, like Don Quixote, tilting at the windmills. Mrs Bandaranaike created world history by being elected the first woman Prime Minister in the world and was the longest-serving Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. She was indeed the Mother of the Nation and a woman of unparalleled grace, charm and personality, acclaimed by the giants of the world's stage, at that time, like Mao Tse Tung of China, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi of India, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Sukharno of Indonesia and Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia. Her courage knew no bounds and even the poorest men and women of this country, revered her, which was truly beyond belief. During the Presidential election of 1988, my mother defeated President Premadasa in 90% of the seats in the North, even though the poll was low due to terrorist pressure and you talk of this great Lady in a loose fowl manner, reminding me of a wee-wil that has crept out of a bunker. Raviraj continues to attack H.E. the President, which is a clear violation of Sec. 78 of the Standing Orders and accordingly, the Speaker, on the advice of the Secretary General of Parliament, should have removed it from the Hansard, but that was not done. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is the only twice elected President of Sri Lanka by a clear, overwhelming majority and she has the courage to light up the darkest corners of the ethnic crisis, which no other leader has done before. Our family has sacrificed in blood for this Nation. My father was brutaly killed in 1959, my brother-in-law was assassinated in 1988, my mother's civic rights were unjustly removed by a vengeful old man in 1980, preventing her doing active politics for 06 years. Prof. G. L. Peiris brought a Motion in Parliament restoring her civic rights and made one of the finest speeches, he has ever made here out-rightly condemning the conduct of the UNP government and its President. My sister, the President, was brutally bombed at the Town Hall and lost an eye, at the age of 55. I say it with sincerity, that she never refers to this incident in anger, bitterness or hatred, either against the terrorists or the Tamil people. It is because of our inherent sense of decency, integrity, honesty and commitment, that we have retained the respectful blessings of a Nation at election after election, since 1956 specially since 1994, when we won 10 of the 11 elections held. Neither my parents, nor my sister nor myself, have ever hid in bunkers and sent women and child soldiers to assassinate elected leaders of this Nation and of India and massacred thousands of innocent Tamil people, harmless Buddhist monks and totally innocent Sinhala and Muslim persons. The Tamils who disagreed with the terrorist had been butchered in the heart of the city of Colombo in the last few months. Cry havoc and lets slip the dogs of war. Having committed every heinous crime in the name of liberation, you have the guts to say that we have instigated the Sinhlaese against the Tamils. If we are responsible of that charge, so is the late Chelvanayakam, Ponnambalam, Amirthalingam and a host of Tamil leaders like Naganathan and Yogeshwaran who instigated the Tamil people and hid in Colombo, until they were finally eliminated by the very Frankenstein they created. I ask Raviraj, who was responsible for the massacre of Tamils in 1983, destructing countless houses, buildings and property? and I also ask him, who was resonsible for the burning of the Jaffna Library? Mr Speaker, the cat has jumped out of the Raviraj's bag, when he says that salvation of the Sinhalese masses is when the Bandaranaike clan leaves politics. You can stand on your heads and scream at the top of your voices, but remember that the Bandaranaike dynasty will remain in the politics of this country, because of the love and respect our people have for us. I challenge you to go for any election now and see what happens. The Bandaranaikes will win again. This MP has blatantly attacked venerated, democratic leaders of this Nation, admired by the world. Who in the heaven's name, are you, to talk like a paragon of virtue, who has stepped in to this House, sitting on the barrel of a gun, as a cohort of a banned terrorist organization, at an election, heavily dubbed as dubious and questionable by the European Commission and other observers. Like Dr. Faustus, you have sold your soul to the devil, only to be consumed by the fires of hell at the end, like in Dante's Inferno. Finally, may I remind Raviraj, that we will make every effort to usher in peace and understanding to our war-torn country. I sincerely hope that this will be a united and peaceful Sri Lanka before long. Without hatred, rancour and bitterness as we were taught by the greatest of Asia - Gautama Buddha. Raviraj urges me not to follow in the footsteps of my father, my mother and my sister. I say this loud and clear for all and sundry, that I shall go in the footsteps they have so proudly trod, head held high, for they were this Nation's greatest leaders and it will be a singular privilege to follow them with pride and humility. |
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