President strongly appeals public to support Mahinda

Ranil Wijayapala reporting from Wariyapola

President Chandrika Bandaranike Kumaratunga brushing aside all criticisms yesterday made a strong appeal to the public to extend support to SLFP Presidential candidate Premier Mahinda Rajapakse to become the President and to take forward the vision and the policies adopted by the party, as they did during her tenure as the President and the leader of the party.

Addressing a public rally at Wariyapola Sri Sumangala National School Grounds President Kumaratunga expressed her confidence that Mahinda Rajapakse would carry forward the vision and the policies adopted with great difficulties and pains by the Party without being fallen into the influences of others.

The rally was organised by Regional Infrastructure Development and Small and Medium Industries Minister S.B. Navinna at the Variyapola Sri Sumangala National School Grounds for the people of Wayamba to felicitate President Kumaratunga and also to extend their support to the Presidential candidate Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse. This was the first rally attended by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in support of Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse after the handing over of nominations to contest the Elections.

President Kumaratunga said it was the vision of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party adopted after being elected to power with great pains and threats on her life that made the programmes of her Government a success.

President Kumaratunga pointed out that her party was able to adopt a new vision to solve the ethnic conflict at a time when people had not heard of the word `peace' in this country. The fact was that the ethnic conflict could only be solved through the devolution of power.

This was the only alternative to stop the division of the country, she said.

"Some people may oppose this but more than 70 per cent of people are in favour of this solution as they see no other solution to it. It was that vision made us victorious at 11 elections out of 13 we faced after 1994",. It was our party's greatest strength", she added.

"I am very proud of the vision of the party, adopted after 1994 following the greater vision the party had in 1956", President Kumaratunga said.

"It is a victory for us to see that Opposition and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe too endorsing the vision of the SLFP to which he opposed once, when introduced", President Kumaratunga observed. President Kumaratunga went on to say that the SLFP was the model of democracy in the country, which sticks to democratic path whilst other parties resorted to violence. She said that the SLFP was not a property of the Bandaranaike family and it belonged to the common masses of the country. "My father inherited the party not for us but for the common masses of the country".

President Kumaratunga appealed to the public to strengthen the hands of Mahinda Rajapakse as they supported to protect the party and take forward its policies.

Recalling what she said once, the President as she reached 60 years of her age goes on retirement and she is any longer not willing to accept any political appointments.

"I am proud to be a politician who has to be true to one's own words. I do as I have said in 1994, and I go on retirement at the age of 60". .

However she added that due to her affection towards the country she would continue to extend her service to the country without accepting any political appointment.

President Kumaratunga said during the past 11 years the PA government led by the SLFP laid a solid foundation to take the country forward to prosperity, and pointed out the progress made in the field of education, telecom and port development sectors.

She said the she has already made arrangements to construct the Colombo- Katunayake expressway and Colombo Matara expressway.

The foundation stone will be laid to construct the Hambantota port and also to make use of the phosphate deposit at Eppawala as she had already signed agreements with the Chinese Government.