'Let us build a prosperous Motherland for future generations'

The following is a speech made by President-elect Mahinda Rajapakse on Rupavahini during the election campaign.

"WE have now reached an important stage of deciding the future destiny of our land of birth. That is the occasion of electing the next President of our country.

You are electing the most suitable person to be the President of the country who will lead the country for the next six years. He is the leader who will shoulder the task of administering the State.

Though not directly connected to the Alliance, a number of political parties and people's organisations who have the country's welfare at heart have joined hands with me. I am contesting as the choice of a large number of progressive forces in this country.

It is common knowledge among you that I count more than 37 years of experience as a politician. Throughout the entirety of this period I was in the progressive wing.

On this occasion I recall with respect my first political mentors, my grandfather D.M. Rajapakse and my own father D.A. Rajapakse who commanded the highest esteem of the people of the Ruhuna.

I stepped in to politics by representing the Beliatta Seat in Parliament when I was just 24 years old. Ever since I have served you right along this long period as a Member of Parliament, as the Leader of the Opposition, and presently as the Prime Minister.

Since National Independence, our country has undergone a multitude of changes during the last 57 years. We have elected Governments by the people's franchise on a number of occasions.

We are aware that our leaders who held reins of power contributed their might within their means for the welfare of this country during this period of over half a century.

The late Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake established agricultural colonies and developed agriculture in a large measure. The late Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who founded the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, united all the progressive forces and created a common man's era in 1956.

It was the social revolution brought about by the late Prime Minister Bandaranaike that our country realised the essence of the National Independence that we won in 1948. The late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike brought fame upon us by becoming the First Woman Prime Minister of the World.

She elevated our country to the status of a Republic. She evolved a foreign policy suitable to our country. She strove hard to uplift the indigenous industries and took steps to increase our food production.

The late President J.R.Jayewardene introduced a new dimension to our economy. He accelerated the Mahaweli project and introduced a number of development schemes. The late President Ranasinghe Premadasa's contribution towards the welfare of the poor was tremendous.

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga re-established humanitarianism in a country where terrorism reigned. I made a study of all these leaders of the people.

I have the greatest regards for them for all the good they have done for the people. I have given my serious thoughts to their activities when I prepared my election manifesto "Mahinda Chintana".

As most of you have realised, the period from 1977 to 1994 marked the death knell of democracy in this country.

We organised public demonstrations, peace walks, human chains, and mothers' fronts to save our children from abduction, torture and mass murder by a brutal political set up that turned the country in to an arena of devil dance. Our struggle for human rights gained international acclaim during this period.

Whichever the portfolio I received under our Government, I was able to make use of that position to render an innovative service to the people. Even my political opponents will acknowledge this fact. I got the opportunity to render a vast volume of service to the people as a Minister of Fisheries and as a Minister of Highways.

In my political career, beginning as a Member of Parliament till I have attained the Premiership my policy throughout had been service to the people and nothing else.

My strong commitment to this cause kept me in good stead in my political journey against many odds. My resolve is my courage. My courage and power are nothing other than the trust you, the masses have reposed in me.

I presented my policy on October 18. Moulding a new Sri Lanka is my theme. My motto is to lead the country to victory through a process of development and security.

As I have already mentioned my programme is not some thing fallen from the blues. Nor it is a policy formulated to meet the agenda of various hostile forces. I reiterate that our programme is a representation of a wide range of aspirations of each and every ethnic group of this country.

This is a product of deliberations with political parties, people's organisations, academics, university personalities and many other experts well versed in the subject of Public Policy, who are concerned with the welfare of the state.

It was the founder of our Party, the late Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who introduced a middle path which was suitable to Sri Lankan politics. The other leaders of our party improved it.

In modern parlance it is best known as the Socialist Democracy which is the Third Way in vogue not only in many developing countries but also in developed countries today.

This is what we have presented to you to develop the country, to protect the country and to rebuild Sri Lanka. It is a pragmatic programme envisaging the triumph of the Sri Lankan people.

I am a man born to an ordinary family like many of you. For a legacy I have only the humanitarian political heritage left behind by my progressive father and a handful of relations.

The masses of this country helped me to carry that heritage unto my present position of Premiership. As President, that too is only the carrying forward of my political heritage which is humanitarian.

Political power is not an everlasting phenomenon. It is not an immortal privilege. It is only a temporary trusteeship. On that remote day of our history, Arhath Mahinda told King Devanampiyatissa that he was not the owner but the trustee of the wilderness. This is my spirit of activity.

We have a supreme cultural heritage. We have to acknowledge the fact that in spite of the availability of a patriotic citizenry, we are yet lagging behind in a number of spheres.

A number of our neighbours in Asia defeated miscellaneous challenges they confronted in the recent past and to-day they emerge to be on par with powerful nations in the world. They have achieved this success while safeguarding their national identity.

They viewed the welfare of their country from a new perspective. I hope to make this country a new and powerful one that can withstand the new global strains.

On this forward march I have identified four major challenges. The first among them is the establishment of peace.

Then comes the revival of our economy. The third factor is the building up of a disciplined society that will respect the reign of law, morality and culture. The fourth is the building up of a country conducive to the future welfare of our children.

In my speech today I wish to explain my vision of achieving peace.

Peace through discussion is my approach to the attainment of peace. War is not my methodology. It is an acknowledged fact that the ongoing peace process has certain shortcomings. If that is the case, the peace process has to be revised. Each and every step that was taken in the direction of peace has failed so far.

Nevertheless, I hope to make use of good experiences gained through the ongoing peace efforts. A new approach is necessary to achieve this end. I believe that the bi-party approach so far adopted, though good as a ceasefire is not adequate as a fruitful peace process.

The sovereign right of representing the opinion of the South does not solely belong to the Government in power alone. This position is applicable to the North as well.

A number of parties are involved in the national problem. Each of these parties has its own reasonable grievances and aspirations. I expect to accommodate every reasonable ambition of these aspirants at a negotiating table.

With this object in view I hope to establish in the first instance a broad consensus in the South within a short time. Through this step, a national consensus is likely to emerge. While the process of discussion is going on in the South, I hope to initiate simultaneous and direct negotiations with the LTTE to arrive at a consensus.

I hope to appoint a Constitutional Legislative Council through which the entirety of the agreed consensus could be included in a draft Constitution. Ultimately the Amended Constitution will be put for a Referendum for your consent.

At this Presidential Election I was able to consolidate the political parties of the South as well as those of the North East. Similarly I am confident that I will succeed in discussing with them to arrive at a consensus on this problem too.

While the peace process is in progress, it is essential to rebuild the normal lifestyle of the war ravaged people of the North and East. A series of special programmes are on cards, targeting the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the two provinces of North and East.

I am resolutely determined to bring to an end to vituperative politics. Soon after my triumph at the Presidential Election, I shall not consider any of my rivals as my opponents. My aim is to enlist the cooperation of everybody towards the development process whether they voted for me or not.

I shall leave no stone unturned to eradicate the conflicting political culture pervading the entirety of people's representative bodies and institutions.

This ensemble of principles is a synopsis of your thoughts and thoughts of my own. I have presented before you my plan of building the man to protect the family, building the family to protect the village, building the village to protect the country and building the country to win the world.

An independent nation of Sri Lankans is my dream. In it may there prevail greenery, prosperity and the reign of a righteous human being.

All children belonging to different ethnic groups like Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Burger have their gaze wide open at us. I am aware of that fact.

Those are aspirations that can be realised. I am confident of that. I shall certainly fulfil that hope.

I urge you to join me in the task of developing the country, protecting the country and my task of producing a new Sri Lanka. I call upon all of you to unite to gift a prosperous Motherland for our future generation."