Beyond cynicism to a sense of possibility
Dr. T. C. Rajaratnam
President Mahinda Rajapaksa
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THE PRESIDENT: It is with strength and courage President Mahinda
Rajapaksa has overcome the barriers and made a decision that humanity
prevails over anything else.
A thousand schemers who advance the politics of petty bickering and
extreme partisanship, conspirators within and without are no match for
the strength and decency of the human spirit - the dynamic President. In
spite of all these obstacles, the President took affirmative action.
This affirmative action has been accepted by the entire world. It has
been accepted by the major opposition party in Parliament. We see that
numerous members of the opposition supporting the President some having
crossed over, some on the border of crossing, some from the other side.
Progress toward noble goals is persistently threatened by the
conflict now engulfing the nation, it commands our whole attention. We
face hostile ideology, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method. To
meet and overcome this successfully, we would see emotional and
transitory sacrifices of crisis but rather those which enable us to
carry forward steadily, surely and without complaint the burdens of a
prolonged and complex struggle.
We have witnessed several explosions, several assassinations and
disasters both created by man and nature. We must now learn how to use
our resources in the interests of peace and human betterment. We should
recognise the need for development. Our toil, resources and livelihood
are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
We should at any cost strive to protect the liberty and freedom of
humanity. To this end, the entire Nations should honour the President
for his affirmative action. Let both sides to a conflict explore the
problems unite us instead of belabouring those problems which divide.
For every generation, there is a destiny. For some history decides.
For this generation it has been our President and the decision has been
magnanimous. He has saved the Nation.
We must bring our country together amid all over diversity into a
stronger community so that we can find common ground and move forward as
one. To this end, he has reached beyond our fears and our division to a
new time of great and common purpose. To bring our people together he
has openly and honestly dealt with the issues that divide us.
It is a moral imperative, a constitutional mandate and a legal
necessity to support Our President in his daring quest for Peace. There
are many of us who have silently wept in the privacy of our homes as a
result of terrorist attacks and natural disasters that followed suit. As
human beings we all suffered, some physically and emotionally but all
others emotionally. Those days were not very long ago.
Our President is determined to help all those who were affected. This
is the right attitude of any Leader Discrimination is not just morally
wrong, it hurts. When we allow people to pit us against one another or
spend energy denying opportunity based on our differences, everyone is
held back. A lot has changed. More humane attitudes have been nurtured
in the minds of the people - all at the instance of one person - the
President.
The nature and role of the President is affirmative. Managing
diversity and individual opportunity and being fair to everybody is the
key to our future economic success in the global marketplace. So must
the Government. Those who ought to co-operate and have collective
responsibility are spend forces promoting more for destruction than for
development.
He had indeed had more conversation than combat he has always stated
that any person could differ but should present an alternative.
He has moved beyond divisions and resentment to common ground. He has
gone beyond cynicism to a sense of possibility. The President has
acknowledged that we're not one race and we're not one ethnic group. But
that we do share a common piece of ground here. He has recognised the
need to respect our differences and hear them. The President has begun
to perform the noble task. Those who opposed him in his quest for
humanism cannot succeed in their political endeavours.
Unnecessary conflict was brought to a just and honourable attempt for
peace but from the resolution there are elements who create conflicts.
This brings new hope that when some people are singled out for
destruction because of their heritage and religious faith and we can do
something about it, the world will not look the other way. It is the
duty of the President to take affirmative action and cast away the
elements that disrupt his attempt to resolve the conflict.
The decision of the President will bring new prospect in human
affairs. A moment that will define our course and our character for
decades to come. Our President will overcome all adversities.
We have been touched by tragedy, exhilarated by challenge,
strengthened by achievement. Problems that seem to deepen can bend to
our efforts.
We witnessed the trials and tribulations as a Nation, we must also
appreciate the fact that the President has so ably guided us to where we
are today. For moving forward is rarely accomplished without
considerable grief and sadness and whilst our sorrow may be profound the
clouds will clear and the sun will shine on us again and we shall as a
Nation rejoice under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
We need political stability for economic development. We have as a
Nation suffered too much with too little help from those who ought to
co-operate with us to jointly steer towards development.
The challenge of our past remains the challenge of our future; will
we be one Nation, one people, with one common destiny or not? Will we
come together or come apart? The President has laid a solid foundation.
As a Nation we should appreciate the noble quality of our Leader.
The divide of race and religion has been Sri Lanka's curse.
Prejudice, contempt cloaked in the pretence of religious or political
conviction are no different. They have nearly destroyed us in the past.
They plaque still. They fuel the fanaticism of terror-they are no
different than the terrorists.
These obsessions cripple both those who are hated and of course those
who hate. Robbing both of what they might become. We must live together,
learn together, forge new ties that bind together and it is only then
that there would be great results.
The demands of our time are great, and they are diverse. Let us meet
them with courage and patience. Let us shape the hope of this tenure
into the noblest chapter in our history. The President will overcome the
crisis. We shall stand as a Nation united. We should become more decent,
more humane, more united.
Our Nation has been torn apart by the evils of terrorism and natural
disaster. Each time we as Nation suffered, the President too suffered as
he too is human and naturally it is difficult to feel like the most
powerful person in the country at times like that, because, there is no
answer - there is no justification for the pain.
We look for diplomacy. But there is no diplomacy with some of those
opposed to us. We do not consider them opponents but they oppose every
conceivable move we make to develop the country. Sometimes, there is no
compromise with such people. no meeting of minds - no point of
understanding - so we would have just choice defeat it or be defeated by
it.
We must work as a community to ensure that everyone not just a
privileged few get the collective ability to further the individual's
interests. The governing idea of modern social democracy is community
founded on the principles of social justice.
That people should rise according to merit not birth; that the test
of any decent society is not the contentment of the wealthy and strong,
but the commitment to the poor and weak.
The President has taught us the courage to learn and change; to show
how values that stand for all ages can be applied in a way relevant to
each age. We are a community of people, whose self interest and mutual
interest at crucial point merge and that it is through a sense of
justice that community is born and nurtured.
The President has brought the faiths closer together in understanding
of our common values and heritage a source of unity and strength. By the
strength of our common endeavour we achieve more together than we can
alone.
He has earnestly endeavoured to unify the Nation and he is totally
committed to serve the people. It is genuine, unwavering and it is
selfless.
No progress can be made unless a common ground is established. To
endeavour to establish common ground certain specific responsibilities
on the people and political leaders should be imposed.
More of our people must set an example. People should be made
conscious of their conduct. We must learn to discuss matters with those
who are different from us. Not just people who agree with us but with
somebody who is different. A government that is smaller should live
within its means and would do more with less.
The mission of our Government is to give people an opportunity to
build better lives. We have much to do as the people. The Government
alone cannot do it. We as the people must co-operate and owe allegiance
to the Constitution and its President.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa exercises his powers vested in him by
virtue of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri
Lanka and makes decisions in the best interests of the Nation for the
love and conscience of humanity.
(The writer is the Co-ordinating Secretary to the
Chief Government Whip of Parliament)
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