Business leaders meet Defence Secretary

THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, including the heads of some of the leading conglomerates in the country paid a courtesy call on Secretary Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa at his office. This meeting provided the forum for the Business Community to voice some issues of concern, which were clarified by the Secretary.

“I consider it to be my duty to place some facts before you as the key drivers of the economy of this country,” he said to the business community. He continued to state that Sri Lankans have lived with this uncertainty for more than 25 years and as a Government, obviously there is no quick-fix solution to this issue.

However, working according to the direction and overall plan of the Government, which believes that the final solution to this problem lies in a negotiated settlement.

He was of the firm belief that in order to achieve this objective, the country needs to combat terrorism and push the terrorist leaders to come to the negotiating table and above all protect the law and order of the country.

He was of the opinion that a company without a vision is a company blinded. A company without a mission only gropes in the dark. He was very confident in saying that “I can assure you one thing. And that is we are driven by a vision and we do have a carefully crafted mission to achieve our objectives. Our long term strategies and short term tactics are very well focused to achieve these objectives”.

He explained that the Defence Ministry in Sri Lanka today, is fighting the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world, which possesses the largest cadre of suicide bombers. He stated that this situation is very different from competing with commercial competitors in a level playing field.

The complete education system and the lifestyle in the North and East is in total disarray except in little pockets in Government controlled areas. The so called Tamil diaspora is funding terrorism for petty economic gain while their kith and kin are suffering in the North and East of Sri Lanka”.

He felt that this has further complicated the task, as the LTTE is no more a conventional terrorist organization, fighting for a cause.

That is why it was very important that all stakeholders including the business community and the corporate hierarchy in Sri Lanka should understand this problem for what it is, without any prejudice, bias or ambiguity.

This knowledge will help the business community especially in their short term and long term business decision making, may it be an investment, corporate planning initiative or simply a buying and selling business.

He also said: “I’m not directly exposed to the commercial world, I do understand that any conflict can only bring adverse results to an economy of a country and also to individual businesses which fuel the economy. I must also say that my exposure to politics is also limited but yet I do my best to understand the intricacies and the implications. But as a soldier I know only the right strategy which takes all other factors into consideration will work and achieve the final bigger goal that not only you as a corporate but we as one nation are longing for.”

He willingly admitted that he was more convinced that Sri Lankan corporates are patriotic in every sense. He said that he has seen the willingness in the business community to support and strengthen the nation. With regard to the role of the opposition, he had to say, “I sense that some of you believe that the Opposition can deliver stability as far as your business opportunities are concerned. I must say this is a big myth.

As I have explained before, signing temporary peace pacts with a ruthless terrorist group cannot bring lasting peace or economic stability. It only seems as an attractive alternative if you don’t comprehend and confront the reality. As the whole world has realised, the only way to bring about peace is to curb terrorism. Sri Lanka cannot be foolishly idealistic.

Peace has become a marketable commodity in the world today and in Sri Lanka too there is blatant marketing of this commodity called peace for pure economic gain. So much so, that for some people it has become a lucrative business venture, where the top line has become equivalent to the bottom line since there aren’t any costs involved. You might even be envious if you see the Income Statement of some of these “peace organizations,” he said.

It is in this context that he appealed to the Business Community to understand the role of the Ministry of Defence along with the Security Forces of Sri Lanka. He said, “We on our part have understood the challenge placed before us and are acting with 100 per cent professionalism in achieving the said objectives. I can assure you with responsibility that we do not have any private agenda. I do not have to emphasize the fact that when you work hard, only then are subjected to allegation and criticism. Though we like to accept some constructive and objective criticism, it is sad that some of our own Sri Lankan people are engaged in unsubstantiated accusations, merely for their petty political or economic gains, ge said.

As a responsible Government official he assured the Business Community that the Government will definitely curb terrorism in Sri Lanka within a stipulated time period.

This would undoubtedly open new doors of opportunity for business right here in Sri Lanka.

He took the opportunity to invite the business leaders present to understand the gravity of this national situation and willingly lend their support to achieve what we have set out to do. “Because for you to do your business, first there must be a country,” he concluded.