President a ruler who united country

Sumathipala Deeyagahage Southern Province roving corr.

King Dutugemunu and King Parakramabahu the great, are acclaimed in our history as rulers who united our country. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is also giving leadership for the battle to free our country from the Tiger terrorists. We will definitely win this battle.

The name of President Mahinda Rajapaksa will also be acclaimed as a ruler who united our country, said the Chief Minister of the Southern Province Shan Wijelal de Silva.

He was speaking at a ceremony held at the Chief Minister's office to hand over letters of appointment to twenty five pirivena teachers in the Southern Province.

The Chief Minister said, before our country was invaded by the Western powers we inherited a temple-oriented system of education, where everyone had their education from the temple.

This education system changed after the Portuguese, Dutch and the British invaded our country. Prior to these invasions our villages were highly developed because of the strong bonds that existed between the village and the temple. The foreign powers who ruled our country destroyed this bond. They looted the temples and destroyed valuable books. Some monks had to live in hiding in order to protect their lives.

He said some rulers even after independence did not give a proper place for pirivena education. They did not even respect Dhamma education. After President Mahinda Rajapaksa came into power there was a revival in pirivena education, because of the strong bond the President is maintaining with Buddhist monks. During the ancient times the rulers always sought the advice of the Sangha in running the country. President Rajapaksa is also ruling the country with the blessings of the Sangha. As a result there is a resurgence in pirivena education.

The Chief Minister said the President is in the forefront in the struggle to eradicate terrorism.

Some countries treated Prabhakaran as a powerful person. But our forces have stripped him of all his reputations and brought him to his knees. The world is today amazed at our ability to destroy terrorism. Very soon terrorism will be eradicated completely and the entire country will come under President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He said our Security Forces have restricted terrorist activities in our country to a very small area in the Mullaitivu forest. Prabhakaran's fate will be sealed within the next few days.

Ven. Deewela Mahinda Thera, Keredewala Pragnaratana Thera, Secretary Southern Provincial Ministry of Education M. W. Wijetilaka and Southern Provincial Director of Education N. J. Karunadasa also spoke.