Humanitarian mission, an example - Minister

IRANGIKA RANGE

Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said Sri Lanka set an example to the entire world as a result of the humanitarian mission launched by the valiant Armed Forces in the battlefront.

“The humanitarian mission carried out by Sri Lanka is a new concept during a war situation in the world,” he said.

The Minister addressing a ceremony for a new national museum for railways established yesterday by the Sri Lanka Railway Service at the Old Fort Railway Station premises at Technical Junction, Maradana, said a number of innocent civilians died in various military operations conducted worldwide, in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“But due to the the sheer commitment of our heroic Armed Forces, the lives of thousands of innocent civilians held hostage by LTTE terrorists have been saved,” he said.

“We saw our women soldiers feeding and looking into the needs of the displaced babies. This act of humanity was witnessed by the entire world,” he said.

Today the world is learning a lot from our humanitarian mission as it is the best war strategy implemented by one of the best Security Forces in the world.

This is mainly due to the high literacy rate intelligence and discipline nurtured through the Buddhist philosophy when compared to Security Forces of other countries.

The Minister said President Mahinda Rajapaksa has allocated huge amounts of money to develop the railway and it is currently being revived as a one of the best passenger transport systems in Sri Lanka. The museum contains items of antique value such as old locomotives, compartments, machinery, rare photographs, and documents used by the Railway Department for over 150 years.