President Rajapaksa: Progenitor of a New Sri Lanka

Prasad GUNEWARDENE

 

(Tell our king to save all our people from the LTTE). This was what a tired and feeble looking Tamil mother held hostage by the LTTE, who lost her kith and kin by LTTE shelling said in a heart breaking voice in Sinhala, after being rescued by the troops from the cruel grip of the LTTE.

Obviously, she referred as ‘King’ to none other than her President, Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa, the Head of State. Her fervent appeal clearly demonstrated that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the leader of all communities and people of this country.

The apotheosis of President Rajapaksa merits a chapter not merely in the political annals of Sri Lanka, but also in the contemporary socio-cultural saga of the civilized world at large.

The leadership of President Rajapaksa has signalled the beginning of a new phase of social change in post-independence Sri Lanka. Today, the President is widely accepted as the progenitor of a - New Sri Lanka.

In the creation of a nation free of terrorism, President Rajapaksa has been readily accepted and embraced to the national bosom by all communities and has become a fitting folk hero and national icon in a country tragically flawed by a self induced communal problem. He belongs to a generation that stormed the citadels and bastions of the established elitist class political order of leaders.

That established elitist political order viewed the entry of Mahinda Rajapaksa as a challenge. Many attempts were made to push him down the ladder. But, Mahinda Rajapaksa the individual was unmoved.

The strength he possessed was the power and trust of the people.Just as the late SWRD Bandaranaike released the larger masses into the political arena by his historical victory ably supported by President Rajapaksa’s father, the late Don Alwin Rajapaksa in 1956, the people rallied round President Rajapaksa in the battle against LTTE terrorism to create a new Sri Lanka.

The people saw in the President that patriotism was at peak, dedication deep and a democracy most divine.

In the battle he pioneered against brutal LTTE terrorism, he was time and again threatened and driven to the wall by ‘white gods’ who always believed to impose their imperial hegemony on colored skin people. To the white gods, Osama Bin Laden was a terrorist and Velupillai Prabakaran looked a ‘different’ terrorist on paper. It is tragic that the moment a colored skin leader was in a position to outdo ‘white gods’, the vibrant liberal democratic inhibitions of the white skin seemed to fade away.

The civilized international community should view Sri Lanka’s battle against cruel terrorism as an instrument to abolish the use of fear against individuals and communities. Because, that is the only way a nation could be restored to its rightful position.

A transition to a ‘better life for all’ cannot be postponed.President Mahinda Rajapaksa was born into a political family that practiced democracy and never tolerated criminality or terrorism. Hence, the President has only exercised the right to formulate what it meant to be a Sri Lankan.

He firmly believes the assertion that Sri Lanka belongs to all who live in it.Upon assuming the high office of President, Mahinda Rajapaksa pledged to create a democracy for all people to live free from fear and to wipe out the fear of tyranny.

He has, within three years, accomplished that task beyond reasonable doubt. The President has upheld the noble responsibility to defend the unity and integrity of the Sri Lankan state. He had encouraged the vibrancy of Mother Lanka’s democracy devoid of discrimination.Sri Lanka can now fearlessly lay the foundation for the political, economic and social transformation of the entire fabric of social life.

The creation of a new Sri Lanka by President Rajapaksa recognizes the right to cherish colour, race, language, and the cultural diversity of Sri Lanka as one nation that shares a common sense of patriotism. To achieve that noble objective for the people, the President vigorously battled against racial division of separatist LTTE terrorists.

Despite all setbacks and difficulties, the President of Sri Lanka has restored peace and democracy within three years in office, to herald a New Sri Lanka.