President at Ananda College war heroes felicitation:

Nation building needs advanced foresight

Rasika SOMARATHNA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday observed that a Nation could not be built only with dollars and rupees and the lost freedom could not be reinstated simply through power and political means, but needed much advanced foresight, to achive these objectives.

Such foresight, as displayed by the Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thera when establishing a Buddhist School like Ananda(1886), instead of sowing anti-imperialism by just shouting slogans in an era repressed by imperialistic ideologies, had stood the nation in good stead in its hour of need, he added.

“In line with its historical beginning Ananda became a shelter for people that were repressed by imperiolistic ideologies and was a role model for many other Schools which followed the same path in the wake of Ananda”

“That School today has breathed life to the Nation than have a trillion slogans,” the President said participating at a felitication ceremony at Ananda College, Colombo where the historic educational institute paid tribute to its illustrious sons who played a pivotal role in vanquishing the forces of terror.

The President also noted that Ananda over the years had produced men of excellence to the National leadership and although they had excelled in different fields and had chosen different ideologies, they had one common quality, that is the unwavering love for their motherland.

“Therefore the war heroes felicitated by Ananda today, have not only made their Alma Mater proud but also has taught a lesson for all School children in the country on how to be a good leader,” he added.

He also noted that such patriotic leaders not only from Ananda but from other Schools of the country as well, was the most formidable weapon that the country possessed in the mission to defeat the world’s foremost terrorist outfit.

“All Schools that produced these heroes are today proud of their contribution” he added.

Giving a lesson on true leadership qualities, the President said that when launching the mission to defeat terrorism the leaders had an objective which was just and righteous.

“Even leaders like Hitler and Prabhakaran had an objective but there was nothing righteous about them. The entire Nation accepts the objective of ridding the country from the clutches of terrorism as just and righteous. However it is also important that one must never waver from the objective” he added.

The President on the occasion also noted that although the present military leadership was there for a long time they had never been mobilized around by a singular unwavering objective.

“Thus having a righteous objective is not enough for a leader, one has to stick to it and dedicate his life for its realization. The leader who abandons the objective destroys both lives and the Nation” he added.

Thus he stressed that the present victory was achieved through meticulous planning where the leadership(which was chosen solely on merit) led their teams to achive this singular objective with an unwavering plan.

While admitting that there were no perfect people the President said that the present military leadership chosen solely on merit had moulded their teams by including untrained youth from remote villages to become professional soldiers.

Also the present leadership was encouraged to look beyond their duties and look into the welfare activities of the sub ordinates.

Also leaders like Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka never abandoned their commitments even after being at the receiving end of suicide attacks, setting an example and motivating troops, he added.

While emphasizing that the military victory was built on team work the President said that motto in which the leadership was built was “In victory, always give credit to the team. In defeat, the responsibility for short comings must be accepted by the leader”.

“Before one becomes a leader, one must become a professional. Before becoming a professional,one must become a good citizen”.

The President said and ended his oration reminding the audience of a verse penned by Freddom Fighter\Poet S.Mahinda Thera, who taught at Ananda College. Part of your life belongs to this nation.If you are to pay tribute to those who were ready to lay their lives for this nation,then I ask that you prepare yourselves to giving a small part of your lives to this country”,.

In a proud but simple ceremony attended by old Anandians, past and present teachers\students, military leaders, clergy and well wishers, the Ananda College yesterday paid tribute to many of its sons who played a key role in the liberation of the nation from LTTE terrorism.

Among those distinguished men were Prime Minister and Deputy Defence Minister, Ratnasiri Wickremenayake, Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Army Commander, General Sarath Fonseka, Navy Commander, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, Director General, Civil Defence Force, Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera and second tier commanders Maj. Gen. Jagath Dias, Maj. Gen. Kamal Guneratne, Brigadier Prasanna Silva and Brigadier Chagi Gallage, Rear Admiral Ananda Peiris, Captain Noel Kalubowila, Lt. Com. Nalin Jayasinghe, Air Commodore Krishan Yahampath, Group Captain Ravi Jayasinghe, Wing Commander Dhammika Weligodapala, Senior DIG Mahinda Balasuriya, DIG Sarathchandra Liyanage and many others both who are presently in service and those who had made the supreme sacrifice on behalf of the Nation.

“Before one becomes a leader, one must become a professional. Before becoming a professional,one must become a good citizen”.