‘Consolidate national need against odds’

Continuity of the current regime is a national need to consolidate what has been achieved against overwhelming odds, Export Development and International Trade and Posts and Telecommunication Acting Minister Prof. G. L. Pieris said in Tangalle addressing a teachers meeting.

The LTTE was militarily defeated bringing to a close a prolonged era of anguish and destruction which no previous administration succeeded in ending.

This is a unique achievement which, by itself, represents signal service to the nation during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s first term of Office as the Executive President, Prof. Pieris said.

He said, there is no room for complacency. The LTTE continues to control the vast communication network which they had built up over the decades at the international level, and their global financial resources, too remain intact.

This accounts for the tenacity and virulence of the campaign of vilification which is being carried on against Sri Lanka, the Minister said.

The relentless propaganda against the continuation of GSP+ benefits for the country, the persistent efforts that are made to block the facility from the International Monetary Fund, and the fake video sent to Channel 4 are all examples of this malicious and systematically orchestrated campaign, the Minister said.

Prof. Peiris emphasized the role of teachers in moulding informed opinion on national issues. No section of the community is better qualified than teachers to perform this function, and they must be at the forefront of current initiatives to place before the people an objective analysis of the present situation of the country and the challenges which have yet to be overcome, he pointed out.

The Minister dealt with the far-reaching economic and social transformation which have taken place in the Southern Province as a result of the development programs implemented in highways, rural electrification, port development, irrigation and the upgrading of facilities in schools and hospitals.