Rebuild the nation for children

We are extremely happy to celebrate Universal Children’s Day today while rising up as a proud Sri Lankan nation which has wiped out three decades of terrorism from the motherland, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a Universal Children’s Day message.

The message: People who suffered most from terrorism for over three decades were the country’s children and women. Terrorism even deprived some of our children of their homes. They also breached fundamental human rights by recruiting children as armed combatants. The Government has ended that era which deprived children’s rights.

It is the duty of us all to rebuild the pride of our nation won by heroic war heroes with great sacrifice for the benefit of our children. We should be sensitive to the feelings, needs and tastes of children to build a better tomorrow for them.

This should be done in the context of the complex social scene and the changing environment. As elders we should not only show love and affection and provide protection and security to children but also ensure them a sound education.

My Government has taken steps to frame laws and regulations and strategies needed to rebuild the liberated nation for the benefit of children. I sincerely hope that the program of work implemented by us to safeguard the future of children including those in the North and East and build a proud nation where they could live happily will receive the continued blessings and support of the people.

I appreciate and value the slogan ‘Let’s rebuild the victorious nation for children’ chosen for the Universal Children’s Day Celebrations this year. As much as terrorism we have also identified the drug menace and poverty as major obstacles for building a better future for children.

I request all of you, elders to join hands to face this challenge successfully as much as we won the challenge of defeating terrorism.