UPFA stands as one

Lakshmi DE SILVA

All constituent parties of the UPFA were united in supporting President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the forthcoming Presidential election working as one unit, SLFP General Secretary, Agriculture and Mahaweli Development Minister Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday.

Addressing the UPFA press conference at the Mahaweli Centre, he said in the same way that historic election victories were won by the UPFA in the last four years, the UPFA will win this election decisively.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was a mature national leader recognized at home and abroad as a statesman who faced several challenges and overcame them during the past 40 years of his political career.

"He was able to achieve what most world leaders could not achieve and some of the Western countries were not prepared to accept the fact that the LTTE was defeated.

"Today however a force that was being led by certain foreign elements was behind the unholy UNP-JVP alliance. Those supporting the unholy alliance were the same elements that supported the terrorist leader Prabhakaran.

"When we look at the international conspiracies today, we can expect spy services to send massive bundles of Euro or Dollar notes to buy certain parties to oppose President Rajapaksa," the Minister noted.

"Our country is positioned in a strategic place in Asia that formerly colonial powers conquered by invasions but today they were trying to achieve the same objective not by the use of arms but by employing local anti-national forces and persons to work for them."

When asked whether he could identify such foreign elements, he said it was not the opportune time to name them.

"But a large number of foreign ministers, high officials or envoys visited Sri Lanka during the last phase of the humanitarian operation and 99 percent of them did not come to help the country but came to save the LTTE," Minister Sirisena said.

He said we not only have foreign foes but more strong international friends like India, China, Japan and Russia who had helped us even at the UN and other international forums to overcome opposition and win favourable motions by two thirds majority.