President will protect democracy

Says answerable to the party, the alliance and the country:

Oppn candidate not answerable to any political party, people:

Rasika SOMARATHNA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that he had always been a great believer in people’s sovereignty and protecting democracy throughout his 40 year political tenure and that he would be committed to protect both in the future as well as he did in the past.

Addressing over 5,000 UNP and JVP supporters who gathered at President’s House in Anuradhapura to show their solidarity, the President posed the question whether the people were prepared to protect the prevailing democracy or push it towards a dictatorship at the forthcoming elections.

The President said that a few Opposition parties had put forth a candidate who was not answerable to any political party or the people. “On the other hand we are answerable to the party, the alliance and the country,” he added. He also added that the people were aware about the person with 40 years political experience and a person with only 40 days political experience.

President Rajapaksa also pointed out that the present regime had not used war as the ‘beggars wound’.

“Even during the war we did not neglect development. There is no peace without development and no development without peace,” he added.

“We took over a country which was on the verge of being divided. The people had lost faith and confidence, so too was the Armed Forces. We did not have a strong Government and could not appoint our own Speaker”

There were no jobs for youth and plans were afoot to reduce the number of state workers to 600,000.

“To reach certain areas in Sri Lanka people had to pay ransom to the LTTE. They had their own administration structure with banks, courts and police etc,” he added.

He said the Government waged a war not only within the country but in the international stage as well where there were numerous pressure tactics by many foreign countries, agencies and governments to suspend humanitarian operation. He said that in addition to this, the Government had to face the repercussions of a global economic melt down, sky rocketing oil prices and a food scarcity.

“Though the country emerged unscathed from the global economic melt down, the country felt the heat but with the sound fiscal management a possible collapse of the banking system was averted,” he added.

The President said the Government had a fresh and positive outlook during all these and had overcome challenges to take the country in the path of peace and prosperity with resolve.

He emphasized that in the future the Government would fight to alleviate corruption and waste with the same vigour. He also called all to take the correct decision on January 26 to ensure that the country’s forward march on the road to prosperity remains.