Making Sri Lanka a dynamic hub
Text of the speech by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to
the Diplomatic Corps at the Presidential Secretariat, Colombo on May 10:
Some of you have served a long period
in Sri Lanka. When I met you earlier, the terrorists were in control of
fifteen thousand sq km of the land extent and two-thirds of the coastal
belt of our country. The policies of my Government on democracy and
human freedom have remained unchanged from then. I launched the
operations against the threat posed at the time by the LTTE terrorism to
all communities, because there was no other way to establish democracy
in this country.
You would recall that several previous attempts were made to have
negotiations for peace with the LTTE. On my own initiative, one of my
first statements after
President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the Diplomatic Corps at
the Presidential Secretariat,
Colombo on May 10. Picture by Chaminda Hittatiya |
assuming the office of President was to publicly confirm my readiness
to meet with the leader of the LTTE. I sent senior delegates for
negotiations at both Geneva and Oslo with great expectations. But those
attempts proved to be fruitless.
However, I state with great satisfaction that while battling the most
ruthless and savage terrorist organisation in the world, we have acted
in a manner to fully protect the democratic rights of the people.
We held Provincial Council Elections in the East in May 2008, no
sooner than the LTTE were cleared from that area. While the battle
against terrorists was on, we held elections in all Provinces and
strengthened the democratic institutions of the country.
General Election
The recent Presidential and Parliamentary Elections enabled the
electorate in the North to exercise their franchise for the first time
after almost 28 years, without the menace of terrorism. Similarly, the
General Election in the North and East demonstrate that the people in
those areas are showing signs that they are seeking to free themselves
of narrow political aims and consider deeply about their future.
The General Election has shown that they are moving away in large
measure from political parties representing single communities or
groups, and towards mainstream political parties. Of the 267,000
rendered internally displaced when the conflict situation ended due to
their having been used as human shields by the LTTE, almost 70 percent
have now been able to leave the transit welfare villages.
It is in continuation of this same policy that action has been taken
to relax several important Emergency Regulations when the matter came up
for discussion in our Parliament on the 4th and 5th of this month. The
amendments to these Regulations were done with great caution. It is
interesting to state that in the recent debate on the Emergency a young
Member of Parliament said that it was older than himself.
There are frequent reports of the recovery of considerable weaponry
secreted by the LTTE in many parts of the country. You are aware that
the residues of the LTTE conduct vicious propaganda intended to generate
funds for de-stabilizing Sri Lanka. A very visible manifestation of
these efforts is the elections being held in many countries for a
so-called Transnational Eelam Government.
You must be aware of the destructive aims faced by us. We, for our
part, have been pointing out to the concerned authorities the sinister
nature of these attempts.
No doubt all of you are aware that many countries of the world are
faced with immense difficulties due to the threat of terrorism. Public
life in the capitals of some countries faces immense threats from this.
I need not reiterate that in some countries hundreds and thousands have
been displaced due to this situation. Therefore, we pay special
attention to our national security.
Very often some groups present various material to you. There are
wide differences between the views of these sections and the vast
majority of this country. Therefore, in your reports to your Capitals
about our country it would be most useful to exchange views with the
External Affairs Ministry and the Government.
Cultural values
You should also be especially aware of the history as well as culture
and lifestyles of Sri Lanka that is an Asian country. Perhaps the manner
in which we view a particular situation may be different to the view of
Western or European, Eastern or African States. It is necessary for us
to work in accordance of our cultural values. Our history and traditions
can guide the world on friendly co-existence among people. Similarly,
Sri Lanka is a nation which can guide the world on religious amity.
Hence, we have a deep understanding about human rights and friendship
among nations.
Similarly, my Government has also been mindful of the need to heal
the wounds caused to national amity by the conflict situation.
It is our intention to shortly appoint a Commission on Post-Conflict
Study and Reconciliation. The preliminary work in this regard is now
being concluded.
It is our responsibility to ensure that henceforth, no future
generation of Sri Lankans, will have to experience the anguish that we
underwent during the last three decades.
The period of inquiry of the Commission covers from the commencement
of the Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002 to its manifest breakdown
that then finally led to the termination of the conflict situation in
May 2009. The Commission will comprise persons of eminence, representing
the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nature of Sri Lankan society. I am
confident that the Commissioners will discharge their responsibilities
with a deep commitment to protect the dignity and independence of both
this country and the Commission.
My Government is determined to hold Provincial Council Elections in
the North, at the earliest appropriate time. We believe that both
through the recently completed Parliamentary Election and the
forthcoming Provincial Council Election, there will emerge a leadership
sensitive to the specific needs of those areas and to the national
aspirations for peace and progress. In the recent elections a majority
of representatives from the Government were elected from those
Provinces. We are continuing a wide-ranging dialogue with them as well
as those from other political parties.
Freedom and peace
The return to normalcy of our country and its accompanying further
entrenchment of democratic governance, adds to our strength to
successfully engage with the world outside. The mandate I received at
the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections is to protect the freedom
and peace won with much sacrifice. Similarly, I have also obtained a
mandate to make Sri Lanka a dynamic hub of global activity.
From the time I assumed duties in 2005, much attention was paid to
the development of the Sri Lankan economy. Priority was given to
infrastructure development that sought to erase the unjustifiable
disparities between the rural and urban sectors of society and the
inequalities of income among the people that did not suit a democratic
society. Similarly, considerable work was done in spheres such as
education, health and skills development. We gave importance to both
food and energy security. While all this was being achieved the per
capita income of the country was increased from USD 1000 to USD 2000 in
a short span of four years.
Through the future strategies for development it is planned to raise
the per capita income to exceed USD 4000. The new Cabinet of Ministers
will work as the institutional structure of the State to achieve these
objectives. Plans are underway to increase Sri Lanka’s investment to
exceed 35 percent of national income and economic growth to exceed eight
percent. It is our determination to provide all citizens a high level of
education and health services and to build an environment friendly
lifestyle in the country.
In this endeavour, a great responsibility lies with our development
community which has stood with us under the most arduous circumstances.
Similarly, I wish to state here that the international financial
institutions have also contributed much to our development efforts. We
value very much the manner in which the World Bank, the Asian
Development Bank and bilateral donor countries have come forward to
assist us in our development activities. We look forward to necessary
assistance from all countries towards this purpose.
It is my expectation that the international community and the donor
groups would play a large role in assisting to expand our opportunities
for development as a middle income country and to reach the status of a
developed country within a democratic framework.
We will remain conscious that the creation of global prosperity and
security is a shared responsibility. We have always felt that a rule
based, equitable global order is the best guarantor for the progress of
humanity. We will, therefore, continue our tradition of active
engagement in all multilateral fora and especially in the United
Nations.
Green Lanka program
Global warming is inextricably tied up with the very survival of the
human race. Environmental pollution has no national borders with
pollution in one country affecting another. The reason for the rising
global temperatures is the burning of fossil fuel. The advanced
industrial countries of today have achieved their development through
the burning of fossil fuel. Therefore, the responsibility of reducing
global warming requires the intervention of these industrial countries.
Sri Lanka as a country that causes minimal carbon emission in its
development process, we are committed to participate in the reduction in
global warming. Sri Lanka contributes to this most effectively under the
Green Lanka program.
As you are aware, our foreign policy is always a non-aligned and
independent. We have the closest relations with India, China, Japan as
well as other neighbouring countries. You are aware that we maintain the
closest relations with the countries of Asia, Africa, the West, the
Middle East and Europe. Our relations with Europe go back more than 500
years. Our relations with Rome can be traced far back into history as
our relations with India, China and the countries of the Middle East.
We will always deeply value the friendship of bilateral relations
that brought benefit to us over the past four years and helped us to
resolutely deal with the menace of terrorism.
Sri Lanka always wishes to engage in a spirit of trust. It is often
said that trust begets trust. This is common to the good relations among
countries too. |