Mahinda Era:
New chapter begins
Staff Correspondent
President
Mahinda Rajapaksa embarks on a new journey today carrying with him the
destiny of the nation into a new era of peace and development.
There is fresh hope among all patriotic Sri Lankans that the second
term of the President would usher in the long awaited prosperity for
which the country always had the potential but was thwarted due to
fracturous politics and a protracted civil war.
The second term of a Presidency is usually fraught with much
expectations. While the first term gives a President some leeway to
consolidate his power and chart out his future plans for the country, a
second term is the time to deliver and deliver in full.
The anticipation of the people is that President Rajapaksa who is no
longer being hamstrung by a civil war and with virtually no political
challenge would exercise the full scope of his mandate to make the
country realize its true potential.
The next six years of his Presidential term is certainly going to be
a decisive one for Sri Lanka which is poised to enter the next decade
from the threshold of a new era of independence with the defeat
terrorism and all sinister destructive forces arrayed against the
country and its sovereignty.
Therefore expectations are riding high that the country will turn the
corner somewhere during this period of his second term putting it on
course to breach new frontiers while making Sri Lanka a key player among
the international community.
Hence all eyes will be on Sri Lanka to see how it will charter its
destiny in the new found climate of peace after the end to three decades
of war. It will be a test of character no less of the President to
deliver on these expectations.
Never has so much being asked from a Sri Lankan leader as President
Mahinda Rajapaksa enters his second term anointed as the helmsman by an
overwhelming public mandate to steer the ship of State from the trouble
waters and bring it to tranquil harbours.
He has already laid the foundation for a resurgent Sri Lanka going
into the next decade. The economy has bounced back after years of
debilitation. Damaged infrastructure is being rebuilt and new
infrastructure laid all over the country.
President Rajapaksa has initiated IT and English language programs to
get the country moving with the rest of world, Ports and Airports are
being built and the tourists industry is gradually awakening to realize
its true potential.
With the President’s 10-year Road Map to Development plan dovetailing
into his second term there is renewed hope that his vision for a
prosperous nation could well be a reality.
In Sri Lanka’s experience the second term of a President has seen the
country sliding in its performance on all fronts.
Strengthening international relations |
This is mainly due to the fact that a President in his second has
nothing to lose and is liable to act irresponsibly.
However President Rajapaksa now having got over the Constitutional
bar limiting a Presidency to only two terms has a lot riding this time
around and the country can be assured that he would make a genuine bid
to see the country not only achieve its development objectives but the
cherished goals of peace and reconciliation making Sri Lanka the ideal
nation to be emulated by others.
Of course for a country just emerging out of the ashes of war it
would not be plain sailing. Much effort and sacrifice will be needed to
make this dream a reality. There could also be many snares and pitfalls
on the way.
There are still many forces arrayed against the country who would
thwart and impede its efforts to move forward.
Therefore it would need the courage and determination of all Sri
Lankans to ensure the road is smooth for the President to traverse on
his visionary journey.He can be assured of this support from a nation
that has given him a ringing endorsement for a second term.
President Rajapaksa no doubt would use this second term to build and
consolidate on his numerous conquests. He will be mindful that he is
carrying the legacy of a leader who ushered in true independence to the
nation.
His task will therefore be all that more onerous given the high
expectation reposed in him by an adoring public in whose eyes he is a
saviour and liberator. President Rajapaksa knows the pedestal to which
he has been elevated and will be eager to deliver in his second term.
At this moment of marking President Rajapaksa’s second term
inauguration, it is only appropriate to dwell on his single contribution
to the nation that of eliminating the scourge of terrorism from its
soil. It is this singular feat that brought him such overwhelming public
adulation and reverence.
Had he not taken the decisive steps needed, had he cringed before the
mounting international pressure the problem would have still very much
be in our domain. This courage and single minded purpose of achieving
his objective is a quality reflected in his determination to achieve the
goals set in his sights.
For example he overcame all opposition to the construction of the
Norachcholai coal power plant and got the project underway whereas
previous Governments succumbed to pressure of various environmental
lobbyists and the Catholic church. Today the project is nearing
completion with the country standing to benefit immensely.
With his overwhelming mandate behind him and restrictions on
Presidential terms removed, President Mahinda Rajapaksa can only go from
strength to strength to reap the bounty of the peace achieved to charter
a new course for the country that would see it emerge as a fully fledged
nation in all its pomp and glory.
The son from Giruwapaththu who mingled with the common man, raising a
voice against the voiceless ,always in the forefront of agitation for
justice in a 40-year long political journey will today embark on yet
another phase of that journey that is bound to decide the destiny of the
nation. |