President at Air Force 60th anniversary:
War success belongs to all Forces
* Govt will not harp on this victory
* SLAF skills to rebuild nation
Sandasen MARASINGHE
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the government will never
attempt to harp on the victory of its humanitarian operation earned by
the valiant forces and the people of this country.
The President was delivering the keynote address at the Sri Lanka Air
Force (SLAF) 60th anniversary celebrations held at the Ratmalana Air
Force Camp premises yesterday.
President Rajapaksa also observed that although certain groups wanted
to obliterate the fact the people of this country would never allow the
victory over terrorism to be forgotten. He added that those who are
against recalling the memories of the victory are the same elements who
attempted to disrupt the humanitarian operation.
The President stated that during the humanitarian operation while
certain groups attempted to create a distorted image of our forces, the
Air Force played a remarkable role. “The SLAF targeted precisely the
enemy locations located among civilians without harming any civilians.”
He added that if the SLAF could not perform its responsibility
properly, Sri Lanka’s history could have been written in a different way
due to outside pressure. President Rajapaksa also stated that mistakes
are made even by persons who possess the most sophisticated technology
than us.
President Rajapaksa stated that the country was not destroyed by a
war but it was destroyed by terrorists.
”Today we have to rebuild a nation that was destroyed by terrorism.”
He added that the remarkable training and the discipline of the SLAF
that was used to liberate the nation earlier, should now be utilized to
build the our nation. Also during his speech the President extended the
condolence of the nation to the family members of the pilot who died in
the Kafir crash Tuesday and added that the life of a war hero is more
valuable to the nation than a heap of metal.
The President also stated that the SLAF initiated in March 1951 as
the Royal Ceylon Air Force with four aircraft meant for ceremonial
purposes. “But now it consists of about 1,400 officers and 35,000
airmen”. He added that training and other needy equipment will be
provided to the SLAF. |