Third anniversary of War Heroes' victory :

'Terrorism destroyed country's economy and social life'

"Sri Lankans throughout the country commemorate with much pride the third anniversary of ending separatist terrorism at the Nandikadal laggon in Mullaitivu. This separatist terrorism destroyed the economy and the social life of Sri Lanka for nearly 30 years, said Mass Media and Information Minister.

"The victory achieved by Sri Lanka is so significant that no country in the world was able to achieve such a victory prior to this. By this achievement Sri Lanka entered the world history books as the only country that defeated a powerful terrorist organization that destroyed the country for a long period. This victory was not achieved by accident. It was the result of a planned and determined operation. It was a great victory achieved through sacrifice of life and limb.

"When Mahinda Rajapaksa became the President in 2005 Sri Lanka was a lawless country, the international community despised Sri Lanka and it was known as a country of brutal people.

"At that time the people of the country lived under fear of death. There was no atmosphere for them to have confidence even in the dawn of the next day. Due to the so-called ceasefire agreement the country was on the brink of splitting legally. Local and foreign elements nourished terrorism to win Eelam.

These forces made no attempt to unify the country at any time. The Mahinda Rajapaksa government had not only to fight the war to save the country, but also to safeguard the majority in the government.

"The government emerged victorious by defeating terrorism due to correct leadership, and the dedication of war heroes. Although the military form of the terrorism has been vanquished from this country the terrorist ideology has not been completely eliminated. The local and international forces in order to achieve their petty objectives are attempting to re-induce life to this cruel terrorism.

"Sri Lankans as citizens of this country should clearly and rightly understand this situation and should contribute to the future progress of this country. What they should understand and exercise is to uphold the need to march forward in unison as one nation. It should be the duty and responsibility of the people not to confine this unity for the success of a particular political party or a particular group, but to usher in a prosperous nation to posterity. I would like to emphasize that this is the golden opportunity to unite and act for achieving the economic freedom of this country similar to the defeat of terrorism three years ago.

"We have spent 64 years annually celebrating the independence we obtained in 1948. But we have not yet liberated ourselves from the colonial mindset implanted by imperialists. The dignity of this country and the indigenous thinking were dwindling towards downfall. Almost half of the 64 year period after independence, we suffered from separatist terrorism.

"Although we achieved victory from the war, the separatist ideology has not been completely discarded from our minds. It is a cause for damaging the national unity and is also a hindering the forward march of the country.

"Until such time the whole of Sri Lankan society comes forward as one nation we will not be able to embark on a glorious journey as a nation. The government has commenced the path for the prosperous journey unprecedented in the past.

"Several thousand lives were lost due to a destructive war. Millions worth of properties have been destroyed.

"The spiritual status of those who did not die has been damaged. It should be the expectation of everyone to implement solutions to these situations, If the commemoration function being held today is made to provide the strength and stimulant for this purpose, any challenge that may come from international levels could be defeated and we will be able to march forward as a victorious nation. For prosperity of a nation, patriotism as well as amity among the communities are essential factors. We have inherited a glorious history when compared to the histories of other nations.

"But due to various calamities, this glorious historical inheritance not only got devalued with the passage of time, but a society ignoring the noble qualities of this traditional inheritance and adopting low quality characteristics was being formed.

"In order to re-establish the past glory and build a noble society the people should be encouraged to get rid of pro-western opinions and they should be guided to adopt innovative indigenous thinking. Let this national commemoration of the war heroes pave the way for instilling national thinking among the people."