Third Anniversary of the Victory Day Message of the Hon. Minister of Mass Media and Information.

Sri Lankans throughout the country commemorate with much pride the third anniversary of ending the separatist terrorism at the Nandikadal lagoon in Mullativu. This separatist terrorism destroyed the economy and the social life of Sri Lanka for over 30 years. They are holding commemoration functions and pinkam ceremonies today in connection with this great victory.

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 an accident. It was the result of a planned and determined operation. It was a great victory achieved through sacrifice of life and limb.

When Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa became the President of this country 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 the fear of death. There was no atmosphere for them to have confidence not only about the future but even about the next day, tomorrow. Due to the so-called ceasefire agreement the country was in the brink of getting split legally. The local and foreign elements always nourished the terrorism to grant Elam. 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 had to fight for safeguarding the majority in the government.

It was sad to note that there was no massive people’s power at that time to understand the
critical situation faced by the country and to take the lead in opposing these forces. People were sandwiched between LTTE’s spurious propaganda and the political opinions supportive of them. They did not consider it as a national question and the need to think in unison as a question relating to the existence of the country. The freedom remained only as a dream. Under this precarious situation if the patriots in the Opposition did not extend their cooperation to the government, if they did not dedicate to make the humanitarian operation successful, the children of the country would have been forced to live in a divided country ever pressed with war situations.

The motherland emerged victorious by defeating terrorism due to correct leadership and the dedication of the war heroes over and above their duties. This succeeded in the country inheriting a unitary State. Although the military form of the terrorism has been vanquished from this country the terrorist ideology has not been completely eliminated from this country. The local and international forces in order to achieve their petty objectives are attempting to reinduce life to this cruel terrorism. These attempts take various forms at various times. It is quite clear that neither the UN humanitarian face nor the Darusman report represent for the unitary status of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans as the citizens of this country should clearly and rightly understand this situation and each and everyone of this country should contribute to the future progress of this country. What they should understand and what they should exercise is to uphold the need to march forward in unison as one nation. They should defeat all opinions against the unitary status of the country and direct the country towards prosperity. 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 the posterity. They should be partners in a coordinated endeavour for a national programme. 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 3 years ago.

We have spent 64 years celebrating annually the independence we obtained in 1948. But we have not yet liberated ourselves from the colonial mindset implanted by the imperialists. The dignity of this country, and the indigenous thinking were dwindling towards the downfall. Almost half of the 64 year period after independence, we suffered from the separatist terrorism. Although we achieved victory from the war, the separatist ideology has not got completely discarded from our minds. It is a cause for damaging the national unity and is also a hinder for the forward march of the country. Until such time the whole 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 started the path for the prosperous journey unprecedented in the past. For example it was after 64 years we were able to make our road network suitable for the era which the colonialists made to suit their requirements.

We have got the Kandy-Mahiyangana road developed to suit our needs. Although it is 64 years after independence we have not yet modernized the No. 1 road of Sri Lanka. In the near future the Colombo-Kandy road and all the other roads in the country will be modernized. There will be massive development of roads, ports, airports, expressways, flyovers, and garbage free cities in the future. It is our motherland that becomes victorious through these developments. The benefits of these developments will be enjoyed not by us but our future generation.

If the 3rd anniversary of the 2nd independence is to become meaningful the country’s prosperity should get developed annually. The task to be performed by the people in this regard is immense.

Several thousand lives were lost due to a destructive war. Millions of worth properties have been destroyed. Spiritual status of those who did not die has been damaged. It should be the expectation of everyone to implement solutions to these situations without keeping on talking about it. If the commemoration function being held today is made to provide the strength and stimulant for this purpose, any challenge that may come from the 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 is 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 times 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 to build a noble society the people should be made 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 instilling the national thinking among the people.

Dr. Keheliya Rambukwella MP
Hon. Minister of Mass Media and Information.