Happy Birthday Your Excellency! Tribute to the Greatest living Legend of our times: President Mahinda Rajapaksa

By Dr. Telli C. Rajaratnam

Ceylon obtained independence from the British Rule in 1948 by smooth transition after India gained its independence. We honour our Patriots who contributed towards that endeavour. But the crucial factor is the independence gained by defeating terror under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the midst of so much interference from Developed countries with vested interests is far greater achievement in the history of this country. This is an event to celebrate.

THERE SHALL BE ONE LAW FOR ALL. THE TERRITORIAL LAW OF SRI LANKA SHALL BE THE SAME FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. EACH MOLECULE OF SRI LANKAN SOIL BELONGS TO EACH CITIZEN ALIKE. EACH CITIZEN HAS A RIGHT TO LIVE IN ANY PART OF SRI LANKA. THE TAMILS MUST CEASE TO TALK OF NORTH AND THE EAST AS MOTHERLAND AND FATHERLAND. SRI LANKA WILL BE THE PARADISE FOR ALL INHABITANTS. THERE SHALL BE ONLY ONE RACE- THE HUMAN RACE. ONE NATION. THERE WILL BE ONE SOVEREIGN-ONE EXECUTIVE. THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE LEADER – PRESIDENT MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE.

People’s President

Through the experience he gained through many political tidal waves and his survival to become the Leader of the Nation, President Mahinda Rajapaksa knows not fear. He has no doubts. He thinks very hard before he makes decisions, once made he will justify his cause with his skills of advocacy which has won over his opponents. Never in the political history of any country has so many opposition members joined and supported the President whom they once opposed.

“There go my people, I must follow them, for I am their Leader” were the words of Mahatma Gandhi practiced to the very syllable by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. That is the secret of his success. Amidst the turbulent waves of politics and the intricacies of conspiracies by vested interests- President Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-elected as the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka for a second term. The Victor is President Mahinda Rajapaksa, The Victory was inevitable due to the patriotic deeds of the President and the Victorious are the Nation as a whole.

Liberation by the Saviour of the Nation

Thousands of men, women and children driven from their lands have returned home. The demands of an outraged community have been met. We have achieved a victory for a safer world, for our democratic values, and for a stronger Sri Lanka.We fought and liberated the people held in hostage, what we achieved and what we have to do now to advance the peace and together with the people, forge a future of freedom, progress and harmony. This can be done only under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa

The Terrorists were the cause for Men of all ages separated from their loved ones killed and forced to join the Terrorists, children made to watch their parents die; a whole people forced to abandon in hours communities their families had spent generations building. When our diplomatic efforts to avert this horror with the LTTE were rebuffed, and the violence mounted, the President took affirmative action. Now the people are free, the roads that were closed for years have opened, the people have been liberated.

Unitary State

Now, all communities must join hands in unity and assist President Mahinda Rajapaksa to continue the development work.

Stability of Leadership

Finally, we have averted the wider war this conflict might well have sparked. Now, we’re entering a new phase – building that peace – and there are formidable challenges, the foremost amongst them is the stability of Leadership and the Government.

Development

We must build and develop our country. For that to happen, the European Union must plan for tomorrow, not just today. Our friends the United States, China, India and the United Kingdom must assist us in our endeavour. They must provide most of the resources for this effort, but it is in Sri Lanka’s interest to do our part as well.We must pave a path to a prosperous shared future, a unifying magnet more powerful than the pull of hatred and destruction that has threatened to tear us apart.

Challenges

Sri Lanka still faces great challenges in this world, but we look forward to meeting them. We can successfully maintain the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka now that we have re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa. We must stand united as Patriots of Sri Lanka to support and defend , President Mahinda Rajapaksa and support the 18th amendment to the constitution.

Patriotism

Patriotism is the grund norm of Civilized Society. As citizens we owe allegiance to the Constitution of Sri Lanka and we owe our loyalty and allegiance to the President. We must appreciate the fact that we would be the most blessed Nation for easy development only if we can eradicate all the other Tamil Terror groups who are terrorizing us including me personally in the city of Colombo. The total eradication of Terrorism is possible only if arms are seized from all militant groups who pay lip service to democracy whilst flirting with the major Terrorist Group.

Civil allegiance is the duty of loyalty and obedience which a person owes to the State of which he is a citizen.

Due to our internal conflicts which we could have long resolved, external forces with vested interests have all sought to intervene some in the pretext of resolving the conflict but our experience has proved that the gap of resolution of conflict does not seem to be narrower now. Those who finance terror through some NGO’s, those who launder their money, and those that cover their tracks are every bit as guilty as the fanatic who commits the final act. We look for diplomacy. But there is no diplomacy with some of those opposed to us. We do not consider them opponents but they oppose every conceivable move we make to develop the country. Sometimes, there is no compromise with such people, no meeting of minds – no point of understanding – so we would have a just choice -defeat it or be defeated by it.

We learnt that however much we strive for peace; we need a strong defense capability where a peaceful approach fails. Whatever the dangers of the action we take, the dangers of inaction are far greater.

Laws will have to be changed not to deny the basic liberties but to prevent their abuse and protect the most basic liberty of all; freedom from terror. The people are terrorized by certain Tamil s with vested interests in their vile pursuits for power committing crimes and targeting a reflex scenario as if the Government was responsible.

We must always be on guard for those who will exploit and manipulate for their own narrow political ends who will distort the essence of pluralism and tolerance for their own extremist agendas. People are being tainted by the reckless media. It is a national catastrophe for the nation. We must enact new laws amend the old.

We must work as a community to ensure that everyone not just a privileged few get the collective ability to further the individual’s interests.

The governing idea of modern social democracy is community founded on the principles of social justice. That people should rise according to merit not birth; that the test of any decent society is not the contentment of the wealthy and strong, but the commitment to the poor and weak. But values aren’t enough. The mantle of leadership comes at a price; the courage to learn and change; to show how values that stand for all ages can be applied in a way relevant to each age. We learnt that equality is about equal worth and not equal outcomes.

The standard of living is higher. The expectations of the people are higher. This is a consumer age. People don’t take what they are given. They demand more. The rising cost of living is because of Terrorism – not only the amount we spend on the war but the consequences that follow the false allegation by the Terrorists and their henchmen in Parliament who travel on diplomatic Passports, enjoy all the perks of the State, desecrate the sanctity of the House of Parliament and make false allegations to the world at large – these include all Tamil Militant who wear a mask of democracy and continue to be having the ideals of the Terrorists-these men and women will howl and cry but fear that they may not be elected to Parliament again. They neither love their own people nor the country -they love themselves.

We are not alone in this. All round the world governments are struggling with the same problems. The program of reform is huge. We must have co-operation, determination and consensus. We are a community of people, whose self interest and mutual interest at crucial points merge and that it is through a sense of justice that community is born and nurtured. This is the moment to bring the faiths closer together in understanding of our common values and heritage a source of unity and strength.

By the strength of our common Endeavour we achieve more together than we can alone. We must reach beyond our fears and our divisions to a new time of great and common purpose. Let us trace the roots of affirmative action. Let us determine what it is and what it isn’t. Let us see where it has worked and where it hasn’t and ask ourselves what we need to do now.

The people love the President. His achievements are remarkable. He has been a stoic in the face of adversity. He has earnestly endeavoured to unify the nation. He is totally committed to serve the people. It is genuine unwavering and it is selfless.

Never in the political history of any country has so many opposition members joined and supported the President whom they once opposed. “There go my people, I must follow them, for I am their Leader” were the words of Mahatma Gandhi practiced to the very syllable by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. That is the secret of his success. Amidst the turbulent waves of politics and the intricacies of conspiracies by vested interests- President Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-elected as the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka for a second term. The Victor is President Mahinda Rajapaksa, The Victory was inevitable due to the patriotic deeds of the President and the Victorious are the Nation as a whole.

Saviour of the Nation

Thousands of men, women and children driven from their lands have returned home. The demands of an outraged community have been met. We have achieved a victory for a safer world, for our democratic values, and for a stronger Sri Lanka.

The Terrorists were the cause for Men of all ages separated from their loved ones killed and forced to join the Terrorists, children made to watch their parents die; a whole people forced to abandon in hours communities their families had spent generations building.

Stability of Leadership

Finally, we have averted the wider war this conflict might well have sparked. Now, we’re entering a new phase – building that peace – and there are formidable challenges, the foremost amongst them is the stability of Leadership and the Government.

Development

We must build and develop our country. For that to happen, the European Union must plan for tomorrow, not just today. Our friends the United States, China, India and the United Kingdom must assist us in our endeavour. They must provide most of the resources for this effort, but it is in Sri Lanka’s interest to do our part as well.

We must pave a path to a prosperous shared future, a unifying magnet more powerful than the pull of hatred and destruction that has threatened to tear us apart.

Tolerance & Freedom

President Mahinda Rajapaksa represents tolerance and freedom, not repression and terror. As such every individual or group which transgresses these ideals should be dealt with by the Laws of the land.

President & The Nation

We have sent a message of determination and hope to all the world. Think of all the millions of innocent people who died in this bloody century because democracies reacted too late to evil and aggression. Because of our resolve, the past is gone not with helpless indignation, but with a hopeful affirmation of human dignity and human rights for the 2010. In a world too divided by fear among people of different racial, ethnic and religious groups, we have given confidence to the friends of freedom and pause to those who would exploit human difference for inhuman purposes.

Sri Lanka still faces great challenges in this world, but we look forward to meeting them. We can successfully maintain the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka now that we have re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa. We must stand united as Patriots of Sri Lanka to support and defend , President Mahinda Rajapaksa and support the 18^th amendment to the constitution.

The assassination of President Premadasa, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Presidential Candidate Gamini Dissanayake, Cabinet Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and two of my relatives Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar are some of the few victims cited. However, during the 30 years of Tamil Terrorism not one Tamil Terrorist Leader was killed by the Terrorists. This reveals that there was conspiracy between all the Eelam militant groups who conveniently registered their organizations in the same name of their militant Groups as Political Parties but recent history and present observation reveals to us they never changed their attitudes. They convinced those around them that they hated the LTTE and even had suicide cadres to display attempted assassinations. All Tamil Militants have terrorised their own people. They never changed – They earned money and still are marketing the ultimate objectives of terrorism by slandering the Government and making derogatory remarks about the Government. We will always be affected by the memories of the damage caused by the Terrorists- we shall carry with us for as long as we live.

Humanitarian law

This limitation to the means of waging war is not, however, necessarily humanitarian in nature, and much of the early restraints were based on economic, political, and military considerations. However, the need for a balance between the considerations of humanity and the military actions necessary to win a war is regarded as defining the very nature of international humanitarian law, making military necessity a central principle in this balance.

Military necessity admits of all direct destruction of life or limb of armed enemies, and of other persons whose destruction is incidentally unavoidable in the armed contests of the war; it allows of the capturing of every armed enemy, and every enemy of importance or of peculiar danger to the captor; it allows of all destruction of property, and obstruction of the ways and channels of traffic, travel, or communication, and of all withholding of sustenance or means of life from the enemy; Men who take up arms against one another in public war do not cease on this account to be moral beings, responsible to one another and to the God.

The ‘principle of distinction’ is fundamental to humanitarian law, but its precise content varies according to the kind of conflict. In national liberation struggles – and international armed conflicts – the distinction is between ‘civilians’ and ‘combatants.’ Combatants have no right to life under humanitarian law. Every individual is classified as either a combatant or as a kind of protected person, such as a prisoner of war (a captured combatant) or a civilian.

An individual’s rights change when his classification changes. A civilian has the right not to be targeted for attack and the right to receive some protection from attack. If the civilian joins the armed forces, he exchanges the rights of a civilian for the rights of a combatant. A combatant has the right to take part in hostilities.

Global problem

We are not alone in this. All round the world, governments are struggling with the same problems. We must have co-operation, determination and consensus. We are a community of people, whose self-interest and mutual interest at crucial points merge and that it is through a sense of justice that community is born and nurtured. This is the moment to bring the faiths closer together in understanding of our common values and heritage a source of unity and strength.

By the strength of our common endeavour, we achieve more together than we can alone. We must reach beyond our fears and our divisions to a new time of great and common purpose. Let us trace the roots of affirmative action. Let us determine what it is and what it isn’t. Let us see where it has worked and where it hasn’t and ask ourselves what we need to do now.

We must not permit a contaminated moral environment. Let us not negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

There are individuals and groups who may be critical of the President for political gain, but the President has always taken affirmative action within the norms required of the President. No progress can be made unless a common ground is established. To endeavour to establish common ground certain specific responsibilities on the people and political leaders should be imposed.

Development

We must build and develop our country. For that to happen, the European Union must plan for tomorrow, not just today. Our friends the United States, China, India and the United Kingdom must assist us in our endeavour. They must provide most of the resources for this effort, but it is in Sri Lanka’s interest to do our part as well.

We must pave a path to a prosperous shared future, a unifying magnet more powerful than the pull of hatred and destruction that has threatened to tear us apart.

LTTE Destroyed. Militancy of Tamils must be destroyed

As long as any form of Tamil militancy remains and Tamil militants of bygone eras are in power, as long as we give prominence to Tamil criminals and Tamil terror groups the journey for development will be far sighted.

Tolerance & Freedom

Our Government represents tolerance and freedom, not repression and terror. As such every individual or group which transgresses these ideals should be dealt with by the Laws of the land.

President’s Duty towards Nation

We have sent a message of determination and hope to all the world. Think of all the millions of innocent people who died in this bloody century because democracies reacted too late to evil and aggression.

Because of our resolve, the past is gone not with helpless indignation, but with a hopeful affirmation of human dignity and human rights for the 2010. In a world too divided by fear among people of different racial, ethnic and religious groups, we have given confidence to the friends of freedom and pause to those who would exploit human difference for inhuman purposes.

Sri Lanka still faces great challenges in this world, but we look forward to meeting them. We can successfully maintain the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka now that we have re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa . We must stand united as Patriots of Sri Lanka to support and defend the saviour of the Nation, President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Greatest Legend of our times President Mahinda Rajapaksa was conferred with Honorary Doctorates. The first one is a Doctor of Law from the University of Colombo on September 6, 2009. Another degree was awarded by the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia on February 6, 2010 for his contribution for world peace and outstanding success in defeating terrorism.

He was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Peoples’ Friendship University of the Russian Federation in February, 2010 at its 50th anniversary celebrations.

The Visva Bharati University of Calcutta in India conferred on him the title Professor Emeritus for his record on human rights.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate by the Beijing University of Foreign Languages in China on August 2011

Economic Development

Despite the country facing internal and external shocks President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been able to steer the country to greater heights due to his foresight. This has helped the country to maintain a growth rate of 6.5 cent, despite many internal and external shocks which includes floods, protracted war, escalating oil price and the global financial crisis. The election manifesto of the UPFA Government Mahinda Chintana is a medium term plan and the benefits can be reaped by everybody in the medium term roads, railway or in rural development. It laid much emphasis on the rural masses as there was a regional imbalance.