Elephantine goodwill from Sri Lanka
[Monday, February 26, 2007 - 10.30 GMT]    

"I respectfully call upon the Government and people of China to accept this gift. What we are bestowing on you is the honour and affection of the people of Sri Lanka. We Sri Lankans consider the elephant a symbol of our environment and our history," said President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he gifted an elephant from the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage to the Beijing Zoo, earlier today. (Feb. 26)

"We believe that the earth belongs to all animals as much as to us; that we should protect all this for future generations. The ruler is not the owner of that heritage, but only its temporary custodian. Therefore, I remember with love the children of China. My son, my daughter, this is my small gift to you who will inherit the future."  the President of Sri Lanka said.  

President Rajapaksa further said: "There are many extant records of the great service that elephants together with our ancestors performed for our country. They have helped us in the past to build such wonders as Sigiriya, to the colossal dagabas, and the great reservoirs. The heroic warriors of
the past rode elephants to the battlefields against invaders to our country."

"Therefore, Sri Lankans honour the elephants with a great sense of gratitude. We believe that the elephant owns a part of our glorious history."

"China is a country with a long and glorious history. We are aware that the Chinese people have worked with  understanding of the environment to achieve their development goals. The Chinese can be described as a people who
stopped the spread of desertification by growing a great wall of trees. Therefore, we believe that the gift of this elephant is most suited to country such as China.

"The main challenge facing a developing country today is to achieve the expectations of man while protecting the fauna and flora of the land and its environment. All people who have made development as their goal are faced with this great challenge. Similarly, our environment suffers great damage
due to war and poverty."

"That is why we extend our cooperation to every step taken by the international community towards achieving world peace and eradicating poverty. Similarly, it is necessary to identify terrorism as a cancer that brings great destruction to the people and the environment of a country.  We believe that all countries that love the environment accept their
responsibility to eradicate such cancers affecting their lands.

"There is a proverb that says: 'One who protects the forest, protects the river; one who protects the river, protects the valley; and one who protects the valley, brings tranquility to the land'. This describes China very well. We believe that peace reigns in China because of its affection towards the
environment.

"Similar to China, we too who are from a country with a very long history accept this vision. We believe that the earth belongs to all animals as much as to us; that we should protect all this for future generations. The ruler is not the owner of that heritage, but only its temporary custodian. Therefore, I remember with love the children of China. My son, my daughter, this is my small gift to you who will inherit the future."    

 

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Last Updated Date: February 26, 2007 - 10.30 GMT