Text of Address by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the ceremony to pay tribute to the Heroes of War at the Parliament Grounds on May 22nd 2009

This is the first War Heroes commemoration rally being held in the country that has obtained complete freedom after 30 years. I address you today a country that is completely free, in a unitary state, under a single national standard.

Many years ago many of you too, did not think it would be possible to defeat the LTTE militarily. Not only you, even the international community did not believe we would be ever able to carry out that task.

Some national leaders from abroad told me that the LTTE leader was one who had achieved the best skills in warfare; that he had won in battles against many of our military commanders. The LTTE had both strength and experience. Therefore, we should not go to war with him. They wanted what was already divided to be given to the LTTE.

However, I had a great belief in the people of this country and our security forces; not only in the Commanders and higher ranks but in all our brave troops. There were some who said our Army Commander was not even suitable to lead the Salvation Army. Where are they now? I know better about our people than the international community. We placed our trust in our people. We had great trust in our sons and daughters.

The people of our country have a great love and devotion to their land of birth. This love and devotion is mostly hidden. I knew that when this love and devotion begins to emerge, it will not be second to any power in the world. We can then stand up to any power in the world.

What we enjoy today are the benefits of that love for the country. We have today destroyed the world’s most ruthless terrorists without leaving any of their leaders.

Friends,

Terrorists have nothing today. Some may still be hidden behind masks, we know about them.

Today, the terrorists have no large camps to which they can forcibly take away the children of Tamil mothers for military training. Artillery, heavy weapons and tanks do not speak for the terrorists anymore. Aircraft and runways have been blown to smithereens. Oil storage complexes, weapons factories, administrative centres of terror have been uprooted from the motherland. Naval forces and ships can rest on the sea bed. The days when they were able to build marine fortresses and harbours are over. The courts of the tigers have been swept out our motherland forever.

In short the entire 15,000 kilometers of territory once given through a deed of gift to terrorists is entirely free.

Friends,

In the past when a mother and father came to Colombo from Galle, one came by train and the other by bus, to make sure their children would have even one parent. The school van service was a solution the people found for the terrorist problem. Traveling in public transport was considered an invitation to death. Mothers in the north did not send their children to school for fear they will be dragged to war. Mothers in the south kept guard at schools for fear of bomb attacks. When our children went to school, in the North and East the children carried T-56 in their hands and cyanide capsules round their necks. Now our people are free of these fears.

Friends,

The National Flag flutters calling for unity today. This is the first time that I address rally where the Nation Flag is seen with such pride.

There was a time when permission was needed from the LTTE to raise the National Flag in Trincomalee. The LTTE wanted their flag too raised. Where ever there is no right to hoist the National Flag, there is no freedom. Today, both in the south and north, and every where the LTTE had fortresses, it is the same flag that flies. Today, the National Flag on the three wheeler in Dondra flutters in Jaffna, too. The flag that is raised at the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy flutters in Puthumathalan, too. We must be proud of this freedom we have obtained after 30 years. We should rejoice in it. If not you cannot be a child of Mother Lanka.

However, in expressing that pride we should do so with great restraint. We must not hurt the feelings of any others.

What you have in your hands today is a flag that has been adorned by the sacrifices of the lives of thousands of our heroic troops, in carrying on a battle as the world’s best and most disciplined army.

Friends,

This flag flutters with pride not only in the south. It is also seen on the houses of the Tamil people in the North, in the homes of the Muslims in Trincomalee, and the homes of the Adivasis, too. Therefore, at a time when everyone is thinking as being in one country, one should not hurt the feelings of anyone. If when you raise the National Flag to celebrate this victory a single Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher, Malay or any other person is hurt, there is no purpose in that celebration. Dignified people do not behave in such manner. Victory must be accepted looking towards the future. In order to defend our victory there should be discipline.

Those of the all political parties are also celebrating with kiribath today. This is because they too think of a single country. This is the time for unity. If we take this flag to our hand and hurt the feelings of any citizen, there will be no purpose in the freedom that was won for us by the sacrifice of life our troops.

For how long have we waited for this day? For how long have we suffered? How many lives of our children have been sacrificed? So many of our people in the three armed forces, the police and civil defence corps have sacrificed their lives in the past 30 years.

Remember that when this National Flag flutters in the wind it also carries the last breaths of our heroes of war. I ask of you that as long as we breathe we must remember these heroes.

It is the nation’s responsibility to look after the families of those who sacrificed their lives in this battle. To the families of our troops who have sacrificed their lives I say that other than the life of your son, brother or husband, we will provide everything else to you; and that as long as those you love rest in this earth, we shall always always remember you. What we won by so much sacrifice of life must be protected. This War Memorial was erected before Parliament to pay our heroes of war the due homage

The world still commemorates those heroes of war who died in the Second World War to save the world from Hitler. As long as the poppy flower blossoms those heroes are remembered. Today it is necessary to name a flower of our own to commemorate the Sri Lankan heroes of war who have saved this world from terror. It is necessary that we make the world remember our heroes of war for as long as that flower blooms. It is the only way to protect and defend this victory.

Friends,

Earlier in 1856, there were five socio-political forces, known as Sangha, Veda, Guru, Govi, Kamkaru. These comprised the Pancha Maha Balvegaya. But today there is another important force. They are the Heroes of War. The Ranaviru Balavegaya. Therefore from now on we will have to say “Sangha, Veda, Guru, Govi, Kamkaru saha Ranaviru”. When the heroes of war also join, this will be a six- fold force. We should go forward today with these forces in the vanguard.

The new freedom of this country is a great responsibility. From the first to the fourth Executive President and government of our country, whenever they had to face a problem they had an answer at the ready. It is to put all the blame on the war. But now that the war is over neither I, nor any one who comes after, have no such thing to say. Our ministers too cannot now be free of responsibility. No one can say that and escape now.

We all have to show our success in work. That is the meaning of accepting responsibility for the people. We took over the country accepting that responsibility. We are ready to carryout that responsibility in a manner better than any ruler in our history has done. All of us should shoulder this responsibility, including the working people.

As much as I have fulfilled the promise in the Mahinda Chinthana to rid this country of terrorism, I now say that I will also fulfill the promise the build the nation. We must eliminate corruption and waste from the country. We must track down those behind the drug peddlers and bootleggers.

You must now be able to live in this country as you did 30 or 40 years ago. Today, you have won an incomparable battle and come to the position of greatness as a nation in the world. That nation should be adorned with discipline.

Many are the obstacles placed in our way in this struggle. It was no walk on a bed of roses. Our troops had to face torrential rains, they were caught in major floods, waded across deep ditches, they struggled through mud and grime. When the LTTE was building huge earth bunds some in the south tried to build huge concrete walls against us, to obstruct our work. The pressures that came at us internationally were not small. As much as our friends, there were other states too, that hurt us very much. But, today all of these countries are congratulating us on our victory. Now the world sees that the path we took was correct. We cannot have anger and hatred in our minds.

In this struggle the biggest beating and the most painful things happened to me as the Head of State. Many tried to topple me; there was much mud slinging and character assassination of me. It was me, and others of my family, the Defence Secretary and the Army Commander that they wanted to take to international criminal courts. Some are trying to do this even now. But I am not afraid of walking up to any gallows, having defeated the worst terrorists and I know that I have the confidence and the strength of my people.

But I have forgiven all of the, who were obstructing us. If I have been able to forget to all this wrong done to me, you must also be able to do so. As I have put all of that to the past, you must also do the same. In the face of this victory a section of our own people should not be cornered. They should be drawn in to our midst. Let us create a path where by which their wrongs and enmities of the past will be abandoned and they work for the country in the future. All I need is for my country, my motherland to shine in glory.

There are some who try to deprive us of this victory. This cannot be done, because we have the strength of the people. I must on behalf of the nation express my sincere gratitude to all parents who gave their children and wives who gave their husbands for this great battle. Our thanks go not only to the Defence Secretary, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Army, Navy and Air Force Commanders, the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Civil Defence Corps. It goes in full measure to all officers and those of all ranks who contributed so much, with such sacrifice to achieve this victory. I salute them all.

I now call upon all you take example and join in the new challenge of building the Nation.

I invite you all to come together to achieve this.