President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that this year’s May Day while rightfully honouring the workers should also be used as an opportunity to voice the solidarity of the nation against the injustice perpetrated on the country before the world.

“The time has come to show our strength and this should not be confined to expressing worker solidarity on this day but also to demonstrate against the injustice done to the country before the world” President Rajapaksa said addressing electoral organisers of the UPFA at Temple Trees on Saturday.

He said several parties were harbouring a grudge against Sri Lanka for defeating terrorism. “I am, prepared to face any punishment on behalf of the motherland with great honour.”

We will not permit the sacrifices of our heroic soldiers to be undermined by anyone.

The President said today the entire world enjoyed the benefits from the defeat of terrorism in Sri Lanka.

This is despite the claim of by most organisations that the LTTE, the most brutal terrorist outfit in the world, was invincible.

“Similarly you are today aware of the threats directed at us. This is being carried out in a well orchestrated manner before the world community. Certain elements who have descended to the lowest form of politics failing to make a distinction between the country and party politics, not hesitating to denigrate the country due to the greed for dollars and influenced by certain political idealogies, attempted to paint a wrong picture of the country before the world.

Describing the terrorism that prevailed bfore 2009, the President said: “This was the situation at that time. It was left to us to pull out the country from this morass”. He said “we spent over Rs. 2,000 billion on the North to speed up development there. But today the picture being painted is of displaced persons and the blatant falsehood of child soldiers being tortured”.

President Rajapaksa emphasized that the law applied equally from the Prime Minister downwards and no one was immune to the law.

“We have today released a large number of child soldiers. Similarly terror suspects have been released in large numbers. They have been rehabilitated and absorbed into society as productive citizens”.

The President also said that today not only the North but the entire country was free of terrorism. He recalled how former President Premadasa was killed by a terrorist bomb on May Day in 1992.

“We liberated the country somehow and today all enjoy peace and freedom.

We saw how the people moved about freely this New Year attending to their work and traditions free of fear and tension. There were times when May Day was not held in this country due to fear of terrorist attacks. Today with total peace, we are confident of holding this May Day on a grand scale and send a resounding message of solidarity to the world", he said.