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Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa during his address in Parliament yesterday
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday assured that war heroes who sacrificed their lives to secure the country will not be betrayed for any reason whilst reminding that they are now on the frontline as health heroes saving the nation from the COVID pandemic.
“No matter the challenge is, we will not betray the victory of thousands of lives sacrificed to save this country from the worst terrorism ever,” Prime Minister told the Parliament in a special speech as the country observed the 12th National War Heroes Commemoration.
“I emphasise to this House that the protection of those great heroes should be a great human quality of all Sri Lankans. We value the sacrifices of all war heroes. My country comes first – neither was it changed then nor will it change today,” Rajapaksa added.
Reminding that these greatest war heroes of the world were the children of the common people during that time, the Prime Minister said it was because of their bravery the entire country enjoys freedom today.
“18 May is a special day. It has been 12 years since we wiped out 30-years of terrorism from this country,” said Rajapaksa who was the President in 2009.
He recalled that it was not possible for the Members of Parliament particularly in North and East to come to the House or to freely walk in their villages or to express their free views and engage in politics.
“We ended the era when our people in the North and East were displaced as refugees and are now settled in to their villages. The public representatives from the North and East today are living with dignity, freedom and enjoys the democracy – all thanks to these brave war heroes. “Your conscience knows it better than anyone in this House. But, always remember to gain that democracy and freedom, it also took thousands of lives and thousands being disabled to protect the sovereignty of our motherland,” the Premier stressed.
He pointed out that no soldier went to war to commit genocide. “Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, Former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, and Former Air Force Commander Roshan Goonetileke never led the forces to commit genocide, but to save the lives of the innocent people in the North who were used as human shields by terrorists,” Rajapaksa emphasised.
The Premier also said the war victory is a great victory for the Parliament in particular, as public representatives were the first to be assassinated by the LTTE terrorists. “A large number of public representatives from Duraiappa to Amirthalingam to Thambimuttu lost their lives. R. Premadasa who represented this House, Lakshman Kadirgamar, Gamini Dissanayake, Lalith Athulathmudali, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, D.M. Dasanayaka, C.V. Gunaratne were among those assassinated by terrorists,” the Prime Minister recalled.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the same war heroes would set an example to the world again by fighting against the worst pandemic the world faced ever.
“Today the war heroes have become health heroes. The same war heroes that fought the worst terrorists and set an example to the world are today fighting in the frontline to save our country once again from the worst pandemic the world ever faced. We have deployed the most brave and capable defence personnel who can to face any situation. I am proud of them on a day like today,” Rajapaksa said.
