President Rajapakse hands GR to the Nation as Presidential-Candidate of SLPP
Posted on August 12th, 2019
It was one of the finest & most refreshing speeches delivered by former President Mahinda Rajapakse now Opposition Leader and had all the power and verbatim of a national leader. He raised the tempo high enough before declaring to the Nation the candidate whom he said the Nation had already elected. Some of the salient points covered in his speech delivered at the Sugathadasa Stadium is noteworthy.
Date: 11 August 2019
Venue: Sugathadasa Stadium
Event: Sri Lanka PoduJana Peramuna National Convention to announce its Presidential Candidate
The President took us back through memory lane from how the SLFP was first formed, the ideological basis on which the SLFP existed and the manner SLFP had weathered political victimization that even included the removal of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s civic rights by UNP for 7 years. To all who lived during this period every word spoken by Mahinda Rajapakse would have brought home emotive sentiments.
He also took us back to the day he stepped down before election results were released and went to his hometown where for months lakhs of people travelled to show the world that they still loved him.
The journey thereafter that began with the formation of the SLPP he credited rightly to Basil Rajapakse. The cheers & applause acknowledged his role.
All that President Rajapakse spoke about what the country now needs showed what the country had lost under the present government.
When President Rajapakse told the Nation that we need to bring back law & order, he reminded all of the law & order lost since January 2015.
When he spoke of the numerous methods adopted to crush their spirits, and defeat their popularity amongst the public, it brought to mind the string of revengeful politics that was always part of UNP ideology.
When he spoke about the imprisoning Maha Sangha & Armed Forces personnel and victimizing SLFP supporters, the people’s minds were taken back to all the revengeful incidents that happened since January 2015.
When he spoke of the 19th amendment and highlighted how a constitution was amended to prevent 3 brothers from being elected by the People – the reality dawned on how and who was part of this set up.
When he said that inspite of the victimizations, vengeful politics and revengeful acts, that he or his family did not betray the Nation’s sovereignty for their independence, it was nothing other than the truth.
While the UNP 24×7 and their supporters threw mud & humiliated the Rajapakses – President Rajapakse did not utter a word against them.
When President Rajapakse said that this government has attacked all religions, all religious heads and humiliated them – Buddhists, Catholics/Christians, Hindus and Islamic adherents would have all nodded in silent acknowledgement.
When he said that hate-filled revenge politics had lasted long enough & must be put to rest – it was a sentiment we all wanted to hear.
His ideology was never hatred or to take revenge and that is what makes him Mahinda Rajapakse
– වෛරකර මට දිනන්න දෙයක් නෑ
කාලය විසින් අපව නිර්දෝශී කලා.
කාලය විසින්ම අපිව නිර්දේශ කලා.
– මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ -“
“රටම බලාපොරොත්තු වූ ජනාධිපති අපෙක්ෂකයා ගෝ
President Rajapakse also took many on a guilt trip … he roared…
When Hambantatot Port was put for sale
When Mattala Airport was put for sale after referring to it as a paddy storage
When the Govt went to Geneva and signed resolutions in UNHRC against our forces
When even betal leaves were taxed
When people had to wait in queues for petrol
When people suffered from natural disasters
When murders were taking place in broad daylight… People remembered the independence that the Rajapakse Government gave
When garbage piled & the stink became unbearable.. People remembered us, he said
When this government began delaying elections .. people remembered us
When bombs went off … all communities remembered us
These victims had no solace – the SLPP is for them and the thunderous applause was enough.
President Rajapakse went on to say that the lifespan of the Government was no almost over.
Time had returned faith in them and had absolved them but he reminded the Nation that what happened after January 2015 had reversed all that they had accomplished since 2005 and that a new government was retaking a destroyed nation, a nation that was not the same as that handed over in January 2015. It brought home a lot of realities to the People.
He reminded all where the destructions have taken place since January 2015
Sri Lanka was now a nation that had given little attention to National Security and he reminded the Nation that without National Security there can be no Nation and safety for its People.
He brought relief to mothers when he said a new government must put an end to mothers guarding school, it was the task of the law enforcements not parents. He mocked at the manner that the present government had said Rs.100,000 would be given for every dead child. He said that national security must return so that all religions can practice their faith without fear.
We don’t need a government who tells civilians to look after national security, he said.
President Rajapakse took people down memory lane covering all that his government had done
- People didn’t think we could end 30 years of terrorism – but we did
- The Jaffna people didn’t think they could ever travel by train to the South – but they did
- The Muslim refugees never thought they would come out of their refugee camps- but they did
- The People never thought development could happen at such a fast pace – but we did
- People never thought Colombo could become such a beautiful city – but they saw
- It was only after elections were held in North that even TNA was free to travel to the North, President Rajapakse thundered!
President Rajapakse next went on to draw in our minds the picture of what the Nation needs and who the Nation needs to rebuild the Nation
- We need a person who will take ownership of the Nation’s National Security
- We need a person who will prevent without taking action afterwards
- We need a person who grew up with discipline because only such a person can bring discipline to the country
- We need a person who will not bend the law, who has the courage & will to take on the task of rebuilding the Nation
- We need a person who knows how to protect our national assets both on land & in sea
- We don’t need a person who has only tons of vision with no action
- We don’t need anyone who boasts he will do – we now need someone who has shown he can do
- We need a leader who will not fool the youth with promises like free wifi, chewing gum, bracelets, small cars – the Youth must have a leader they can believe in & look up to
- We need a leader who will terminate poverty, drugs, mafia
- We need a leader who both Youth & Old can look up to, a leader who loves the Nation
- We need a leader who doesn’t just boast – we need a leader who is honest, with courage, who is fond of children & who leads a good marital life
President Rajapakse said that the Nation has been seeking such a leader since January 2015 and he too was aware of what the Nation was seeking, but he went on to say that his decision didn’t matter because the People had already chosen their to be future leader, that person has already won the hearts of the People, whatever the government has been doing against him has not spoilt their hope in him.
In a very emotive few seconds later, former President Rajapakse declared
‘I am now handing my brother to you – he is no one else but Gotabaya”
He also declared to the Nation that Gotabaya never asked to be made President, he never begged to make his hands strong and he told Gotabaya that he was now selected not to make his hands strong but to strengthen the Nation & to strengthen the hands of the People.
President Rajapakse next declared, that just as his ideology was to put the Nation – first, second & third … Gotabaya must also put the Country & Nation first at all times.
Thus, President Rajapakse handed over his brother Gotabaya as Presidential-candidate of SLPP and the rest of the story will be written by the People of Sri Lanka.
Shenali D Waduge
August 11th, 2019 at 9:16 pm
NOTHING is cast in stone, EVERYTHING is POSSIBLE, if we STRIVE TOWARDS it!
Gota will get the ADVICE that he DARE NOT IGNORE from the PATRIOTIC Buddhist Community; we will be there NIGHT & DAY to make certain our PATRIOTIC DEMANDS for PRESERVING the INTEGRITY of our Motherland, and its ESSENTIAL CHARACTER as a Sinhala Buddhist Nation are met!
DON’T BE ETERNALLY PESSIMISTIC, EVERYTHING REASONABLE is POSSIBLE just as the WAR that could not be WON was WON in 3 1/2 years! The DIFFERENCE was WILL & ABILITY … WE HAVE BOTH!
HOPE & WORK for the BEST, but PREPARE for the WORST!
Remember Cato the Elder? WHERE THERE IS INDOMITABLE WILL, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A WAY!
August 12th, 2019 at 2:19 pm
Very well written, Shenali … my grateful thanks to you!
August 12th, 2019 at 2:40 pm
The time has come for all Sri Lankans to put aside their divisive party politics and support a presidential candidate who is extremely capable of getting things done. Gota is the ONLY true patriotic leader who can save the country. Unlike the other political parasites in the present regime, he will NEVER sell the country nor let any other anti-SL forces to divide or harm the country.
The country has suffered enough in the last four years thanks to the selfish, corrupted, and inept crooks like Ranil, Mangala, Maithri, Rajitha, Kirialla, etc.
The country desperately needs a TRUE patriotic leader like Gota.
August 12th, 2019 at 3:39 pm
All patriotic Sri Lankans congratulate Gotabhaya for being nominated as the Presidential Candidate of Pohuttuwa the newly formed patriotic political party. It is no doubt the effort of many patriots who wish for an end to Jadapalanaya of Sirisena and Ranil. We salute the patriots – Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Dinesh Gunawardena, Prasanna Ranatunge and Vasudewa Nanayakkara for their painstaking efforts to bring about the Mahinda Sulanga and through that Gotabhaya to the forefront as the best option for the Presidency 2020 of Sri Lanka.
The nation is confident that Gotabhaya will deliver as promised yesterday at his nomination. He is a man of his words and knows that he has to perform a historic duty to put right many things done and not done during the last few years. He is a patriot who loves his country and has a sense of history to boot. Most of all he has a vision for the country and the nation. He has well-meaning targets and goals. He has produced results in the past and we know he will deliver as intended in the future – not just free promises!
He has the unenviable task of becoming the 7th President of Sri Lanka. It is a historic opportunity that needs to be taken with much dignity and responsibility. If done well he will be able to make an indelible mark on the glorious history of our nation and be one who can ink his name among the history’s greats.
All that is required is patience, dedication and honesty of purpose to go into history as a great leader and a statesman to be remembered with love and respect for generations to come. This is what escaped Mahinda Rajapakse due to his many weaknesses; single headedness, cronyism and inability to prioritise the nation’s needs.
With his experience in the military and then in modern technology and backed by genuine and well-meaning qualified and experienced advisors Gotabhaya can reach all the goals mentioned above.
I join the nation in wishing him the very best and our unstinted support for all his future endeavours.
May the Triple Gem Bless him and May All Gods look on him favourably!
August 12th, 2019 at 4:35 pm
Thank you Shenali.
The introduction to GOTA by MR was very well done!
Actually, I haven’t noticed that there were no mud slinging. Thank you for reminding of that Shenali.
It looks like the GOTA approach is already in place.
We needed this change for a long time from the shameful pathetic blame culture to a more matured approach, because there should be an end to the politicians treating the public as fools.
August 13th, 2019 at 3:33 am
Sadly another very easy prediction has come to pass. Where are the patriots that howled against the 83 page new ACSA (and kept mum on original ACSA), MCC and SOFA? They have changed the goal post! In my assessment not only the Rajapaksas will continue with new ACSA but they will be forced to sign MCC and SOFA as well. Otherwise Gotabaya will be grilled with false war crimes charges. This is the unfortunate fate of Sri Lanka, destoned for doom and gloom.
This is by veteran foreign affairs expert Daya Gamage. He is a proven patriot who served the nation immensely and continues to do so.
“US-Sri Lanka military pacts safe under incoming Rajapaksa-rule”
“http://www.asiantribune.com/node/92961”
Quoted – But as a United States’ citizen, former Sri Lanka defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa came well within the investigative judicial system when applying for the renunciation of his citizenship. It is a practice, and the law, that a US citizen born in another country applying for renunciation such person undergoes a thorough scrutiny in the US Department of Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security.
Taking into account his previous role in Sri Lanka, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was directly liable under the War Crimes Act – a legal windfall for any US effort to investigate him across international borders. His citizenship also expands US policy space – by reducing US vulnerability to accusations of meddling if US goes after one of its own. Such investigations take many months to ascertain a person’s culpability or not. Taking into account the diplomatic cables that reached Washington and the published unclassified (USG) documents about Sri Lanka’s Eelam War IV and the role played by defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, one of the principal architects of the offensive against the Tamil Tigers, the responsibility of probing an American citizen’s involvement – amid serious allegations – rests with the US Department of Homeland Security. In the DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operates the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit (HRVWCU) within the National Security Investigations Division (NSID).
Washington formulates its national policies in the interest of its national security and trade and economic benefit. Washington, to its advantage, obviously linked the militarization of the Indo-Pacific region to Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s application for the renunciation of the U.S. citizenship as it was well aware that if it delayed the renunciation in prolonging a DHS probe based on the reports the Departments of State received – however much there may be weak or no justification of war crimes and human rights abuses – it would have been detrimental to his political aspirations. The gamble Washington took in a speedy resolution of his citizenship issue in linking it to ACSA and other proposed military agreements such as SOFA is its overall militarization of the Indo-Pacific region which the Trump administration launched since its advent in early 2017. Washington needs Sri Lanka as a military hub as opposed to opening a military base to execute its Indo-Pacific regional militarization plan. The speedy resolution of the citizenship issue is well linked to America’s strategy to use Sri Lanka in such a manner under a Rajapaksa administration.