Ven. Members of the Maha Sangha
Hon. Ministers
Hon. Members of Parliament,
Secretaries to Ministries,
Members of the Opposition
Members of Provincial councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas
Friends
I wish to say at the outset that this is a day when as a Government we accept a great responsibility. The developing of 12,000 villages within one year is no simple task. It is a truly great responsibility. Today, I am glad to share this great responsibility with the people of this country.
Ven. Sirs, most of the development plans in this country are made in rooms situated in places beyond the reach of the people. They are not implemented with the participation of the people, but according to the thinking and plans of political leaders and officials. The people s participation in these comes only after the politicians, officials, contractors, and employees. There is a popular satirical comment which says that if there is a plan to build a harbour in the hill country, the people will have to just
watch it being done.
It is in order to overcome this situation that we let the Provincial Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas carry out our development work. However, those of us engaged in politics know very well what most often happened. There are very good plans made at the beginning of the year. But by the end of the year those plans are altered due to political necessities. We have heard of situations when at year s end money allocated for development being used to buy chairs and tents for death benefit societies.
It is political necessity that precedes the needs of the country.
Venerable Sirs, it is you who first realized that there can be no future for a country in such a situation. Whether a person takes one s oaths at the Pattirippuwa (the Octagon of the Temple of the Tooth), at Galle Face Green, or at the Royal Palace your first admonition to them was to build national unity. You have told this to all leaders since Independence. You have repeatedly asked all politicians to be united. However, Venerable Sirs, is there anyone who paid heed to this?
Everyone remembered about national unity only when the country was submerged on all sides following a national disaster. We realized that this country cannot be built with such a false unity. That is why at the very outset we began work having said we will unite the country. The people of this country did not vote for Mahinda Rajapaksa for me to work alone. It is to unite the country and work according to a consensus.
As you all know I am not alone in wanting to develop and revive the village. Mr. DS Senanayake tried to revive the village by establishing agricultural colonies. Mr. SWRD Bandaranaike tried to establish a Grama Rajya or rural governance. Mr. R. Premadasa introduced the Gam Udawa or Rural Awakening.
But these leaders were unable to realize their expectations for the village. Why was this?
It is because where village and the country are not brought together; these efforts become mere political projects.
The other reason is the absence of people's participation. In a country that has no national unity and people's participation, it is not possible to erect a lamppost, even by spending a billion. That is why we need to pump both fuel and water to make the engine of development run. The fuel and water to drive this engine are national unity and people s participation. We launch this massive program of development having brought these two important elements together.
Friends, there are nearly 14,000 Grama Sevaka Divisions in this country. We are now preparing to develop 4,000 of these Grama Sevaka Divisions by the end of this year. We have already allocated Rs. 77 billion for this work in the current year. The road development work has already begun.
It is necessary to provide water for cultivation. The village has to be given electricity. The temple needs assistance. The village needs a computer. If the youth have no place for recreation we intend providing that too. Yet, the village cannot be developed only by providing it with water, electricity, telephones and computers. We must revive and build the ethical values of the village that prevailed before we became subject to imperialism. The village should say no to drugs and intoxication.
For the past several decades development plans for the country were drawn up leaving aside one entire side of the country. Where the war prevails no government machinery or equipment is taken anywhere near it. However, we are implementing this Jathika Saviya in a manner that will bring the entire country together. After nearly 20 years this program will bring life to villages in the North and East too. 12,000 villages that were not well treated all these years will have a new life. In the next year we will give such life to 12,000 more villages through the Jathika Saviya. We expect to wipe out all difficult or uncongenial villages from our map through development.
Is there any more proof needed that we will not move even an inch away from the Mahinda Chinthana? We will not depart one iota from the Mahinda Chinthana.
Friends, it is the same principle we apply to both developing the village and eliminating terrorism. Venerable Sirs, in the past when announcements were made calling for recruits for the armed forces and recruitment centers were kept open through 24 hours, in most places what we saw no one coming to join the army.
Today, Venerable Sirs, thousands queue up to join the security forces. At the head of that queue are our children. The country knows that we are correctly carrying out the battle against the terrorists. The people of this country have faith that this time we will not fail.
I recall the day I went to lay the foundation stone for the International Sports Stadium at Homagama. I went among the people and asked them about the high price of goods. They told me that they will bear up with cost of living and asked me to save the country for them. I will not abandon the
responsibility cast on me by the people with such deep feeling.
Friends, after the air attack at Katunayake there were those who asked us to resign. They placed the blame on us for carrying out a major war. They spoke the same language as Prabhakaran.
But no one should think that it if there is a loser in this battle it will be Mahinda Rajapaksa. The attempt is to defeat the people of this country.
Those who think they will be right on top if terrorism wins are making a grave mistake. No on can be pleased if terrorism is victorious. On September 11 the entire world was threatened with the airborne attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, created opinion in the world that terrorism
should be eradicated. The United States too agreed to this irrespective of any political differences. The LTTE terrorists have now come by air and attacked an Air Force base. It is now clear that terrorism is a threat to our region too.
If anyone thinks that the government will be shaken by terrorist attacks and will fall on their lap, they are committing a grave error by their own politics. This is not only a battle against terrorism, but also a battle for development. This battle includes the development of the Weerawila airport, the development of the ports of Colombo, Galle and Hambantota, the Upper Kotmale, Norochcholai and Kerawalapitiya power projects.
We have taken to the village the development that was once confined to Colombo. We are ready to develop 12,000 villages in one year. We cannot allow our cherished cultural values of over 2,500 years to be destroyed, even though we may successfully carry out all this development work and also
eradicate terrorism. We must not let future generations forget these values. That is why we have said no to drug, and seek to achieve moral upliftment while developing the country.
Therefore, we need your full cooperation in this massive task. We must develop this country through strengthening the village, increasing production and raising the living standards of the people. We launch this task today. I trust we can complete this task in three years. We will develop the entire country.
