Mahinda Rajapaksa was not given a chance by the community of so-called humanitarian activists. He was called ‘hawk’ the day he took oaths as President. He was called ‘war-monger’, accused of pandering to racists, chauvinists and extremists. His approach to dealing with the LTTE would see Colombo being reduced to rubble, people were told. He delivered a nation free of terrorism, free of suicide attacks, a nation where citizen could be citizen and not a cowering apology for one, haunted by the shadow of terrorism.Mahinda Rajapaksa didn’t argue with such people. He did what he had to do. He fulfilled a pledge to the nation and accomplished the tasks that came with office, ensuring the security of the nation. He gave the political and logistical leadership to the effort that no one believed would end in delivering peace to a war-weary nation. To do this he had to contend with enemies within and without; those who did everything to scuttle the humanitarian mission to liberate the North and East and various forces outside the country with the same intention, either out of ignorance or because they were partial to the LTTE or in the pay of that organization. He came through for the nation.Today, the citizens are a relaxed lot, not jittery or jumpy, not suspicious of each other, not forced to exercise 100% vigilance. There are no suicide attacks. No bomb explosions in buses, trains, crowded places, supermarkets etc. The parents and loved ones of the troops are smiling. Those who were once held hostage by the LTTE now have reason to hope, they have a future to look forward to.And ‘liberation’ was not just about freeing a trapped people and securing control over a territory once held by terrorists. It was and is about resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction, about creating conditions for a recovery that does justice to all the lives sacrificed to rid the nation of the terrorist threat. It is about clearing landmines, building roads, schools, providing power, and creating conditions for the recovery of livelihoods. A return to familiar places, to village, home and family. Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered.
2.
Mahinda Rajapaksa was a villager from the Giravapattuwa, Hambantota. What could he know about foreign affairs, the experts sneered. He was expected to trip, to get tongue-tied. He would be all at sea, everyone thought. If the success or otherwise of a country’s foreign policy is measured by whether or not its foreign relations are robust, the Mahinda Rajapaksa achieved what his predecessors failed to secure: widespread support for the military thrust against the LTTE. He secured more international assistance in his current tenure than any of his predecessors and more than many of them put together.
President Rajapaksa follows a pragmatic foreign policy with a commitment to the principles of Non-Alignment, and the maintenance of friendly relations with all countries, strongly supportive of the United Nations and its initiatives for development and progress, and seeking international cooperation in the fight against terror both in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.
During his stewardship all attempts to vilify Sri Lanka and compromise its struggle to be rid of terrorism were defeated at numerous international forums. Support was solicited from countries where LTTE operatives and sympathizers were active to curb such activities and was obtained.
Sri Lanka during this time was able to secure various forms of international assistance from multiple sources by adopting a strong non-aligned foreign policy which respected all nations, embraced friends and resolutely refused to be cajoled or arm-twisted into adopting policies that were detrimental to the national interest and in disagreement with the fundamental tenets of Mahinda Chinthanaya. Various threats from powerful elements in the international community did not deter the Government of Mahinda Rajapaksa. All allegations were met cordially but firmly and supported by meticulously gathered evidence. This approach of being uncompromising when it comes to national dignity eventually won the respect and admiration of nations that had hitherto taken positions at odds with those taken by Sri Lanka.
our farmers undergo great sufferings due to the scarcity of water, non availability of land, crop losses, poor market for their produce and lack of access to technology. To address these problems, a new approach has been implemented through the “Mahinda Chinthanaya”.In order to boost domestic food production, the government declared a comprehensive policy framework for national agriculture in 2007 and invested Rs. 141,322 million over the period of 2005-2009 on the development of the Agriculture sector.The extent of paddy cultivation increased to 1,053,000 ha in 2008 from 937,000 in 2005. This has been attributed mainly to the increase in the sale price of paddy from 13.50 per kilogram to Rs. 31.50 per kilogram, supply of seed paddy, loan facilities and fertilizer at a concessionary rate. In addition, the government has given priority for the cultivation of Other Field Crops and invested Rs. 2805 mn on these crops while maintaining import tariff at a high level. This resulted in an increase in the production of Maize, Chillie, Big Onion and Red Onion to a great extent. The production of Chillie increased from 13,200 mt in 2005 to 51,100 mt in 2008 and Maize from 41,800 mt to 112,500 mt.
Comments
Post a Comment
ඔබේ අදහස් මට සවියකි