Sri Lanka now looks to future with renewed hope and
enthusiasm-President at NAM
 For 27 long years my people were gripped by mortal
fear. A great sigh of relief has now swept across the entire nation
being finally released from the grip of the fear of terrorism. The Sri
Lankan Nation now looks to the future with renewed hope and enthusiasm.
We have faith that all our friends who stood by us in our hour of need
will continue to stand by us and walk with us in our journey to develop
Sri Lanka for the benefit of all our people, said President Mahinda
Rajapaksa in his statement at the 15th summit of the Non-Aligned
Movement being held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt today July 15.
"I am proud to announce that my country has succeeded
in eliminating one of the most brutal terrorist groups in the world.
This group was not a liberation movement but an anti-national separatist
cult that glorified violence. Sadly they were able to propagate their
cult of violence and hatred in some countries which, for understandable
but unjustifiable political reasons, seemed less than forthright in
their opposition to terrorism that did not seem to threaten them", the
President added.
"Our Government is aware that defeating a terrorist
group does not solve the underlying grievances of our people. We are
therefore now dealing with these issues. First and foremost, we are
engaged in attending to the needs of the 287,000 civilians who were held
hostage by the terrorists and liberated by our Security Forces. Our goal
is to quickly return the displaced to their homes and to restore their
livelihoods.
The needs of the displaced are substantial, and we
welcome and thank all those in the international community who have
offered us assistance. I take this opportunity to thank the United
Nations, and the Secretary General in particular who visited Sri Lanka
and extended UN assistance. I also thank those countries that have given
generously to benefit our people who suffered for so long with no one to
speak for them when under terrorist domination", the President added.
Referring to the world financial and economic crises,
President Rajapaksa said: "The world is today confronted by a crisis
that is essentially the creation of the financial markets of certain
developed countries. As a consequence of his financial crisis, our
development agenda is challenged; our exports are crippled; our
industries are suffering from a lack of confidence; and we face an
externally induced liquidity shortfall. It is unfortunate that many
countries of the developing world, which largely with their own
resources climbed up the ladder of development, are adversely affected
and even penalized in this manner due to the global financial crisis
which was not of their own making".
Here is the text of President's statement.
It is with great pleasure that I address you today in
this historic land of a great civilization and a fountain-head of the
Non-Aligned Movement. Let me thank the Egyptian authorities for the
wonderful hospitality extended to me and my delegation. I also wish to
thank President Raul Castro for his efficient and inspiring stewardship
of our Movement, through challenging times.
Mr. Chairman,
Representing a founding nation of our Movement, I am
honored to speak today on several current issues of relevance to us. I
note some of the useful suggestions made by H. E. Muammar Ghaddafi.
I am proud to announce that my country has succeeded
in eliminating one of the most brutal terrorist groups in the world.
This group was not a liberation movement but an anti-national separatist
cult that glorified violence. Sadly they were able to propagate their
cult of violence and hatred in some countries which, for understandable
but unjustifiable political reasons, seemed less than forthright in
their opposition to terrorism that did not seem to threaten them.
Mr. Chairman,
Terrorism threatens and diminishes all of us, so we
are grateful to our friends, especially in the Non-Aligned Movement, who
helped and stood by us consistently through our most difficult times.
Sri Lanka has consistently condemned terrorism in all its forms and
therefore we are happy at our success in defeating terrorism on our
soil, and hope that the world, like our principled friends here will
rejoice with us and not begrudge a victory they should hope will be
repeated elsewhere.
For 27 long years my people were gripped by mortal
fear. A great sigh of relief has now swept across the entire nation
being finally released from the grip of the fear of terrorism. The Sri
Lankan Nation now looks to the future with renewed hope and enthusiasm.
We have faith that all our friends who stood by us in our hour of need
will continue to stand by us and walk with us in our journey to develop
Sri Lanka for the benefit of all our people.
Our Government is aware that defeating a terrorist
group does not solve the underlying grievances of our people. We are
therefore now dealing with these issues. First and foremost, we are
engaged in attending to the needs of the 287,000 civilians who were held
hostage by the terrorists and liberated by our Security Forces. Our goal
is to quickly return the displaced to their homes and to restore their
livelihoods.
The needs of the displaced are substantial, and we
welcome and thank all those in the international community who have
offered us assistance. I take this opportunity to thank the United
Nations, and the Secretary General in particular who visited Sri Lanka
and extended UN assistance. I also thank those countries that have given
generously to benefit our people who suffered for so long with no one to
speak for them when under terrorist domination.
Our society is a caring society, and people from all
parts of the country have come forward to assist those who were
displaced. We are confident that our Government, together with our civil
society, and with the support of our international friends, will ensure
that all displaced persons resume their normal lives very soon, and
partake fully in the social, political and economic development on which
my government has embarked. We have noted the comments made by our
colleagues with regard to the use of sanctions against individual
countries. Sanctions, whatever the cause, only punish the people of that
country. Punishing a people must never be endorsed by the international
community.
Mr. Chairman,
The world is today confronted by a crisis that is
essentially the creation of the financial markets of certain developed
countries. As a consequence of his financial crisis, our development
agenda is challenged; our exports are crippled; our industries are
suffering from a lack of confidence; and we face an externally induced
liquidity shortfall. It is unfortunate that many countries of the
developing world, which largely with their own resources climbed up the
ladder of development, are adversely affected and even penalized in this
manner due to the global financial crisis which was not of their own
making.
The rescue packages currently being implemented seem
to focus essentially on helping the economies of developed countries.
This is short-sighted, as the world today is inter-linked and
inter-dependent as never before. There cannot be a satisfactory outcome
to this crisis unless these packages are designed to help developing
country economies as well. Among other measures, we urge the
consideration of temporary deferment of debt repayment as an essential
short-term initiative to overcome current difficulties of the affected
developing countries.
Mr. Chairman,
We believe in self-help and solidarity which are
hallmarks of our movement as well. In this spirit, I would like to
propose that we combine our substantial collective resources to
establish an Emergency Financing Facility which could be accessed in
situations of the current sort. For far too long, global financial
institutions have been dominated by traditional economies.
Today the world economy is different. We must not be
bound by a framework that is outdated and ineffective. The global
financial architecture must reflect current circumstances, be democratic
and, until such time, it would be sensible to establish a Reserve
Facility of our own to assist fellow developing country in emergency
situations.
We have another serious problem affecting our home,
the Planet Earth. Human activity is causing the global climate to
heat-up at an alarming rate. This will have far-reaching consequences
for animal and plant life and for human civilization. In our own region,
South Asia, sea-level rise resulting from climate change will bring
serious consequences to a number of countries, including the inundation
of coastal lowlands and the contamination of fresh water sources. Again,
our own region will be affected by prolonged droughts, shortages of
drinking water and, in some areas, unseasonal rains and glacier melting.
All this will result in serious adverse implications
for agriculture, fisheries and related industries. There is a clear
possibility of environment-related issues becoming a challenge to our
region. We must address this difficult problem in a pragmatic manner. I
continue to believe that those who polluted our Planet through rapid and
indiscriminate industrialization, and who continue to pollute in
disproportionate quantities, must bear the primary burden in addressing
this problem.
Of course developing countries must play their role in
addressing the threat of climate change; but this should not be done in
a manner where we would have to make unfair sacrifices, compromising
progress towards poverty alleviation and the prosperity of our people.
It is vital in particular that, in an era of increasing concern for
human rights, we address the consequences for the poor of pollution, and
ensure mechanisms for compensation when basic rights, for life, for
health, for development, are violated.
Developing countries must be assisted technologically
and financially to follow a different development model from the ones
which have resulted in damage to our Planet. There must be recognition
of the carbon debt owed by developed countries to developing countries,
and the low per capita carbon emission rate of developing countries.
Those countries which have managed to preserve their tree cover that is
now acting as an Earth Lung should be given credit for what they have
preserved and continue to nature.
Mr. Chairman,
As the current Chair of SAARC, the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation, Sri Lanka has taken the lead in
mobilizing our region to address the most acute challenges that
currently face our region, namely terrorism and the impact of the global
financial crisis. Our collective vision has since resonated in many
international fora. SAARC which is a small group of countries has a
permanent Secretariat of their own. Unfortunately, the Non -aligned
Movement though existing for over five decades has not been able to
establish a permanent Secretariat so far. I strongly proposed that we
the leaders of Non-aligned countries come together to establish a
permanent Secretariat for our movement.
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On this occasion, let us re-dedicate our selves to
work in solidarity towards; Peace and security of societies where any
manifestation of terrorism will never be allowed, and the sovereignty of
our nation is promoted and reserved; A financial architecture and
facilities that are specifically focused on the needs of developing
countries; and
A green planet with equity best responsibilities and
benefits.
May the Noble Triple Gem Bless You all. |
