PRESIDENT Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that attempts to frame ‘war crime charges’ against security forces commanders at international tribunals by certain international elements and their local agents will never be a success as long as he remains the Commander in Chief.
Addressing a UPFA election propaganda rally held at the Pelwatte Sugar plant premises yesterday, President Rajapaksa said some political leaders took great efforts to let the LTTE off the hook when they had been cornered by the security forces on May 18 and 19.
“The armed forces carried out the war under tremendous pressure exerted by various foreign and local elements. There was a huge media campaign against the Sri Lankan government in the international press. The West looked at our security forces like a marauding army that casually kills innocent people. The attack against Sri Lanka had been multi-frontal. Not satisfied with the mud slinging campaign against me and the armed forces there was an attempt to prevent the GSP+ facility from being granted to Sri Lanka by the EU. The other attack on the economic front was to block foreign aid,” President Rajapaksa said.
“Who would have actually been affected if their modus operandi was successful? Was it me, or my government to suffer? No. It would have been hundreds of thousands of our sisters who worked at garment factories. The Humanitarian Operation waged by the security forces to suppress the cruelest terrorist outfit in the world and millions of innocent people who took immense pain to support the armed forces to crush terrorism under many hardships,” President Rajapaksa stressed.
Nobody can bring charges against armed forces commanders on their performance during the Humanitarian Operation as they carried out my orders as the Commander in Chief. I am ready to appear before hundreds of so called tribunals if necessary,” President Rajapaksa emphasized.
Today’s challenge before the people in Uva is to develop their province, which was destroyed by the imperialist forces. Uma Oya multi-purpose irrigation project has already been launched to provide water to Moneragala. People will receive enough drinking water and for their farms after the destruction of irrigation tanks by the foreign powers nearly two centuries ago. There will be a new era, new lease of life for the Uva –Wellassa people after the completion of the series of development projects such as Hambantota Port and International Airport.
Commenting on the limited education facilities of Uva student population, President Rajapaksa said a novel project has been introduced under the ‘Nana Sala’ programme to teach Uva-Wellassa students by teachers at prestigious schools in Colombo such as the Royal, Ananda, Nalanda and Vishaka.Teachers in Colombo are supposed to give online tuition on subjects such as Maths, Science subjects, English and etc. Students in Uva will have the access to these special online tuition classes through their Television sets at schools. We have already distributed 300 Television sets to schools in this area. Our aim is to introduce this programme to all so-called difficult areas in the country shortly,” President Rajapaksa noted.
The government would never hesitate to recruit teachers, doctors, nurses and to the armed forces under any circumstances as the security of the country, education and health are important more than anything else for the smooth functioning of the state machinery and people’s welfare.
The government has recruited 31,000 teachers since 2004 and there is no teachers shortage now. But, there is a huge disparity of teacher availability in schools. New recruits have a habit to secure a transfer using their connections at high places when they are posted to a school in a difficult area. The Education Ministry has found out that there were 47 teachers at a school with only 120 students. This must be stopped. Strict instructions are to be given not to give transfers to new recruits from the school they are posted in a minimum of five years, he added.
(Courtesy: Daily Mirror)
