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AKD calls for collective struggle for SL to recover

20 Dec 2021

  • Likens situation to Jataka tale of birds collaborating to free themselves 
BY Pamodi Waravita Addressing the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) convention yesterday (20), NPP Leader and Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday, that a collective struggle is needed for the recovery of Sri Lanka, akin to the Sammodamana Jataka (tales of the Buddha’s past lives) tale of the birds who worked together to escape the net they were trapped in. “All disasters that could possibly happen to a country have happened to this country. The economy is destroyed. There is a huge shortage of essential items. Over 1,500 containers carrying essential goods are stuck at the Colombo Port. It is doubtful whether we can pay our loans next year. Daily life is a question now. What is the point of a political and economic path that cannot uplift the daily lives of the people? We need a collective struggle to change this path. In the famous Jataka story, birds were stuck in a hunter’s net. Even though the birds tried to fly away one by one, they could not escape the net. In the end, one bird, who was a previous incarnation of the Buddha, told the birds that to escape the net, the birds must struggle together. That is what we must do as well,” said Dissanayake while addressing the convention held yesterday. He stressed that the current disaster is a result of decades of traditional politics and economics that the country has adhered to. “Traditional politics have not been able to change this country or develop this country. Why should you trust traditional politics anymore? This is not a natural disaster. This is the result of traditional politics. We have to implement a correct economic system in this country. There are many who want to leave the country, who however already have a good income, house, social standing, profession, and a vehicle. They are not leaving in desperate need of a job. They are leaving in search of social stability. They want to secure their children’s futures as they have no faith in the future that this country can give their children anymore. We need a collective struggle. The NPP stage is filled with those who are honest, committed, brave, and eager for this collective struggle. We are ready to take over this country and develop this country,” assured Dissanayake. He said that Sri Lanka is not a country that should fall in this current manner and emphasised the need for its recovery, by denying the corrupt politics that have “dragged the country here”. “Can corrupt politicians ever develop this country? Corruption’s impact is not temporary – the long-term impact is heavy as indicated by such projects as the Mattala Airport.” He also outlined the NPP’s plan for economic recovery. “We need to develop local production. The need for this is more evident than ever. When containers of imported goods are stuck at our ports, we have no milk powder or sugar in this country. Secondly, we must involve the public in this economy – a large percentage of this country is mere dust in this economy. They need to be involved in the economy.” He also said that the country needs to fairly distribute its wealth as the top 10% currently enjoy 38.4% of the country’s wealth whilst the bottom 10% only have access to 1.1% of the wealth. “Is that just?” he questioned. “Our geopolitical position is crucial for developing this country as an important economic hub. We have natural resources – an ocean eight times the size of this country, with a pristine coastline. We have a certain amount of resources in fossil fuels, three main climatic conditions, monsoon cycles for agriculture, and soil rich in nutrients. We have a huge population and that is the main resource we have. We must develop this resource through education, health, and sports,” he said.


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