• Claims attempts underfoot to raise racism in North and South in the pursuit of power 

Addressing the National War Heroes’ Commemoration Ceremony yesterday (19), President Anura Kumara  Dissanayake said: “You sacrificed your son, husband, and brother for the nation. As a nation, the best gift that we can offer them is to create a peaceful country where our children don’t experience terror. That is the best tribute that we can pay for their sacrifice.”

At the ceremony, held opposite the War Heroes Memorial in Battaramulla, President Dissanayake stated that the country does not yet have complete victors, and that the only way to become true winners is by fully establishing law and peace in the country.

Elaborating further, President Dissanayake stated: “We have shed as much blood as we could. We are a nation that has shed blood to the point where the earth was soaked in blood. We are a nation that shed so much blood that it flowed like a river. We are a nation that shed so much tears that even the rivers are filled with the tears of our mothers, fathers, and ancestors. We are a people who have experienced the most brutal pains of war and the worst forms of suffering. We must ensure that such a situation never happens again. We are not complete victors. We can only become true victors by establishing peace in this country. Therefore, we are ready to take every step possible, without fear, for peace. We must create a society where there is no fear of another war. I know that this is a very difficult task, but, it is a mission that we must succeed in. Both in the North and the South, there are attempts to revive racism in the pursuit of power.”

President Dissanayake said that the violence used by political factions as a tool of power should be completely rejected in order to build a country enriched with peace and humanity for future generations. Speaking further, the President said that the best tribute that a country can pay to those who sacrificed their lives for peace is to ensure peace and harmony in the country, so that similar events do not happen in the future. He also said that the painful memories and experiences of violence faced by older generations should not be passed on to younger generations. President Dissanayake noted that any form of violence or war does not bring good outcomes, calling war a “tragedy.” 

He also stated that the soldiers who fought in the internal conflict did not fight for violence, but for a peaceful nation. He added that it is the responsibility of every citizen to prevent such events from happening again. He further stated that violence has been used by certain political factions to gain and retain power, which cost the lives of innocent people for nothing. He said that such political motives took away the lives of children whose parents never supported violence or racism. The President urged all security personnel to work solely for maintaining the peace of the country, just as they did in the past.