There is a comforting, almost poetic resonance to the speech delivered by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the 17th National War Heroes’ Day Commemoration. Speaking from a platform traditionally reserved for triumph, the President pivoted toward a language of universal fairness, a celebration of multiculturalism, and a stern warning to the privileged elites who have long manipulated the gears of the State. To hear a leader, declare the law will be applied equally regardless of status, as never before in history is, on the surface, deeply commendable. For a Nation weary of division, these words offer a glimpse of the Sri Lanka that could be.
Yet, as any student of history knows, the tragedy of our political landscape has never been a lack of soaring rhetoric. It has been the vast, yawning chasm between the poetry of the podium and the prose of governance.
The President spoke eloquently of dismantling privilege, noting with a touch of defiance that those who previously thrived on it may find this painful and become agitated. It is a bold stance. But true equality is not established by predicting the discomfort of the powerful; it is achieved by actively disarming them. If these words are to mean anything to the citizen on the street, they must be followed by institutional teeth. An equal application of the law cannot remain a rhetorical threat used to score political points. It requires an independent judiciary, a de-politicised police force, and a relentless transparency that spares no one, regardless of their party colour or social standing. Without these concrete structures, warnings to the elite are merely performance art.
Equally moving was the speech’s embrace of Sri Lanka’s multicultural identity. The invocation of Sri Pada, where devotees of all faiths climb the same peak, and Kataragama, where boundaries blur in shared devotion, paints a beautiful picture of organic coexistence. It is a reality that everyday Sri Lankans live out during times of hardship and natural disaster. But secular and inclusive rhetoric from a leader cannot simply be a balm for international onlookers or a comforting narrative for a Memorial Day.
If the Government is truly committed to ensuring this land is regarded as the motherland of all, it must confront the structural discrimination that still simmers beneath the surface. It means ensuring that minority communities do not just feel included in festive metaphors, but are actively protected by the state. It means that the clamour of racism and religious extremism is not just condemned in speeches, but prosecuted with absolute impartiality under the law. When small, disruptive groups attempt to fracture the peace for political gain, the State’s response must be swift and blind to faith or ethnicity.
Furthermore, the President rightly tied the preservation of peace to winning the economic war and the war against unemployment. The younger generation does indeed long for a free, liberated, and prosperous country. But economic warfare is not won with battlefield strategies; it is won with sound policy, fiscal discipline, and the eradication of systemic corruption. You cannot build an exceptional country for the youth while the economic structures continue to favour well-connected monopolies at the expense of merit and talent.
War Heroes’ Day is a time for profound reflection. Paying tribute to those who sacrificed their lives to end decades of conflict is a solemn duty. But the ultimate tribute to a fallen soldier is not a yearly speech; it is the creation of a society so just, so equitable, and so economically stable that the language of war never finds a grievance to feed upon again.
The President has set a remarkably high bar for his administration with this address. He has promised a country where talent triumphs over privilege, where diversity is a strength, and where justice is blind. These are noble targets, and he should be held to them. But the applause must be deferred. In politics, intent is a cheap commodity. We have climbed the mountain of beautiful promises too many times, only to be left stranded in the valleys of inaction. The words were commendable, Mr President. Now, show us the blueprints.