President, PM pledge joint effort for reconciliation, economic revival

President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday pledged to continue to work together, to bring about reconciliation, strengthen the economy and ensure there was no return to the days of the Rajapaksa regime.

The two leaders came together at Campbell Park in Colombo last morning, where President Sirisena was the Chief Guest at the 70th anniversary celebrations of the United National Party (UNP).

“The forces of corruption, fraud, waste, violence and nepotism, that were defeated and rejected by the people of this country on January 8, 2015, will not be allowed to return. This is what the people voted for and we are bound to ensure there is no return to this past,” President Sirisena said.

Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga was also present at the event where thousands of UNP members gathered to endorse a new ideology for the party and take stock of the Party’s achievements in the past 70 years.

President Sirisena who got a rousing welcome from the crowd, said the majority of the 6.2 million people who voted for him at the last presidential poll came from the UNP and he, along with the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, are bound to uphold the pledges made in their election manifesto of safeguarding and strengthening the democratic rights of the people.

The President said it is unfortunate that some of the same issues raised by D.S. Senanayake, when the UNP was founded in 1946, mainly on the need to work towards a Lankan identity, has to be repeated 70 years later, as the problems faced by the country were not understood and addressed in the proper manner over the years.

The President also took a dig at former President Mahinda Rajapaksa saying, the former leader had called for an early presidential election, disregarding the advice of the Cabinet of Ministers, the SLFP as well as the UPFA, and had to face the repercussions, as he could not successfully address the economic challenges,nor the challenges from the UN Human Rights Council.

“Today, we are successfully facing these issues and finding solutions to these problems,” he said.

The President also lauded the new ideology of the UNP endorsed at the convention, in which the party pledged to safeguard the country from foreign forces and uphold the sovereignty of the people. President Sirisena said the SLFP, at its Convention week earlier, had endorsed a resolution on similar lines.

“Looking at the similarly in our ideologies, there is no doubt the two parties can work together,” he said. The President said the Government is committed to introducing a Constitution that is acceptable to all the people of this country, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, and said he regrets that some media institutions are deliberately trying to mislead the public by giving false information about the Constitution-making process. “I request media institutions not to repeat lies that told in nooks and corners, and publish them as fact. Don’t commit this crime and create a calamity in the country. The 30-year-old bloody war was a result of such misunderstandings,” he said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremaisnghe in his address said, the time when a single party could take the country forward is over. “If we didn’t move together, how can we take the country forward? We have to find a solution to the national problem and frame a new Constitution, and release the country from its heavy debt. The best opportunity to do so is this Government of national unity,” he said.

He also asked his party members to move away from old ideologies and embrace the new ideology which is suited to modern times. “Let us move away from Jurassic ideologies and embrace a new ideology,” he said.

The UNP leader also thanked his party members for the sacrifices they have made for the party. “You sacrificed your lives, jobs and property for this party. We have lost many of our leaders to terrorism, as well as our members. I must thank them for all they have done for the party and being with the UNP,” he said.

On a more personal note, the UNP leader recalled his family’s generations' long association with the UNP. "Many of our lives have revolved around this party. Three generations of my family are linked to this party. The flat in Borella in which the initial discussions were held to form the UNP, was owned by my grandfather. The day I turned 16 in 1965, Dudley Senenayke left our house and went to take oaths as the Prime Minister. From 1972 onwards, till today, for 47 years I have been a member of the UNP and have been given the opportunity to serve. I am thankful for that but, there are thousands of others like me in this country. That is why we have to safeguard the UNP,” he said.

In a poignant mood, the UNP leader said, while he is proud of the role the UNP has played in shaping the country’s history, he also regrets the lapses that have taken place under the UNP, and asked for forgiveness for the mistakes that were committed by it.

The UNP is not a communal party and represents all communities. These were the UNPs founding principles and continue to be so 70 years later," he added.