Honest and humble he was an example to all politicians: President Sirisena

The last rites of former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake were performed yesterday at the Horana Urban Council Grounds, with the participation of a host of dignitaries and large crowds of mourners. President Maithripala Sirisena, former Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan were among the mourners and addressed the gathering.

The former Prime Minister and Kalutara District MP was accorded a State funeral in his native Horana.

Delivering his condolence message, President Sirisena eulogised the late Prime Minister as an honest and humble individual who was an example to all politicians. Current politicians, especially, have a lot to learn from his character, he emphasized. The President said, he himself had learned a lot from Mr Wickremanayake, due to his long association with him in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

The President observed that Mr Wickremanayake had served in many positions as a people’s representative, going onto become an MP, Deputy Minister, Minister, Opposition Leader and Prime Minister. He also served as General Secretary of the SLFP for a long period, successfully guiding the party through one of its most turbulent periods in the early 1980s, Mr. Sirisena added.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a condolence message read out at the ceremony by Minister of Tourism and Christian Affairs John Amaratunga, noted that Mr Wickremanayake worked tirelessly to safeguard Parliamentary traditions. He also recalled having the honour of working with the late Prime Minister for many years, adding that, the late premier never let party politics get in the way of working together.