There was a time when we had statesmen

I wonder how many of the protestors at the Galle Face have thought about the statues in front of the Presidential Secretariat building of Ponnambalam Arunachalam, W.A. de Silva, D.B. Jayatilaka, D.S. Senanayake and others. They remind us of an age when Sri Lankan politicians were statesmen who were educated men of utmost probity, devoted to public service, acted in the national interest, respected and able to work with their political opponents, undertook extensive charity work and were able to negotiate effectively with the colonial government. The current generation of Sri Lankan leaders will have to demonstrate some of these qualities if Sri Lanka is going to extricate itself from its present dire predicament.

Dr. R.P. Fernando