Sri Lanka, 2010

I have great pleasure in

congratulating His Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss on his

assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly

at its sixty-fifth session. I also take this opportunity to

extend our appreciation to the President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-fourth session, His Excellency

10-54827 22

Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, for his effective stewardship

of the General Assembly.

That the United Nations is now in its sixty-fifth

year serves to underline the durability of this

Organization. It is an important mechanism in ensuring

cooperation between States and a forum for discussion

between sovereign nations. We must never

underestimate the importance of this Organization,

based as it is on the principle of equal treatment of

countries big and small.

It is in this spirit that I address the Assembly at a

crucial juncture in the history of my own country. In

two months, I will be assuming office for my second

term. My mandate will be very different from my last

one. For my second term as President, my promise to

my people is to deliver sustainable peace and

prosperity to all and to ensure that terrorism will not be

able to raise its ugly head again.

In 2005, I was elected by my people on a promise

to rid my country of the menace of terrorism. I say that

Sri Lanka is now at peace: peace that was only a dream

a few years ago. Over the past year, much has been

reported and much has been said regarding my

country’s liberation from terrorism. However, far less

has been said of the suffering we had to undergo and

the true nature of the enemy we have overcome.

The rapidly forgotten truth is that we had to face

one of the most brutal, highly organized, well funded

and most effective of terrorist organizations, one that

could even spread its tentacles to other countries. Many

of the atrocities of terrorism that the West has come to

experience in recent times, the people of Sri Lanka

were themselves the victims of for nearly 30 years,

losing almost 100,000 lives, among them a President of

Sri Lanka, a visionary leader of India and scores of

intellectuals and politicians. The Liberation Tigers of

Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was an organization so brutal that

even those it claimed to represent, the Tamil

community of Sri Lanka, were as much victims of its

terror as the rest of the population of our country.

Those who observed from afar and suggested that the

Sri Lankan Government should have conceded to the

demands of the terrorists need to be reminded that

terror is terror, whatever mask it wears and however it

is packaged. To all those, I say this: My responsibility

is to the entire nation. My responsibility is to the lives

of millions of men, women and children, and those yet

to be born. My responsibility is to the peace and

prosperity of the nation and the right to a peaceful life

for all who live there.

In this context, it is worth examining the capacity

of current international humanitarian law to meet

contemporary needs. It must be remembered that such

law evolved essentially in response to conflicts waged

by the forces of legally constituted States, and not

terrorist groups. The asymmetrical nature of conflicts

initiated by non-State actors gives rise to serious

problems which need to be considered in earnest by the

international community.

As we close a sad chapter in our country’s

history, I would like to remind the Assembly that we,

along with many others, made repeated attempts to

engage the LTTE in constructive dialogue. I still

believe that dialogue is the best way to resolve any

conflict. It is much to be regretted that all these

attempts were rejected with reckless arrogance and

contempt. It was in those circumstances that we were

compelled to mount a humanitarian operation, with the

blessing of many international friends, to neutralize

acts of terrorism and restore peace and security.

The entire focus of our nation is now on building

a lasting peace, healing wounds, ensuring economic

prosperity and guaranteeing the right of the whole

nation to live in harmony. We are mindful that in order

to fulfil these aspirations, economic development and

political reconciliation must go hand in hand. Towards

this end, constitutional changes which appropriately

reflect the aspirations of our people will be evolved

with the full participation of all stakeholders.

We are pursuing a nationwide agenda of renewal.

Sri Lanka has already returned over 90 per cent of the

internally displaced persons to their original villages,

which were previously riddled with landmines, and has

provided the essential infrastructure necessary for them

to resume normal life. We have helped bring back the

vitality of youth to former child soldiers. We have

rebuilt the eastern province and have begun the same

task in the north. Sri Lanka’s armed forces now have

the role of delivering essential services, rebuilding

homes, clearing mines and restoring vital infrastructure

to whole tracts of formerly decimated land.

Despite the lingering dangers that have remained,

Sri Lanka has nevertheless repealed a substantial part

of the emergency regulations that were so necessary

during our conflict situation and plans to repeal a good

part of the remainder in the coming months.

23 10-54827

A great deal has been said by those beyond our

borders about our Tamil community. Let me be clear:

no nation on Earth can wish Sri Lanka’s Tamil

community more good fortune than Sri Lanka itself. To

the misguided few, I say do not allow yourselves to

become an instrument of division, hate and violence, to

be used as an enabler for hatred to be reborn in another

form. Rather, come, let us join together and break the

bonds of mistrust to rise to meet new horizons.

Sri Lanka recognizes the challenges we face,

among the greatest of which is healing the wounds of

the recent past. To that end, earlier this year, a lessons

learned and reconciliation commission was established,

which gives full expression to the principles of

accountability. This independent commission, comprising

eight Sri Lankans of eminence and stature, has already

begun its work. Recently, the commission handed over

to me an interim communication recommending certain

administrative steps that may need to be taken in the

reconciliation process.

We believe that for the rebuilding and healing of

our nation to succeed, the process must evolve from

within. If history has taught us one thing, it is that

imposed external solutions breed resentment and

ultimately fail. Ours, by contrast, is a home-grown

process which reflects the culture and traditions of our

people.

We certainly welcome the support of the

international community as we rebuild our land and our

economy. We sincerely hope that its members will be

prepared to take a practical approach to developing

partnerships with Sri Lanka through international trade,

investment and capacity- building.

Our economy is well on the way to realizing the

dividend of peace. We are experiencing steady and

sustained growth, including during the last quarter, of

over 8 per cent, moderate inflation and low interest

rates. During the past five years, we saw our per capita

income double. It is our ambition to take this further, to

double yet again the present per capita income by 2016

and also to become one of the top 30 countries in

which to do business by 2014.

“Mahinda Chinthana — Vision for the Future”,

my election manifesto, articulates my vision of having

sound infrastructure at the national, provincial and

rural levels, which is vital for the inclusive growth that

will make development meaningful to the whole of

society. I can also proudly claim that my country,

through this economic strategy, is comfortably

realizing the Millennium Development Goals well in

advance of the target set by the United Nations. We are

at present strongly focusing on putting in place the

necessary public infrastructure while strengthening the

enabling policy environment for the private sector to

invest even more in my country.

In order to achieve the full realization of our

potential, we desire a supportive external environment.

To that end, we will always seek constructive

engagement and partnerships. For our part, we will

continue to contribute, as we have always done, to the

cause of multilateralism and a principled global order.

In this regard, I am happy to note that 2010 marks the

fiftieth anniversary of our first contribution to a United

Nations peacekeeping mission. Our armed forces and

police are today combat-tested, with the capacity to

carry out their duties in the most challenging of

conditions.

The world as never before in the past has become

severely vulnerable to natural disasters. Almost every

day we see millions of people becoming victims of

severe floods, landslides, volcanoes, cyclones,

earthquakes and the like. It has become increasingly

difficult for affected countries to manage post-disaster

recovery programmes unassisted. The recent natural

calamities in our region underline the crucial need for

effective action in which there is collective

participation to reduce human suffering. Without

doubt, climate change and global warming are today

issues which demand the urgent attention of all nations.

Among the political issues that have continued to

fester for too long is the continued denial of the right

of the Palestinian people to a State of their own within

recognized and secure borders. It is the fervent hope of

the people of Sri Lanka that this most tragic of

situations will be resolved without delay and in a

sustainable manner. We also hope that Palestine will be

a Member of the Organization by this time next year.

Our guiding principle must always be that of

mutual respect in international discourse, even as we

disapprove of and condemn measures such as unilateral

embargoes. Experience in the recent past amply

demonstrates that these embargoes have an impact not

on Governments, but rather on the most vulnerable

sectors of the community. In the same spirit, I would

call for the empathy of the international community

towards the aspirations of the Cuban people.

10-54827 24

I also wish to urge with all the emphasis at my

command the need for greater concern and

involvement on the part of the international community

to assist the people of Africa in their efforts to raise the

quality of life on their continent.

Leaders who have been chosen by their people

often face difficult decisions. They must be entitled to

the good will and confidence of the international

community with regard to the heavy burdens they are

required to shoulder. The results of their decisions must

be evaluated objectively and they must be allowed to

speak for themselves.

That is not to say countries should operate in

isolation. In this globally interdependent world, we

must work together where we can and constructively

counsel each other where appropriate. The United

Nations forms the bedrock of this interaction, and in

that role it will always receive the support of Sri

Lanka.