President of Sri Lanka

“ It shares certain other characteristics with democracy as properly understood, Mr President, for it seeks to empower all on the basis of equality. Too often do we find the debate on human rights hijacked by a few, with partisan agendas, and it is salutary that we, the member states of the United Nations, have here a mechanism that enables us to explore our strengths in all areas of human rights with a view to building on them, and to examine our weaknesses so that we can improve. ”

“ Sri Lanka is committed to such cooperation and collective action within the community of Asian nations. The people of Sri Lanka on the 8th of January gave me an overwhelming mandate to take the country on a path of progress as a nation welcoming a new dawn of democracy, good governance, the rule of law, and equal opportunities for all. Towards this end, my Government is implementing an ambitious 100-day programme, inclusive of constitutional reform, to usher in a new political culture, as well as achieve lasting national reconciliation among all communities. ”

“ Ironically, the American partner for the IDU is the Republican Party, and one would like to think Barack Obama would be horrified at the United States being presented as advocates for regime change on authoritarian lines. But the sad truth is that President Obama has probably no idea as to what is going on in Sri Lanka, and that machines once set in motion tend to take on a life of their own. ”

“ Of course we realize that Britain has its own political imperatives, so that, despite its occasionally preposterous pontificating, we continue to love her, and to engage with her positively, But that certainly does not mean that we should indulge her totally, as President Jayewardene did in 1982 over the Falklands War. ”

“ The person elected or succeeding to the office of President shall assume office upon taking and subscribing the oath or making and subscribing the affirmation, set out in the Fourth Schedule, in Sri Lanka before the Chief Justice or any other Judge of the Supreme Court.
(2) Upon such assumption of office the President shall cease to hold any other office created or recognized by the Constitution and if he is a Member of Parliament, shall vacate his seat in Parliament. The President shall not hold any other office or place of profit whatsoever. ”

“ When the SLFP governs the country the UNP condemns it. Similarly, when the UNP governs the country SLFP condemns it. I invite both parties to get together and march even for a short period because I want to eliminate hate politics and build this country, addressing the main challenges before us.
Basically, we should have a clear understanding about our path. When we look at our election results we understand that we should give birth to a legitimate political child to win the next election and to establish a government. The SLFP is a party which governed the country, continuously for 20 years. ”

“ We will do our best to fulfil their expectations with regard to concern for civilians, our civilians Mr President, whom the government cares for not only for the moral and political reasons we recognise in this Council, but also for the very practical one that they are voters in the democratic process the government intends to restore after many long years of totalitarian terrorist dominance. ”

“ I am a person who is on a slow journey. But I am not ready to turn back in that slow journey. That slow journey is for our country. I am trying to go on one journey by collecting all political parties as much as possible, for the betterment of all of us, as well as the entire people of this country. ”

“ Section 3 Replacement of Article 30 of the Constitution 3. Article 30 of the Constitution is hereby repealed and the following Article substituted therefor:-
30. (The President of the Republic) (1) There shall be a President of the Republic of Sri Lanka, who is the Head of the State, the Head of the Executive and of the Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. (2) The President of the Republic shall be elected by the People and shall hold office for a term of five years.
Section 4 Amendment of Article 31 of the Constitution 4. ”

“ Upon the making of a Proclamation under the Public Security Ordinance or the law for the time being in force relating to public security, bringing the provisions of such Ordinance or law into operation on the ground that the maintenance of essential supplies and services is threatened or that the security of Sri Lanka is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion, the President may give directions to any Governor as to the manner in which the executive power exercisable by the Governor is to be exercised. ”

“ As we reach out to all alike in the world, we aim to achieve the goals similar to those you will enforce in your time as president. Democracy, Opportunity, Liberty and Unyielding Hope are engraved into our very being and create the power which endures us to allow safety and prosperity to all residing in the island of Sri Lanka. ”

“ Sri Lanka wishes, Mr President, to express its appreciation of the UPR process, both as it has been conducted under your leadership this year, and in general. It may not be perfect, and it could certainly be refined, but like democracy it is as good a system as we will get. ”

“ In Sri Lanka the Attorney General’s position has never been politicized – except perhaps in the bad old days of the 80s but we won’t go into President Jayawardene now – except to say that that Attorney General, who faithfully represented a racist government, now represents the LTTE. And on the whole no one has ever questioned the integrity or the capacity of Attorney Generals. And the Attorney General’s Department was quite furious because they said this is inappropriate. But they also said, look, we don’t have to be here. If the Commission does not want us, we will go away. ”

“ Where the Governor or any Provincial Council has failed to comply with, or give effect to, any directions given to such Governor or such Council under this Chapter of the Constitution, it shall be, lawful for the President to hold that a situation has arisen in which the administration of the Province cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. ”

“ Throughout the journey we came forward, I trust that we should strictly pay attention to the good quality and high standards in politics, that are required by our country because of the political decline occurred in Sri Lanka, especially since the latter part of the 1970s. ”

“ Following a path of social democracy, Sri Lanka has succeeded in achieving high levels in the Human Development Index, even during the years of conflict. This success is testimony to our commitment for achieving the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.
Mr. President,
Development should result in the empowerment of women and youth and assure security for children. Frustration in youth usually leads to conflict. Nevertheless, Youth is the driving force for sustainable development. ”

“ The great national service rendered by the forces cannot be valued in money. Hence, all the members of the forces receive the honour of the Government of Sri Lanka and all the citizens of the country today.
We must pay our attention to the reason why this war dragged on for 30 years. We must study the developments prior to the 30 year old conflict and how the governments reacted then. In that era the Tamils, Muslims and other communities lived in unity as brothers. The leaders then fulfilled their responsibilities towards the people. ”

“ Mr President, Sri Lanka is grateful for the concerns expressed for our situation by countries that have, while affirming their commitment to Human Rights, made clear their opposition to terrorism and terrorist activity. ”

“ Mr President, Sri Lanka strongly condemns these attempts by interested parties to damage the good relations between Sri Lanka and its partners by such deliberate or culpably careless misquoting. The ICRC and the UN do good work under difficult circumstances, and agencies such as Human Rights Watch with nothing better to do must not waste their time and ours in pursuing clarifications. ”

“ Where the Supreme Court reports to Parliament that in its opinion the President is permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office by reason of mental or physical infirmity or that the President has been guilty of any of the other allegations contained in such resolution, as the case may be, Parliament may by a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the whole number of Members (including those not present) voting in its favour remove the President from office. ”

“ But we have seen in various countries, faced with national challenges, the main political parties come together with consensus to form alliance governments, casting aside their political differences. As soon as Apartheid was ended in South Africa, the main political parties of that country established a consensual government to eradicate the racist divisions and to achieve a rapid development for the country. I strongly believe that, the best time for Sri Lanka to enter a government of consensus was the very moment that the country entered a post-war era. ”

“ The emergency regime and exemptions from judicial review 347. A defining feature of the Sri Lankan legal system is a series of key structural exemptions from judicial review. Firstly, the Constitution provides comprehensive immunity to the President for any act or omission, whether personal or official. [72] Secondly, a comprehensive regime of emergency provisions in Sri Lanka overlays the general law, significantly displacing the otherwise applicable provisions of the general law and exempting wide swathes of state action from judicial scrutiny. ”

“ We have to make political changes to achieve progress to our motherland, to ensure that it is not second to any other country in the world. As we identified challenges, problems, political trends and economic challenges that we have to face during different time periods, similarly we have to identify the challenges that we have to face at present.
I offer the hands of brotherhood to all of you to join with me to build a strong Sri Lanka Freedom Party. It is not something unusual for a political party to take part in elections, win elections or to lose elections in a democratic country. ”

“ We are eager to usher in a new political culture in Sri Lanka for the all communities, religions as well as political parties with divergent views could live in friendship, harmony and cooperation. We want the international community to take a new look at the new Sri Lanka. ”

“ Before the end of the tenure of this parliament, our children and grandchildren will start going to preschool with an ipad, just as we brought the slate to the school. I like to tell you that the people have elected you as lawmakers in an era of transformation like this. Accordingly, all of us have the challenge to prepare this country for that new era to be dawned and to fulfill the ambitions of that new generation with future in mind, while protecting the shared values of our culture which binds us as the Sri Lanka nation. ”

“ As one of the first post-colonial democracies in the world that actively worked towards Asian-African solidarity, South-South cooperation and Non Alignment, Sri Lanka’s engagement with Asian solidarity and cooperation has a long and proud history. While we walk the middle path in our foreign policy, we also extend our hand of friendship to all nations, and renew our engagement with the international community. We will continue to nurture our special friendship with countries in our Asian neighbourhood. ”

“ Our objective is to achieve overall development while raising the income levels of the poor through the empowerment of communities living at the grass-roots level. In this connection, Sri Lanka hopes that debt forgiveness will continue to be expanded to encourage the development of developing countries. It is only right that those who reach the heights of development should pause to lend a helping hand to those who have fallen behind due to circumstances.
I wish to acknowledge the role of President Clinton, the United Nations Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, and the Secretary-General, Mr. ”

“ When considering all aspects, we understand that we have to fulfill our responsibilities by the people of Sri Lanka both today as well as tomorrow. The Government, within its policy, will be committed to carry out the reconciliation process similar to the way that the tri-forces, police and civil security force carried out their commitment in the war. ”

“ I emphasize this Parliament has upon it, the responsibility to raise Sri Lanka as a great democratic nation forging ahead.
Honorable Speaker,
The greatest wealth of our country is our human resource. I believe that the unparalleled development of it is the key to the development of our country. As the modern world is achieving great technological successes, a country can grow beyond middle-income level, only through developing its skilled workforce. ”

“ Our approach to governanceis founded upon the bedrock of Theravada Buddhism, which is part of our valued Asian heritage, where all our neighbours are treated with compassion as one’s own family. It is an inclusive approach,which embraces diversity and pluralism. Sri Lanka, as a maritime nation with natural geographical advantages, will work in tandem with friendly countries to maintain cooperation in the maritime sphere. ”

“ To conclude, Mr President, we also regret Mr Scheinin’s possibly critical comment on the legislation introduced by Sri Lanka in 2006 to control such funding. We are fully in support of aid to suffering people but we cannot permit this to be a disguise for terrorist activity, which we are determined to suppress, and for which we need the support of all our colleagues. ”