President Mahinda Rajapakse- The Saviour of the Nation
Posted on May 18th, 2009

Dr.Levins T.C.Rajaratnam

President’s Historical address to Parliament on May 19th, 2009

AƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Great Leader of the People

Heart of Gold ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”the Father of the Nation

Illustrious men killed by Terrorists

No one dared to destroy the Terrorists

Daring, Courageous, Our President led the Nation

And now President Mahinda Rajapakse is the Saviour of the Nation.

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Remember all those valiant soldiers

And the valiant Defence Secretary who led them so

Join us in saluting ourƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Patriotic President

And the Patriotic Soldiers

Patriotic deeds to destroy our enemies

And Freedom was the Battle cry

Kind and gentle to the IDPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s

Secure in a Free Land

Endure and ensure that all Eelam militants and their allies are destroyed.

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Article 32(3) of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka states ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The President shall by virtue of his office, have the right at anytime to attend, address and send messages to Parliament. In the exercise of such right the President shall be entitled to all the privileges, immunities and powers other than the right to voteƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  of a Member of Parliament and shall not be liable for any breach of the privileges of Parliament or of its Members.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

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Article 33 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka states: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-In addition to the powers and functions expressly conferredƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  on or assigned to him by the Constitution or by any written law whether enacted before orƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  after the commencement of the Constitution, the President shall have the power-

(a)to make a Statement of Government Policy in Parliament at the commencement of each session of Parliament;

(b)to preside at ceremonial sittings of Parliament;

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President Mahinda RajapakseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s address to Parliament would be heard liveƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  by the entire Nation by electronic Media. The declaration of saving the country from the hands of ruthless terrorists who even until the last moment tried to market their terroristsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ marketing strategy through vested interests who had corporate interests worldwide. Regardless of ripples of undue influence, President Mahinda Rajapakse was determined to save the country from the brink of disaster. The Doctrine of Military Necessity in internal armed conflict played a prominent role based on Patriotism.

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The duly elected Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapakse, as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces made the correct decision as he was morally and legally bound to protect his subjects from all forms of terror. It was in this connection that President Mahinda Rajapakse had rightly liberated the Tamil people who have been in bondage in the North. The Exodus was like Moses giving freedom to the Jews from Egypt. But the stunning difference is that the Tamil people were liberated andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  given freedom by President Rajapakse, whilst the international community had from time to time been misled by those marketing terrorism for their own corporate interests. These civilians have been held captive in the North by the Tamil Terrorists.

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ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ No country couldƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  morally or legally interfere or intervene in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka. President Mahinda RajapakseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  exercised his jurisdiction by protecting the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka by eradicating the grund norm of terrorism in Sri Lanka. The process is not over, the President has to save the Nation from all the Tamil Terrorists and those hiding in the other parts of the country. The LTTE would not have been able to bring their weapons and bombs to Colombo through checkpoints. It is obvious that the Tamil militant groups in Colombo have helped them. Dramatic suicide attempts may divert the attention of unsuspecting people but it is common knowledge that there are wheels within wheels. LTTE would not have been able to go on for so long if not for he help rendered by theirƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  allies who have eelam identities in the form of militant political parties.

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The President is not only duty bound to protect the citizens from the Terrorists in the North but also those who have their Tamil Political Parties with the nameƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-EelamƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚-most of whom have still arms and continue in the act of abductions, kidnapping, murders and extortion. These groups should be disarmed and should be stripped of their eelam identities.

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It was a necessity to advance militarily in the best interests of the Nation. We are passing through the darkest hours of our history, the dawn cannot be far off.There should be careful security checks house to house in Colombo.

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The application of the doctrine of military necessity makes use of the principle of proportionality as a mechanism for determining the positioning of a fulcrum between these competing poles. Using proportionality thus gives effect to the recognition that the choice of methods and means of conducting war or armed conflict are not unlimited.

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This difficulty is due to the challenges of relating military necessity as a restraint on actions to the objectives of those actions. The means and methods of conducting war operate to achieve a particular military objective, which consequently assists in achieving a larger political objective.

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While necessity might determine the legitimacy of the armed attack, proportionality determines the amount of force that might be used. In a sense, necessity operates at a macro level, while international humanitarian law operates at a micro level, though both might lie on the same continuum given the difficulties in the transition. This difficulty is most apparent when the principles of necessity and proportionality have been incorporated into conventional international law, particularly international humanitarian conventions. The development of these conventions, and the application of these principles require some consideration if one is to arrive at an understanding of their application in a modern armed conflict. The distinction in the Sri Lanka situation is that it is within our territory.

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Throughout history, mankindƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s most basic human nature has restricted the manner in which wars are fought. The earliest writings of ancient civilizations evince attempts to limit the ways of war and to codify the resulting rules.

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Military necessity has been described as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-a basic principle of the law of war, so basic, indeed, that without it there could be no law of war at all.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ the acceptance that, while the object of warfare is to achieve the submission of the enemy, which may require the disabling of as many enemy combatants as possible, this should only be achieved in a manner that does not cause any unnecessary suffering or damage. This limitation to the means of waging war is not, however, necessarily humanitarian in nature, and much of the early restraints were based on economic, political, and military considerations. However, the need for a balance between the considerations of humanity and the military actions necessary to win a war is regarded as defining the very nature of international humanitarian law, making military necessity a central principle in this balance.

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The ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”principle of distinctionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is fundamental to humanitarian law, but its precise content varies according to the kind of conflict. In national liberation struggles ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ and international armed conflicts ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ the distinction is between ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”civiliansƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”combatants.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Combatants have no right to life under humanitarian law. Every individual is classified as either a combatant or as a kind of protected person, such as a prisoner of war (a captured combatant) or a civilian. An individualƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s rights change when his classification changes. A civilian has the right not to be targeted for attack and the right to receive some protection from attack. If the civilian joins the armed forces, he exchanges the rights of a civilian for the rights of a combatant. A combatant has the right to take part in hostilities.

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Every citizen owes his or her allegiance to the Constitution and to the Head of State- the duly elected President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. We donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t need people from the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”international communityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to cast aspersions on our President and our Government.

Due to our internal conflicts which we could have long resolved, external forces with vested interests have all sought to intervene some in the pretext of resolving the conflict but our experience has proved that the gap of resolution of conflict does not seem to be narrower now.

We looked for diplomacy. But there is no diplomacy with some of those opposed to us. We do not consider them opponents but they oppose every conceivable move we make to develop the country.Sometimes, there is no compromise with such people, no meeting of minds – no point of understanding – so we would have a just choice -defeat it or be defeated by it. This is where there was a necessity for military intervention.We learnt that however much we strive for peace, we need a strong defence capability where a peaceful approach fails. Whatever the dangers of the action we take, the dangers of inaction are far greater.

Laws will have to be changed not to deny the basic liberties but to prevent their abuse and protect the most basic liberty of all; freedom from terror. The people are terrorized by certain vested interests in their vile pursuits for power committing crimes and targeting a reflex scenario as if the Government was responsible. The militant eelam groups in Colombo committed many crimes. All Tamil Political Parties with the name ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-eelamƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ should be banned forthwith. All Tamil Militant Groups should be disarmed and tried for their crimes against humanity.

People are being tainted by the reckless media. It is a national catastrophe for the nation.

We are not alone in this. All round the world governments are struggling with the same problems. We must have co-operation, determination and consensus.

We are a community of people, whose self interest and mutual interest at crucial points merge and that it is through a sense of justice that community is born and nurtured. This is the moment to bring the faiths closer together in understanding of our common values and heritage a source of unity and strength.

By the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more together than we can alone. We must reach beyond our fears and our divisions to a new time of great and common purpose. Let us trace the roots of affirmative action. Let us determine what it is and what it isn’t. Let us see where it has worked and where it hasn’t and ask ourselves what we need to do now.

Private media freedom is running amok. The news that millions of people in this country including foreign correspondents who convey news overseas receive each night is determined by a handful of men responsible only their corporate employers. The State should have control not to permit abuse of the freedom of the Press.

The people love the President. His achievements are remarkable. He has been a stoic in the face of adversity. He has earnestly endeavoured to unify the nation. He is totally committed to serve the people. It is genuine unwavering and it is selfless.

There are individuals and groups who may be critical of the President for political gain, but the President has always taken affirmative action within the norms required of the President. We cannot restore peace unless we can find some way to bring the nation close together. We must be Patriotic. We must uphold and defend the Constitution and the Head of State-the President. We owe allegiance to the President and the Constitution as Citizens of Sri Lanka. We must uphold the norms of the Constitution apprehend and prosecute those who terrorize us by their actions and threats, then economic prosperity will follow suit. Our destiny lies in our hands.

(Dr. Levins T.C.Rajaratnam LL.B(SL).,LL.M(Lond).,Ph.D(Lond)., has practiced in the United Kingdom as a Solicitor of England & Wales, in Australia as Barrister and Solicitor, in US and Sri Lanka as Attorney at Law; He is the author of several publications, poems and has been a Lecturer in various Universities in Colombo and overseas. He was the Co-Ordinating Secretary to the Chief Government Whip of Parliament, the Late Jeyaraj Fernandopulle. He is the author of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Selected Essays on President Mahinda RajapakseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚(Sarvodaya Viswa Lekha Publication May 2009). He is a member of the Word Lawyers & Poets Society, USA)

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tcrajaratnam@gmail.com

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