By Walter Jayawardhana

President Mahinda Rajapaksa condemned a Sri Lankan leader who goes round the world and tries to stop all aid to Sri Lanka and attempts to trip the government in all its developmental work, addressing a mammoth election rally in Badulla yesterday.

The President said in an obvious reference to UNP leader Ranil Wickramasinghe, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Whom is he going to spite in these acts ? Is it me or the oppressed masses in Sri Lanka who would ultimately lose due to this spitefulness?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

The President was addressing the final election rally of the ruling coalition for the Uva Provincial Council , the first election to be held after the complete defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka. The President said the whole world is watching the election for the reaction of the people to the eradication of terrorism from the island nation. He predicted his party candidates would receive 80 per cent of the votes cast in Uva.

The President said whether one sits in the government benches or in the opposition benches he cannot stop being patriotic. One cannot trip the government to slip and fall in its developmental work . By going round the world and telling leaders of foreign countries not to give aid to Sri Lanka or cut down various concessions to the island nation, the President said, one cannot hit him personally. He said by those unpatriotic acts, it would be the poor people of Sri Lanka who would ultimately lose badly.

He said asking foreign countries to stop aid to Sri Lanka is one of the worst acts, one could expect from someone worth calling a Sri Lankan.

He said he would not give false election promises to the people. He has come before the people after fulfilling all election promises in the past. He said he is a politician who would protect his word at the risk of his life. He said as promised he had emancipated the whole country from terrorism. Rajapaksa said it was the opposition politicians who could not go before the people due to broken promises. He added since the first time he is going before an election after the victory over terrorism the whole world is watching how the voters would react to the eradication of terrorism from the country. He said he would predict 80 per cent of the voters would cast their votes for the government candidates.

The government by routing terrorism from the country , the President said, has also eradicated the so called border villages which were the constant targets of the terrorists. The women ,children and others of these villages were constant targets of the terrorists. He said these villages were also the so called difficult villages low in development and less in comforts. The President said he would see to that the kind of villages come to an end and the inhabitants live like others under his programs.