Sri
Lanka congratulates the President on his election to
this high office. We are confident that your guidance
will enable the General Assembly to make progress on
the important issues confronting humanity to make the
work and role of the United Nations more relevant to
the lives of billions of people.
While my mother tongue is Sinhala, let me
elaborate a few thoughts in Tamil. Sinhala and Tamil
are the two languages of the people of Sri Lanka. Both
have been used through the centuries, are rich in
literature and are widely used in my country, with
recognition as official languages. With the widening of
democracy in our country, the bonds between the
Sinhala and Tamil people of Sri Lanka will grow
stronger and remain a major force for its future
development. We will march towards a richer freedom
and the lasting unity that await us as a nation.
The theme of our debate — “The impact of the
global food crisis on poverty and hunger in the world
as well as the need to democratize the United
Nations” — is indeed far-sighted. It focuses on one of
the critical survival needs of humanity, as well as one
of the key institutional needs of the world body. The
global food crisis has become a frightening actuality
and has the potential to assume even more dangerous
proportions if we fail to take urgent and collective
action. Similarly, a less democratic United Nations
runs the risk of being less effective and less credible,
while giving rise to major concerns about its
legitimacy.
Through a series of projects with regional impact,
Sri Lanka will contribute to the goal of increasing food
production, investing more in agriculture and research
and sharing technologies and best practices. That is an
integral part of the rural empowerment that is so
essential in the developing world, as the vast majority
of our people are rural based and depend on agriculture
for their livelihoods. Achieving food security would
require strengthening and revitalizing the agriculture
sector. That calls for the empowerment of small- and
medium-scale farmers through a series of measures.
Those represent vital collective steps by all of us in the
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United Nations system. Sri Lanka sees self-sufficiency
as the answer to overcoming the food crisis and giving
strength to nations. No longer can we expect farmers in
developing countries to be mainly producers for export
markets.
In that context, implementation of effective social
safety nets remains a priority as reassurance and
empowerment. That is why we have introduced social
security measures such as the fertilizer and fisheries
subsidies. The advice given by some powerful
countries and powerful institutions are contrary to that.
Yet it is necessary that we pay no heed to such advice
and determine to do what is best for the innocent
people of our countries.
As the current Chair of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), I
have the honour to state that at the recent summit we
affirmed our resolve as a region to make our own
contribution to grapple with the food crisis and to make
our region revive its historic critical role in food
production by once again becoming a major granary of
the world. We also decided on the immediate
establishment and operationalization of the SAARC
Food Bank. That mechanism, we believe, will help
considerably to ensure both food and nutritional
security for the people of South Asia. That initiative
will contribute to the larger global efforts that we
launched in Rome, in June this year, to avert and
mitigate the impact of the food crisis.
We must also find solutions to the energy crisis
that are both equitable and pragmatic. Energy supplies
must be diversified by developing advanced, cleaner,
more efficient and cost-effective technologies for both
fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. We need to
engage in energy conservation and accept the reality of
dependence on fossil fuels for much longer.
Equally obvious is the imperative of transferring
new technology to the developing countries. In our
own region, we will use increasing resources of human
and scientific talent to produce our own technologies,
making the best use of the natural resources, the sun,
wind and the ocean, which we have in abundance, free
of the restrictions of the marketplace. The demands of
humanity can no longer be allowed to be at the mercy
of speculative or captive markets.
To that end, Sri Lanka’s own view is that the
United Nations and its agencies must take leadership in
developing a framework for international cooperation.
We urge caution in the rush to use biofuels to break our
dependence of fossil fuels. It has already been seen that
the rush to biofuels has contributed to high food prices.
Sri Lanka’s policy is that no arable land should be
diverted or directed to the production of biofuels,
however profitable that may be in the short term. It was
propitious that Sri Lanka acted with courage and
foresight over the last three years, without being cowed
by many pressures, and thus did not confront any
situation where our people had to face hunger or
starvation.
On climate change, SAARC leaders reiterated the
need to redouble efforts within an expanded regional
framework for environmental protection, conservation
and justice. We stressed that we should contribute to
restoring harmony with nature, a part of the heritage of
South Asia. We humans have interfered with nature too
much for too long. We must accept that the dangers of
climate change are man-made and that its solutions,
too, require man’s intervention.
Since the promulgation of the Charter of the
United Nations to save succeeding generations from
the tragedy of war, at least the major threat of
intercontinental war seems to have receded. However,
the just struggle of the Palestinians for statehood
continues.
Today, the United Nations and its peoples are
confronted with the fast-spreading menace of
terrorism, which manifests itself in various forms in
Asia, Africa and Latin America. The United Nations
has a grave responsibility to save today’s and
succeeding generations from that new and continuing
menace. We have been talking for long enough; it is
time for clear action in that regard.
Like many other countries, Sri Lanka has not
been spared this global menace. Exploiting perceived
ethnic grievances that must and can be addressed
through political means, a well-organized terror group,
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), engages
in blatant and brutal acts of terrorism, including suicide
bombings, to seek negotiating leverage, political
recognition and legitimacy.
I am saddened by the loss of life and destruction
caused by the recent terrorist attack in Pakistan.
Our Government has always been ready to
address the causes of these issues and effectively
implement political and constitutional solutions to
3 08-51749
meet the aspirations and respect the rights of all
communities. What the Government would not and
could not do is to let an illegal and armed terrorist
group, the LTTE, hold a fraction of our population, a
part of the Tamil community, hostage to such terror in
the northern part of Sri Lanka and deny those people
their democratic rights to dissent and free elections.
Through our past actions, we have proved it.
The Government has therefore declared its policy
of engaging in dialogue and discussion with the
democratic leadership of the Tamil community, a
people who have lived in harmony with other Sri
Lankans for centuries. Today, there are Tamil leaders
holding responsible ministerial posts in my
Government. A former Attorney-General of then
Ceylon, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, a beloved
Tamil politician, had this to say at a public meeting in
Colombo in September 1904: “I have been to many
countries in the world. But nowhere have I seen such a
friendly race as the Sinhalese, who also uphold high
moral values.” Such was the harmony between the
Tamils and the Sinhalese. But a malicious group has
turned all of this upside down.
All successive Governments of Sri Lanka have
endeavoured to resolve the problem for over 25 years,
including through Norwegian facilitation and
international co-chairs overseeing a so-called peace
process that was treated with contempt by the
terrorists. On each occasion that talks were held
seeking peace, the terrorists of the LTTE walked out on
the flimsiest of pretexts and reverted to terrorism of the
worst kind, indiscriminately targeting innocent
civilians.
Our Government will only be ready to talk to that
illegal armed group when it is ready to commit itself to
decommissioning its illicit weapons, dismantling its
military capability and returning to the democratic
fold. The Government has also made it clear that the
elected Government cannot and will not permit the
undermining of the territorial integrity of the sovereign
United Nations Member State of Sri Lanka and the
division of its territory. We are clear in this message.
The Government’s objective is to enable the
people to enjoy the benefits of democratic processes
and to speed development activities in those areas
where there is a heavy presence of terrorists. That
would be similar to the fast-tracking of economic
development taking place in the Eastern Province of
Sri Lanka, where former terrorists now serve as
democratically elected Provincial Councillors, and a
former child soldier conscripted by the LTTE is now
the elected Chief Minister, having abandoned terrorism
and embraced democracy.
Significantly, the restoration of democracy in the
East of Sri Lanka was achieved in less than one year of
it being freed from the clutches of terror.
Our Government has also sought and received the
cooperation of the United Nations, the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other
agencies to help us in providing humanitarian
assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and
other affected civilians. The Secretary-General’s
Representative on IDPs, who visited Sri Lanka some
years ago, said:
“Sri Lanka presents the unusual situation of a
central Government providing relief aid to
persons under the control of the main opposition
group. In a world replete with examples of
Governments and rebel groups using food as a
weapon against civilian populations, the situation
in Sri Lanka is one that deserves closer attention
if not more publicity as an important precedent.”
(E/CN.4/1994/44/Add.1, para. 67)
The Government of Sri Lanka continues this
humanitarian policy even today, although we know that
the terrorists seize a good proportion of those
humanitarian supplies. Our supplies are not confined to
food; they extend to medicines and all other essentials
as well as schools and hospitals, with teachers, doctors,
nurses, and all other essential staff. That is not all; the
Government also purchases the paddy and other
foodstuffs produced in those areas. I do not think there
is any country in the world where there is a
Government that provides such humanitarian assistance
to terrorists that attack it. Our Government considers
the supply of humanitarian relief to its people as its
prime responsibility.
The complex situation in Sri Lanka needs to be
addressed and resolved through an appropriate process
of deterrent law-and-order action and patient political
efforts of consensus-building. We have achieved the
difficult but essential task of building peace in the
Eastern Province and are confident that it can be done
in the north as well.
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This session of the Assembly is a good time to
take stock of progress made towards the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) around the globe. It is
regrettable to note, as we do so, that most are behind
schedule. The slowing down of global economic
growth, financial turmoil and speculation, rising food
and fuel prices and the impacts of climate change are
clear obstacles. Also, sanctions imposed on the leaders
of some countries, and on their leadership, based on
their political role, following protests, are in fact,
targeted at the innocent people of those countries.
The steadily growing menace of international
terrorism, with related activities such as the smuggling
of illegal arms, human trafficking, drug trafficking,
money-laundering, and business empires run by
terrorist groups undoubtedly undermine the
fundamentals of humanity and civilization. It appears
that steps taken by us to eradicate such illegal activities
have not been effective. This further complicates all
national and international efforts at moving towards
realizing the MDGs. Terrorism, as I have emphasized
many a time, by its very nature, pushes back even our
modest achievements.
Another similar menace is threatening to devour
our children, the most valuable asset of any nation.
That is the insecurity of cyberspace which has not only
helped corrupt the minds of our children but also
exposes them to predators such as paedophiles, drug
dealers and pornographic sites. Sri Lanka has banned
pornographic and similar destructive sites from being
available through Internet service providers. We are
also controlling and restricting the use of mobile
telephones for such damaging activities. That is an
important area for world leaders to focus on.
It is important that urgent and collective actions,
both short- and long-term, are taken to stem those
adverse trends. Only such determined and concerted
actions will enable progress to be made towards the
realization of the agreed development goals, including
the MDGs, and frustrate elements that are bent on
reversing the gains made.
We must deeply commit ourselves as Members of
the United Nations to forging a way forward from the
limitations not seen by those who laid the foundations
for this great institution of humankind. If we fail to do
it now, future generations will curse us.
I wish to conclude my address with a verse from
the Dhammapada, words from the Enlightened One:
“Victory breeds hatred,
The defeated live in pain.
Happily the calmed live,
Having set victory and defeat aside.”