Address by H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
2005. We will also hold elections to the Northern Provincial Council next year upholding the principles of democracy. The many successful aspects
As the current Vice Patron of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, I am pleased to welcome all delegates to this 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Colombo and honoured to address you on this occasion. This is an organization with a long
and distinguished history in the annals of modern democracy. It begun in 1911, as the Empire Parliamentary Association, when the British Empire was at the height of its strength, when the Sun never set upon it. Later, as the success of
key freedom movements from imperialism and colonialism succeeded, as in India and Sri Lanka – then Ceylon, it was changed to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, as we know it today. Sri Lanka, as one of the earliest
members of the CPA, is glad to host this important international parliamentary conference for the third occasion. It is also important to recall
that Sri Lanka is among the members of the CPA, having one of the oldest traditions in parliamentary democracy, being the first country in Asia to have universal franchise, from as far back as 1931. We have continued this tradition
of parliamentary democracy over the past 81 years, protecting it from those who plotted against it, both in uniform and through insurrection. More recently, we protected
our democratic system, and the democratic rights of all our people, against what has been correctly described as the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world. At a time of clashes between democracy and terror, we have shown the world that terrorism can be effectively defeated, and the cherished values of democracy restored to people who were denied it for nearly three decades. You are meeting here today, just
two days after democratic elections were successfully conducted to three
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Provincial Councils in the country, and you may be observing how the people have freely expressed their choice. Sri Lanka’s long tradition of parliamentary democracy has seen governments change via the ballot, and constitutions being similarly changed and amended. It is also noteworthy that among
the first things done after the defeat of terrorism, first in the Eastern Province, and later in the entire country, was to quickly hold local government, provincial and national elections to obtain a proper mandate from the people, large sections of whom were deprived of their franchise by the forces of terror. In fact I myself sought a second
term in office, even before the expiry of my first term, to obtain a truly national mandate, because the terrorists whose agents are still active in some parts of the world, denied many people in the North and East the right to vote, the first time I sought the Presidency in November
of post-conflict developments have drawn much attention to Sri Lanka, especially the speed with which nearly 300,000 Internally Displaced Persons were re-settled. Another important aspect has been the efforts at national reconciliation, after a bloody conflict that dragged on for nearly three decades. It took less than two years from the end of the conflict to set up the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). It was to learn from the lessons from the conflict, understand how we could avoid such situations again, provide justice to those who had been affected, and, most importantly, seek the path of reconciliation as a nation, through our own experiences. The recommendations of the LLRC are already being implemented, according to a well worked out Plan of Action that we have presented to the nation and the world. With our undoubted commitment
to parliamentary democracy, we have a keen interest in the work and progress of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Your efforts to promote parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance, and interest in building an informed parliamentary community among the member nations, has our strongest support. The many educational programmes on parliamentary practice and procedure, the efforts