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M. Sirisena: Address to Peace Summit 2023, Session II-B
Written by H.E. Maithripala Sirisena, president, Sri Lanka (2015-2019)
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Address to Peace Summit 2023
May 2-5, 2023
It is a privilege to participate in this historic conference. Also, I would like to say that the invitation of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) to deliver a special speech on this occasion is a great honor for me as well as for Sri Lanka. I feel that UPF is emerging as a new world organization centered on Asia for regional and global political, economic, social as well as cultural dialogues and new initiatives. I also believe that it is a timely requirement.
The purpose of establishing this forum, as I understand it, is to appreciate the talent, knowledge, experience and commitment of experts in the fields of public service and public administration. In view of that purpose, I consider this to be more of an association of distinguished diplomats and eminent statesmen, than a forum of senior politicians.
Honorable Chairman, distinguished participants,
I have reached the 55th year in my political career. I have represented the Parliament of Sri Lanka for the past 34 consecutive years, from 1989 to date. During that period, I have held several ministerial positions, starting as a deputy minister for a short period, and later becoming a cabinet minister, and from 2015 to 2019, I held the position of president of Sri Lanka. For the first time in the country’s history, special projects focused on information technology and youth development, rural entrepreneurship development, preventing drug use, fighting violence against women and children, special treatment initiatives for kidney patients, environmental conservation, and so forth were implemented under the direct supervision of the presidential secretariat during my administration. The mainstay of Sri Lankan rural society is farming. Hence, the most crucial service that agrarians need from the government is irrigation facilities. In view of this, I was also able to implement huge irrigation schemes, such as Kalu Ganga – Moragahakanda, to fulfill the most critical need of agrarians.
Honorable Chairman, distinguished participants,
Among the ministerial positions I have held, I liked the minister of agriculture and irrigation and minister of health positions the most. The reason for that is not only the great public service I was able to perform in those fields, but also the enormous challenges I faced. The courage I earned by facing those challenges was very helpful for me when I served as the president of Sri Lanka for five years. Therefore, I suggest that modern statesmen be groomed with the ability to face multiple challenges.
Many countries in the South Asian region, including Sri Lanka, remain underdeveloped. In my opinion, the reason for that is the failure of the economic and political plans that were implemented in those countries after colonial rule. Instead of forming an efficient government and administrative structure, those countries suffered from typical “political epidemics,” such as corruption, fraud, bribery, low efficiency, and so forth. Upon their inability to maintain advanced diplomatic relations, these countries are simply becoming the victims of global and regional geopolitical agendas. But during my presidency from 2015 to 2019, Sri Lanka managed to establish a record in government revenues from the tourism industry, export income and foreign workers' remittances. The reason for this was the establishment of democracy in the country, good international relations and the use of various mechanisms and strategies to eliminate corruption. However, for a country to move forward successfully, it is imperative that it has a governing party that is honest and obliged to its purpose, and on the other hand, a progressive opposition that thinks beyond narrow political goals. If not, it is my experience that the people will suffer the consequences, not the politicians.
Honorable Chairman, distinguished participants,
I believe that most of the people in this distinguished conference were born in the past 50 years of the 20th century. The progress made in information technology in the last three decades has been immense. Therefore, I feel that we are not normal homo sapiens anymore. The current human being is dependent on technology. Because of this, it seems that ethics, value systems and creativity in society are rapidly disappearing. Alienation is high at the individual level as well as in society. Police reports state that the suicide rates are increasing. I suggest that it is our duty to read these social trends correctly, if we are to guide the future statesmen.
Instead of being a beautiful home for human beings and animal, the world has become an ugly place full of terror, war and other endless conflicts, poverty, and disparity in the distribution of resources.
The land of Korea, whose people speak the same language and come from the same cultural roots, is divided into North and South. It is clear that communism, nationalism and authoritarian monarchical trends of the last century have failed to make the world a better place. The whole human society is looking for humanity. Therefore, I think that humanitarianism should be emphasized as the central factor in politics.
Mahatma Gandhi once said that the change you wish to see in the world must first be made within yourself. I am a firm believer that leaders should always be role models for others.
South African leader Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for life in 1962. Then he was 44 years old. He was released from prison in 1990 due to public pressure and international reprisals related to his imprisonment. Four years later, Nelson Mandela was elected as the South African president. He was 76 years old. It is natural that genuine leaders have to suffer various punishments unjustly. The reason is the politicization of justice. But the leaders who bear it all quietly, overcome in the midst of various challenges.
Honorable Chairman, distinguished participants,
To conclude, it is my duty to say something about the current situation in Sri Lanka. As you know very well, Sri Lanka is stuck in a huge economic crisis. The political instability and disruption of people's lives caused by that crisis cannot be tolerated. Surgeries cannot be performed in hospitals due to lack of essential medicines. As doctors leave the country, even essential clinics have had to close. The provision of essential food, medicines, fuel, fertilizers for farmers, and so forth has been seriously affected. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), due to high inflation, about 6.3 million Sri Lankans have a shortage of food. Farmers are unable to sell their products, paddy, for example, due to wrong agro-economic policy decisions that were made by authorities. Fifty percent of people spend 75 percent of their income on food. They have no money to spend on their children’s education or health. Therefore, as a leader of Sri Lanka, I expect the kind cooperation of all of you at this difficult time.
Thank you to all of you for listening to me patiently.
To go to the Peace Summit 2023 Schedule page, click here.