Sri Lanka President calls to end war mentality, urges peace and unity

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made a speech at the 16th National War Heroes Remembrance Ceremony held today (May 19).

The 16th National War Heroes Commemoration Ceremony took place today (May 19) from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the National War Hero Cenotaph in Sri Jayawardenepura, Kotte.

The full speech made by the President is as follows:

For decades, our country faced war. That war caused immense destruction to the nation and the people. Years ago, we were able to bring it to an end. Today, we commemorate the military officers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives in bringing this war to an end. Therefore, today is a significant and historic day.

This commemoration is not only a remembrance of ending the war, but also a moment when all citizens, Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, and Malays must come together in unity and brotherhood to rebuild the country and ensure that war never returns.

Many of our soldiers gave their lives to end this prolonged war. Their names are inscribed on this wall. These plaques display the devotion and sacrifice they made to end the war. Likewise, many soldiers were left permanently disabled. Even today, many who live among us made the ultimate sacrifice for peace. Others lost their eyes, arms, legs, and other body parts.

Not only them, but also their relatives, friends, parents, wives, and husbands all made enormous sacrifices in this national effort. I believe that as a country and as a nation, we must remember them always. This country is forever indebted to them. We share a sacred bond with them.

But the word “war” means only one thing: war. It is a great tragedy. It is a great destruction. Those of you who fought on the battlefield know this better than I do, just how tragic and devastating war is.

Yet none of those who fought did so out of a desire for war. They all fought with the hope of peace. Today, we see how the people of the North and South, without division, have risen from the ruins of that war and tragedy.

Children who lost their fathers, parents who lost their children, and wives who lost their husbands still live in this motherland with sorrow. I know that among the names engraved on these plaques, there are people searching with their fingers to find the names of their sons, husbands, or children. We understand the pain of mothers, wives, and children. They search with pride, but also in pain, for their lost loved ones.

War is a tragedy. Having faced such a tragedy, our responsibility today is to ensure that no such war ever occurs again in our land. Instead of being a war-torn country, we must build a country free of conflict, bound by love and brotherhood, not hatred, suspicion, or anger.

Not only in the South, but in the North too, parents place photos on the roadside and grieve for their husbands and children. To every parent, their child is a gem. Therefore, it is our duty, having faced such a tragedy, to ensure that such a war never arises again in our land.

Our past generations have fought wars. Among them, hatred, anger, and suspicion have spread. But we must create a country for our children, a country that does not wage war, that is free from conflict, and that is bound by love and brotherhood. We must not let the events of this century remain just events. We must learn from them as good people and turn them into experiences.

So then, what does a history marked by deep tragedy tell us? That we must never again allow such conditions to arise in our homeland. These experiences do not suggest that the next generation should return to conflict. They show us that we must build a state free from war.

Standing here in front of this war memorial and paying proper respect means pledging not to allow conflict to arise again, and instead building a loving and unified society rather than one filled with hatred.

Especially today, before me are soldiers who cannot place their two feet on the ground. I visited them this morning. Some have spent nearly 30 years bedridden since 1996. One man said he has been this way since 1988. Unable to speak their thoughts in words, they show their sorrow with tear-filled eyes. This tragedy must end. What we must hand over to the future generation is a united and peaceful nation.

But what we see happening in the country today is that war, nationalism, and extremism are being used to gain, protect, and consolidate political power. None of this occurred naturally. These tactics have been used to gain power and hide the crimes of those in power. Otherwise, there would be no reason why Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka was imprisoned for more than two and a half years. During that time, he and I interacted closely. What prevailed then was not justice or the law, but power. Throughout history, war and conflict have been used as tools to gain and strengthen power. The victims of that, in both the North and South, have been our children.

Children of innocent parents from villages who had no part in initiating war or conflict died. Therefore, we must deeply understand that war is a tragedy. War is destruction. But some defeated and rejected groups keep imagining that war is something glorious. They see it as a sweet experience. But for the general public, it is not so. Then must we continue to fear these loud voices? We must all rise up together and raise our voices for peace. Our hearts, our words, and our approach must all align in the name of peace.

It is becoming a symbol of betraying peace. It is turning into a betrayal of reconciliation. As humans develop as a society, we must increasingly raise our voices for humanism and for humanity. Not just within our country, but also globally, what has the world gained from the conflicts that have arisen across the globe? Victory? No. Destruction. Therefore, I believe we must act with unwavering determination for the sake of peace.

The pleasure of war, the enjoyment derived from turning war into a great river of blood to gain or safeguard one’s power, must be eradicated. At this moment, every soldier and every officer who stands with a bayonet in hand, wearing a uniform and respecting the law, prays that they will never have to use the firearm they hold. That is the prayer of humanism. That should be the prayer of civil society.

Yet, small groups constantly think about when to ignite the weapon they hold. No. Our stance must be to create a society where there is never an opportunity to raise that firearm against another human being. We must say this without fear.

No one should be subjugated to militarism. We are only subjugated to truth. We must be subjugated to humanism, to humanity. But we need not be subjugated to militarism. That is why I believe that if we are to turn history into experience, then we must become a people who learn from those experiences. We have shed enough blood. We are a nation that has bled until this earth was soaked. A nation whose rivers flowed with blood. A nation that shed so many tears they could fill rivers, tears of parents and loved ones. We are a people who have experienced the worst horrors and destruction of war. If they were truly experiences, we must never again allow such a situation to arise in our country.

As I have said before, no one entered this war for the sake of war. Everyone took up arms and stepped forward for the sake of peace. We did not fight for war. We fought for peace. If that is true, then we still have a long journey ahead. The end of war must be followed by the next step, establishing peace. Otherwise, we become only half-victors, not full victors. We can only become full victors by creating peace in this country.

So, we are ready to take every possible step for peace, without fear of militarism. From every soldier holding a weapon, from every officer, I ask this: always be a group working for peace in our country, and become a group that will work to establish peace in the future as well.

To our parents, I say: your child, your husband sacrificed themselves for the end of war in this motherland. You are noble mothers. You are noble wives. But what should the final outcome be? The greatest justice you can offer your child, your husband, your friend, your relative, is the establishment of peace in this country.

We must build a society where our children will never again fear war. That is a very difficult task. But it is a task we must successfully complete. Though I may not be the most suitable person at this moment to say this, I must say: in both the North and South, attempts to stir rebellion in the name of nationalism have begun again, for no other reason than the pursuit of power. If we cannot achieve full freedom in our motherland by ending the war, then what is true freedom?

What is complete freedom in the motherland? Even now, there are regions in the country at risk of landslides due to the rains. Are we free from that? Even now, if a small conflict erupts anywhere in the world, it impacts our economy and people’s lives. Are we free from that? We are a nation that has lost economic independence. A nation without a strong economy capable of making its own economic decisions. Therefore, to transform our motherland into a proud nation before the world, we must achieve this economic transformation.

The supremacy of the rule of law must be established in this state, no matter how difficult it may be. The world must speak with admiration about the governance of our country. We must build a state free from crime and the drug epidemic. A state free from conflict, distrust, and hatred. Only then will we have true freedom and strong sovereignty in our motherland. Otherwise, sovereignty will remain just a sentence on paper. It must become the reality of this motherland.

You, we, have an unbreakable love for this motherland. Likewise, we love the people of this country unconditionally. We have a desire to transform this motherland into one of the greatest on earth and to ensure that the people of this land live the best lives possible. The most essential factors for this are peace and reconciliation. Therefore, at this moment, I believe we must boldly make every possible decision in favor of peace and reconciliation.

The stability and security of the monument before us, the spirituality and pride of our fallen soldiers, all of that is engraved in this pillar. We must engrave their spirituality, courage, bravery, and sacrifice into our own lives. Why? To build a more prosperous state. Ultimately, we will always remember in our hearts the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to end the war and those who were permanently disabled.

The dedication, sacrifice, and unwavering bravery you have shown will become a source of hope as we rebuild this country. For that, let us all launch a new battle together.

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