President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that nation building cannot be confined to one sphere and the aim of the government is to launch a programme to develop the country as a whole.

“Our target is to identify the necessary approach for the country’s development and to raise the economic development to be on par with the developed economies of the world,” President Rajapakaa said addressing a gathering of ayurvedic physicians’ at Temple Trees recently.

Speaking further the President said, “The physicians practicing indigenous medicine in the country fulfill an extensive mission throughout the country. The Bandaranaike government paid special attention to the Ayurvedic System. Ayurveda diploma holders serve throughout the length and breadth of the country today. I am glad that I have got the opportunity to address the large gathering of traditional doctors and graduate doctors.

“The minister in charge of the indigenous medicine ministry is highly concerned with the task of safeguarding your rights. This medical system with its age long tradition has achieved world recognition.

It is our duty to introduce a research scheme into the Ayurveda system. Already the World Health Organisation had offered us a special fund to prepare the background for examinations in the Ayurveda institutions and build affiliation with other countries. Negotiations are in progress for a scholarship programme. Our suggestions in Paragraph 61 of the Mahinda Chinthanaya programme could not be realised in full because only four years out of the planned six have been completed. This situation not withstanding people’s aspiration was the unification of the country.

“Their message to us was to emancipate the terror stricken people. We have dedicated ourselves to fulfill that mission. We have won the freedom and planned for the economic management. Employment opportunities surged 12 lakhs.

“The cancerous war was brought to an end. Colombo development efforts were extended to the villages in collaboration with an extensive development endeavourer. Power supply was enhanced resulting in emergence of power houses at Kerawalapitiya, Norochcholai, and Upper Kotmale etc. Sans power, development would have been impracticable

“Roads network is also an essential development input. Peace cannot exist without development and vice versa. Network of highways has enveloped the entire country. Five ports have been constructed.

Development of the country depends on the realization of the requirements in each sphere. Our past endeavours were fashioned on that policy. The indigenous medical system renders a laudable service and the government will not fail to meet the needs for its development.

“Medical service whether Western or Ayurveda is given equal consideration. Our medical system will be introduced on a worldwide scale. We are prepared to introduce a tourist industry that would attract foreign exchange needed for the country’s development,” President added.

“There won’t be a need for another uprising”

Problems of the Tamil people in this country would be solved in such a way that there won’t be another armed uprising by them, opposition’s common Presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka said on Saturday in Jaffna.

Speaking to the journalists on Saturday he said that people in the country including those living in the North have suffered a lot due to the thirty year long war and solutions must be found to eliminate those sufferings.

Answering a question about the missing persons during the conflict General Fonseka said that once he comes to power he would investigate into those incidents and take necessary action.

General Fonseka met the journalist during his campaign in Jaffna peninsula where he was once based as the area commander. Opposition Leader Ranil Wikremesinghe, leader of the JVP Somawansa Amarasinghe, leader of the SLMC Rauff Hakeem, DPF leader Mano Ganesan JVP parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake also accompanied him.

The opposition candidate was told that women even didn’t even have a proper place to have a bath or have a place for changing clothes since the Army camps were so close to their houses, in certain areas.

General Fonseka replying to that stated that he requested the Government to resettle the people after adequate infrastructure was in place, but the Government resettled them in haste without heeding to his request, creating such problems.

He accused that the Government has robbed the funds remitted by the international community to arrange facilities for the people displaced by the war.

He said although the Army and the Government jointly took action to set up the High Security Zones (HSZ), it is the Government’s duty to resettle the people displaced from those High Security Zones.

“I know about the high security zones in the peninsula more than any other person knows” he added.

Some people holding top positions in the Government are like foreign Ambassadors, they do not know anything about resettling the people displaced by the fighting.

He was questioned about a comment he had allegedly made when he was the Army Chief that the minorities in this country are not equal to the majority community and General Fonseka replying said that he was misquoted by a foreign media.

“What I said was the minorities in the country must be treated as equal citizens” he said.

He told that he was of the view that co community whether it is majority or minority can make undue demands and it had been misquoted. “Our constitution does not find any difference between the minority and majority communities; it says the country belongs to all” he added.

(Photo - JVP and UNF leaders in Vavuniya Jan. 3rd, 2010)