The Hon. Ashoka Gunasena

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, as the Government, we present for approval regulations under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969.

¶ 02 As always, the Opposition expresses its views on such regulations. From their remarks, it is clear we are on the right path. The situation the Opposition created when they governed for years has brought great tragedy to this country. To rectify that, as the present Government we bring these regulations.

¶ 03 In recent days too, looking at what the Opposition said here shows something: when speaking on vehicle imports, instead of addressing the regulations, they focus on other matters.

¶ 04 On vehicle imports, our priority has been to allow essential passenger transport vehicles in a way that supports the country’s production process. Passenger transport has been inefficient and is a barrier to productivity. To remove that barrier, we must make passenger transport efficient so working people can contribute properly to production. That is the purpose of allowing passenger transport vehicles. The Opposition does not understand this and refuses to discuss it, opting to speak of other things.

¶ 05 Recently, some even dragged the war into this chamber, and especially spoke of war heroes. An Opposition MP attacked the President’s idea—expressed in his speech—that every citizen who died in the war died for the country’s peace. He claimed that “ending the war” is what people gave their lives for, and lumped together soldiers and civilians as all sacrificing to end the war. He fails to grasp that ending the war means peace. That is the President’s point: “In the name of peace, everyone sacrificed.” Whenever we speak of the war, we must say this: we should transform war into peace; that should be the fundamental objective. Hence the President presented that idea properly.

¶ 06 Opposition MPs also referred to the “one pen stroke” remarks at rallies. The idea was not that everything can be stopped with one stroke, but that certain privileges should be ended immediately. As the Government, we decided to cut MPs’ benefits, including the long-standing vehicle permits for all MPs, and we ended that with one stroke right after coming to power. The Opposition fails to understand that not everything can be done with one stroke; it is the result of the era when they did politics their own way that has led to this tragedy we now face.

¶ 07 Our aim is to make this a prosperous country. That requires both imports and exports. The Opposition does not understand the importance of imports. At this moment we cannot halt imports and wish ourselves into solely exporting. We must also bring the necessary reforms to prevent shortcomings, abuses, and corruption in imports. Because the Opposition fails to understand this properly, they make such statements. These are the corrections arising from the path to fix their past mistakes.

¶ 08 An Opposition MP recently told us to learn from those with “experience.” If we learn from their experience, we will end up repeating the same wrongs—like misappropriating funds from the President’s Fund. It is because of what they gave society through their “experience” that we are in this tragedy. We have nothing to learn from them, no matter how loudly they shout. Often they just seek media clips.

¶ 09 I went to the Library and read papers. They carried criticisms against the President’s remarks and also those calling us to learn from their “experience.” It is clear they do politics merely to gain media attention. Society calls this the “gon part” culture—foolish theatrics—and also a media culture of inflammatory, erroneous, and racist statements to stir up society. Some media use this to “enjoy the fools,” as people say. We gain nothing from those who perform the “gon part” or those who enjoy it. We are a political movement that adopts good models and focuses on reforms that improve efficiency, reduce corruption, and make processes more beneficial to society.

¶ 10 Let me recall a book we studied in politics: John Reed’s “Ten Days that Shook the World,” written about the Russian Revolution with an optimistic eye. We tell the Opposition that we are trying to lift up a shattered society and move forward by cutting privileges and stopping corruption. Lenin, during that turbulent time, said: “This is like a mother giving birth. Don’t press your face against the window to talk about blood, cuts, and tears. Wait a little. A beautiful child will smile.” Likewise, we say this country was handed to us in a very difficult moment; now it is moving in the right direction. As a political movement, we intervene fully. Rather than harp on minor shortcomings, please contribute to this good task and help carry the journey forward for a better future. Thank you.