The Hon. (Mrs.) Saroja Savithri Paulraj - Minister of Women and Child Affairs

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member. Therefore, investigations regarding this incident will proceed without any interference. We are committed to building a peaceful country for all children and women. We will also work to bring about the necessary ethical changes in the media, just as we uphold our legal and moral rights. We pledge to implement these. Within 24 hours of the incident, we brought together the relevant ministries and stakeholders and created a new mechanism to ensure swift investigations in such cases. Therefore, do not doubt that we will fulfill the mandate given to us. This is for the people and their unity — Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim — and we will focus on preventing rights violations against women and children and stand to protect their rights.

¶ 02 Dear all, I say again that at any time we are ready to understand and correct our mistakes. We bow our heads to the people who gave us the mandate and wait with hope. You have the right to correct us. But those who raped a hundred women and held commemorations for it, and those who gave leadership to such political movements, have no moral right to question us. Likewise, those who protected local politicians accused of raping a foreign woman visiting Sri Lanka, and those who enabled such immoral political culture, today try opportunistically to attack us. Those who made thugs and underworld leaders into “peace judges” and undermined the law now seek to trip us and obstruct our path.

¶ 03 Our promise to the people is that we act collectively. My position is not personal. For the Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim women who gave us the mandate, we will fulfil our responsibility together. We have borne heavy responsibilities over the last six years of this political journey; twenty of our sisters represent this Parliament. Our journey is immense. We are personally targeted. From our leader to our local leaders, our personal lives are ridiculed. These positions are not personal property.

¶ 04 Finally, if this were a 100‑metre race, we would have stepped aside long ago and let anyone win. But this is not that. On the other side are those who ruined the country, corrupted discipline, and played with the lives of women and children. For us who do politics cleanly and responsibly, this is a tug‑of‑war. We will not let go. The twenty women in Parliament will, with great strength, institute the necessary laws, discipline, attitudes, and knowledge to ensure the final victory of this political journey. No one can defeat that. Thank you to the dear people and to you, Hon. Presiding Member, for the opportunity.