The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna

¶ 01 Thank you, Madam Presiding Member. I have yielded four minutes.

¶ 02 Order, please! At this stage, The Hon. Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi will take the Chair.

¶ 03 Whereupon The Hon. (Mrs.) Sagarika Athauda left the Chair, and The Hon. Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi took the Chair.

¶ 04 [4.49 p.m.]

¶ 05 Madam Presiding Member, this is the Tamil month of Karthikai—a month of remembrance for a community that sowed the seeds of our nation and lives in hope that one day those seeds will sprout. If I stand here today, it is because, once, someone shed blood and was buried in that soil for me. I pause a moment for them.

¶ 06 “Death awaits me,” said the coward. “I await death,” said my hero. O martyrs, you are the second kind.

¶ 07 “I am crushed and dying,” lamented the coward. “I die fighting,” roared the brave. O martyrs, you are my second kind.

¶ 08 “In war my people are being killed,” cried the coward. “Those who killed my people in war are being felled,” exulted the hero. He is the leader of our nation.

¶ 09 “Time will create Tamil Eelam,” waited the coward. “I desire it,” thundered the brave. O martyrs, you are the second kind.

¶ 10 With fire in the heart and an upright bearing— O martyrs, in history you stand first. Guard, with the memory of dawn, the valour of the Tamil, the honour of the Tamil; you made the Tamil known to the world; your sacrifice will not be in vain. To the sown warriors, our valiant salute.