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| Friday, 30 January 2004 |
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| Alliance will usher peace and harmony - President President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, in a message of felicitation to the inaugural mass rally of the newly formed United People's Freedom Alliance yesterday, said that Alliances are not a new concept to the SLFP which is ever ready to unite with all forces to give priority to the country's demands in the face of crises. The message read by SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena stated, the founder of our party, the late Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike united a number of parties in 1956 to form the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and in 1964 the late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike brought together the SLFP, LSSP and the CP to form the United Front in 1968. Thereafter in 1994 the SLFP enfolded the then four leftists parties and also a number of political parties of the minority communities, to form the People's United Front or the PA. It is sad that just five days before the dawn of a new alliance consisting of the SLFP, LSSP, CPSL and MEP that Vijaya Kumaratunga was assassinated. Towards the end of 2001, my leadership was successful to launch a joint program with the cooperation of the JVP. It is history that on every occasion an Alliance emerged, the UNP reactionaries distorted facts to destroy its progress, but unsuccessfully. The emergence of the Alliance between the SLFP and the JVP under this backdrop is a logical step forward taken by the Leftist movement of this country. It is our duty to make this Alliance a fruition of the aspirations of the masses. We have been successful to build up a progressive consensus that will usher in peace and harmony, economic uplift and social justice in all spheres of life, in a broad sense. This is an Alliance open to the rest of the constituent parties of the PA. It is also open to all leading individuals and patriotic forces and political parties. I consider this Alliance to be the first step towards a broader national alliance that will benefit the country. I wish that we will gather momentum as a strong force of the masses born out of the masses to march forward in order to fulfil the democratic aspirations of the people. I believe that this Alliance will succeed in defeating the deceitful UNP. The peace endeavour is intended to unite the country and safeguard national liberty, sovereignty and territorial integrity and mete out social justice, to regain economic prosperity, democratic freedom and human rights. It will succeed in preventing the plunder of national assets to be distributed among political cronies. The day of fruition of national aspirations are not a far cry as evidenced by the public enthusiasm manifested from the beginning of the Alliance. The emergence of an Alliance between the SLFP and JVP which are widely apart in ideologies and progressive approaches is a great victory. On this historic event of beginning the march forward towards victory, I wish courage and strength to both our parties as well as to all other fraternal parties and individuals who wish our success. May the United People's Freedom Alliance live long. May there prevail truth and justice. May we regain our lost glory. |
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