President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the World Conference on Youth (WCY) today appealed to all delegates of the conference to regard the 'country' as sacred.
"It cannot be second to any of your interests; nor can it be sacrificed for any gain whatsoever. There may be outside pressures to compromise your love for your country but all such pressures must be resisted at any cost. Only then, can we build a better world for all of us without destroying the cultures, traditions, customs, that we are heirs to," President Rajapaksa said addressing the conference which was held at Magampura International Convention Centre this morning.
"Be creative and always try to find innovative approaches, to break barriers. Use your energy and potential to keep seeking out a better world. Innovation and creativity are your own tools, for a better world," he said.
Recalling his memories as a youth activist during a challenging period, President Rajapaksa said, "I remember how myself as a youth activist fought for the causes I believed in. How I, together with my colleagues, advocated and lobbied for youth priorities back then. Today, sitting on the other side of maturity, I see that energy in you. I saw that in the way you danced on the stage. I can see that enthusiasm in your eyes, and can still share your mood and feelings."
"As we know, the minds of youth are extremely sensitive to influence and can be easily misguided. This is the attraction for terrorist groups, to recruit youth combatants to their cadres often ending as cannon fodder, a traumatized and scarred generation, if they survived. Sri Lanka faced this phenomenon when challenged by a terrorist group, described by the FBI, as the most ruthless in the world. In Sri Lanka, former youth combatants were treated as victims of terrorism and not perpetrators, and were all rehabilitated and reintegrated to society, for a better future. We strongly believe that it is the society that can rehabilitate and reintegrate these misguided youth, rather than any State apparatus."
"Sri Lanka accords special attention to the needs and aspirations of our significant youth population. Having experienced two violent youth insurgencies in 1971 and 1989 we are mindful of the causes that create violent discontent. More importantly, Sri Lanka has recognized that economic and social development was most successful when young people became active stakeholders, in policy formulation and implementation.
We continue to integrate youth into our national policymaking and implementation mechanisms, through our network of more than 10,000 village level youth led organizations and the Sri Lanka Youth Parliament. Youth Parliamentarians, also consult and engage with policy makers and national Parliamentarians, including civil society, to contribute policy inputs. This has also provided an important opportunity in post-conflict Sri Lanka, to foster ideals of peace, tolerance, and harmony among the country’s younger generation," the Sri Lankan President added.
