This is your victory

Patriots,

This is your victory! It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. In all our long history we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best. Everyone has tried. Neither the long years, nor the dangers, nor the fierce attacks of the enemy, have in any way weakened the independent resolve of the Lankan nation ...

My dear friends, this is your hour. This is not victory of a party or of any class. It's a victory of the great Sri Lankan nation as a whole. We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against terrorist tyranny. After a while we were left all alone against the most ruthless and cruel terrorist group that has been seen. We were all alone for year upon year.

Did anyone want to give in? No!

Were we down-hearted? No!

The lights went out and the bombs came down. But every man, woman and child in the country had no thought of quitting the struggle. So we came back, after long months, from the jaws of death, out of the mouth of hell, while the world wondered: 'When shall the reputation and faith of this generation of Lankan men and women fail?' I say that in the long years to come, not only will the people of this island but of the world, wherever the bird of freedom chirps in human hearts, look back to what we've done and they will say: 'Do not despair, do not yield to violence and tyranny, march straightforward and die, if need be, unconquered.'

Now we have emerged from one deadly struggle - a terrible foe has been cast on the ground and awaits our judgment and our mercy - but there is another foe who occupies large portions of the western world, a foe stained with cruelty and greed: the terrorist supporting Tamil Diaspora.

I rejoice that we can all take a night off today, and another day tomorrow. After tomorrow we must begin the task of rebuilding our hearth and homes, doing our utmost to make this country a land in which we all have a chance, in which we all have a duty. And we must turn ourselves to fulfill our duty to our own countrymen, and to our gallant allies in this mighty struggle. We will go hand in hand with them. Even if it is a hard struggle, we will not be the ones who will fail.

Cheers!