May Day:

Tribute to a vital sector of workforce

Ananth PALAKIDNAR

Sri Lanka has a very long history of commemorating the May Day with true spirit.

The May Day processions and rallies of a by-gone era in the island had seen several political heavyweights joining hands with the people of all walks of life and expressing their solidarity with the working class.

Despite political differences, May Day unites all politicians and the workforce of the country in reiterating the rights and focusing on the expectations of the labour force.

May Day celebrations are held elaborately in Colombo and other parts of the country as well by bringing all people together, shedding petty differences among them.

All these years May Day tributes were paid to the labour force which formed the backbone of the country’s economy.

Meanwhile, the three decades of terror which struck the country had crippled the economy affecting the national labour force in every sphere.

However the May Day commemoration of this year was extremely significant with entire country coming together in paying tributes to a vital sector of our workforce-the Security Forces.

The Security Forces which formed a sizeable number of the workforce of the country have made enormous sacrifices in maintaining the country’s unity and integrity ensuring the wheel of development rolled again smoothly.

Unlike in the previous regimes,the Security Forces, under the clear vision and leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa had gained remarkable victories in defeating terrorism and saving the innocent civilians in the terror-stricken North and East.

The so-called militancy in the North and East had devastated almost all the valuable resources in the region and remained a Herculean task for any leadership to overcome in the past three decades.

Apart from the killings of people in the limelight, scores of innocent civilians had also been killed or maimed in the past three decades of disturbances in the country.

Even innocent farmers and fishermen were not spared during the height of terror in the country.

The agony of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians who were escaping from the grip of the LTTE in recent days has highlighted the in explicable ruthlessness of the outfit.

As the world commemorated May Day and marked the 90th anniversary of International Labour Organisation, a couple of days ago,it is heartening to note that the majority of the civilians, who had suffered at the hands of the LTTE for the past several years and now escaped into Government controlled areas were farmers and fishermen,the prime labour force from the North and East of the country.

Therefore, in the backdrop of the island commemorating May Day this year, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had made an appropriate address to mark the 90th anniversary of the ILO by saying that “Our heroic troops, a vital sector of our workforce, carried out a historic task in eradicating terrorism from our midst”.

He also went on adding that the people see a new promise of freedom throughout the land.”A freedom that was denied for nearly two-thirds of our land and a third of our population and working class”.

So as rightly pointed out by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Security Forces, a vital sector of the country’s workforce deserve all praise and appreciation this May Day for their heroic contribution and the sacrifices they made in saving the country from terrorism.