During this meeting, President Sirisena said that the responsibility of all the citizens who love the country should be to fulfil their respective responsibilities towards creating a peaceful environment where all the citizens of the country could live freely, while understanding the actual situation and the issues, but not to raise their voices in order to get narrow political gains.
He pointed out that certain statements made by a few persons to achieve petty political gain have become a hindrance to the process of building national reconciliation while freeing the country from the challenge of terrorism. Addressing the Ekata Sitimu public meeting at Uhana School Grounds in Ampara, President said he would continue the operations to eradicate terrorism and he was not a person to resign and allow the terrorists to win. He called on the public and private sector workers to attend work and children to attend schools and bring normalcy as that is the way to defeat the aims of terrorists.
The President emphasized that the incident on April 21st is not a problem in Sri Lanka, but a global terrorism connected with it. He added that the security forces are conducting operations towards the successful conclusion to eradicate terrorism.
Addressing the pubic officers in the East, the President said that the country’s national security activities are now being implemented with a new outline and plan, with a clear reform program implemented by the Security Forces. He further said that the programme ensured the right of all citizens to live in a free society without fear or suspicion. He said that when the security forces successfully defeated terrorism, the public officials should take measures to end the fear of the people and to restore trust and understanding among the people.
In accordance with the instructions and guidance of President Sirisena, the Presidential Secretariat commenced the Programme of Rata wenuwen Ekata Sitimu (Let’s stand together for the country) with the aim of monitoring the implementation of national development projects such as Grama Shakthi National Programe, National Drug Prevention Programme, Protect Children National Programme, National Chronic Kidney Prevention Programme, National Food Production Programme and Environment Protection Programme and special development projects and various programmes implemented by the different Ministries ensure that they are implemented efficiently and productively for the benefit of the public.

This program will also help to identify the public issues already identified by the government institutions and work to solve these issues with maximum efficiency through the state mechanism. The priests of the province, including the Maha Sangha, Former Prime Minister Mr. D. M. Jayarathne, Minister Mr. Daya Gamage, Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.H. Hezbollah, North Central Province Governor Mr. Sarath Ekanayake, Member of Parliament Ms. Shriyani Wijevickrama, Former Minister Mr. P. Dayarathne and Ministers, Secretary to the President Mr. Udaya R. Senevirathne and Government Officials were also resent on this occasion. The President paid a visit to the historic Dalada Maligawa in Kandy this morning and received blessings from the monks.