Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga said Mangala Samaraweera who marked 30 years in parliamentary politics last week, was a “rare breed of politicians, fast becoming extinct in Sri Lanka.”
Former President Kumaratunga, in an emotional tribute to her friend and once the youngest minister in the Cabinet she first led, said that it was important to appreciate the goodness in the country’s political leaders to learn to sift out the bad. She said it is urgent to achieve a truly democratic, progressive and prosperous nation.
“Mangala and I have shared that dream and have fought many battles for it. We have disagreed many times, shared a myriad moments of fun and laughter laced with sincere affection,” the former President said at the celebratory event at the BMICH on Thursday.
“Thank you Mangala for being my friend, in good and bad times,” Kumaratunga said.
The former President said that as the youngest minister in her first Cabinet, Samaraweera had been called upon to bear the responsibility of transforming the telecommunications sector in the country.
Samaraweera who has represented the Matara district, remained faithful to our principles, to our dream about the resolution of the national question, while many other pundits have fallen by the wayside, Kumaratunga said.
“Yes, Mangala has dared to dream, he has also dared to fight for that dream. Mangala’s courage to stand up for his beliefs, is demonstrated in the most touching, yet unusual design of his invitation card for the event. His undying love for his mother is stated there,” the former President said.
She added, “Someone once said that politicians who have artistic leanings would rarely indulge in violence, or condone violence or the abuse of human freedoms. Mangala is a graduate in designing. This may be a major reason that explains Mangala’s deep commitment to human freedoms and democracy.”
Titled Khema’s Boy, the event to mark Samaraweera’s 30 years in politics was a tribute to his mother Khema Samaraweera. Former US Ambassador to the UN and member of US President Barack Obama’s administration, Samantha Power delivered the keynote address.