Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara stated that the revolutionary challenge of preventing people from dying was accepted by President Ranil Wickramasinghe and the members of Parliament when the country collapsed. He made these remarks while participating in the ‘Smart Youth Club’ program on the second day of the ‘Amparata’ event today (23rd).
The Minister noted that in the past, the youth in the North and the South had their goals misdirected, leading to the collapse of the country. He expressed hope in channeling the youth’s energy in the right direction.
“When the country moves forward, we should study figures like Che, Lenin, and ideologies such as liberalism and Marxism. Only then can we discern what is right. Some people wear red and think differently after reading something like ‘Das Kapital’. But to understand the world, one must read everything—left, right, North, and South.
Che is a revolutionary. That’s why there is a young generation that reads and believes in him. A journalist once asked Che what the best quality a revolutionary should have. Che answered ‘love’. His revolutionary spirit was driven by love. A true revolutionary is guided by lofty feelings of love.
Justice, truth, and love are the noble sentiments that shape humanity. Without these qualities, a revolutionary cannot emerge. A revolutionary might bear arms but is driven by intellectual discourse. The high feeling of love, truth, and unconditional love can change the world. When Che Guevara expressed this, some took up arms and started fighting in our villages, calling themselves ‘Che Guevara people’.
Our country fell, collapsed, and moved backwards. People died in queues. To stop people from dying, we must consider ourselves real revolutionaries. President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the group of parliamentarians accepted that challenge, seeing the pain and suffering of the people. True revolutionaries took up these challenges and stood up for the people. Those who don’t love people, who watched them die, who claimed they would save the country while people were dying, and who discouraged sending money to the country—are they really revolutionaries? Do they truly love people?
When Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe decided to sing the national anthem in Tamil in 2015, many criticized him. He aimed to foster unity and brotherhood among the people of the country. If not for that decision, we wouldn’t enjoy the unity we do today. It was a small decision then, but today it is a significant one for national unity. Since the day our country gained independence, economic killers have made scapegoats and held the country back.
Those economic killers call Elon Musk as an economic killer. Today, we have transitioned from history to the future, with investments from knowledgeable individuals like Elon Musk, providing professional training from the grassroots to empower the youth as smart leaders.” said the minister.
Ampara District Coordination Committee Chairman – Member of Parliament D. Weerasinghe, former Minister Daya Gamage, Ministry Secretary R.P.A. Wimalaweera, and others attended this event.