Ven Galaboda Gnanissara Thero, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Excellencies, Commanders of the three Forces, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. It is a privilege for me to be here with you this evening at the leading event in Sri Lanka that recognises the outstanding performance in the business world.

I am thankful to Business Today for inviting me on this occasion to honour the TOP 10 Sri Lankan companies for the financial year 2007/2008. At the very outset, I would like to congratulate these companies on their excellence during the last financial year. Without doubt, their accomplishments reflect the dedication, hard work and able leadership displayed across their organisations, which gave them the strength to rise above their competitors.

I should also mention my appreciation of the local business community in general, which has successfully weathered the present global finan-cial crisis to help maintain economic stability in Sri Lanka. Looking ahead, these local businesses and entrepreneurs have a great responsibility to make sure that our nation gains the full benefit of the peace we have achieved after thirty years of terrorism.

Over the past three decades, we suffered from the terrorist menace that not only took many lives but also halted our development.The atmosphere of uncertainty it created affected many areas.Foreign and local investment suffered. Our potential industrialisation and specialisation was halted. Our development as a tourist destination was stalled. Some of our educated people left the country.

Terrorism has altered the very fabric of our society. It distorted social norms and created a culture of violence completely at odds with our heritage. Defeating terrorism, and bringing to an end these decades of lost opportunity took a great deal of hard work and much sacrifice. For the last thirty years we have lost nearly 30,000 lives of the members of the Armed Services and the Police and the Civil Defence Forces. At the same time about 10,000 became disabled. During the humanitarian operations for the last three and a half years, about 6,000 troops made the ultimate sacrifice; nearly 5,000 became disabled, 20,000 were injured and were treated in the hospitals.

They suffered untold hardships on the battlefield. They had to fight 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days, without any stoppage for three and a half years. Day and night, rain or shine, paddy fields, jungles, they had to clear minefields obstacles, ditches, under enemy fire mortar and artillery, they had to fight while their comrades were dying.

They did not ask for anything extra as reward for their sacrifices; they knew their country depended on them. They realised their responsibility to the nation, most of all, because they believed that freeing Sri Lanka from terrorism was a cause worth fighting for. If the sacrifices of these brave men and women are to be truly rewarded, all of us have a duty to make sure that we reap the rewards of the peace they achieved.

We must continue to protect our nation against future threats and ensure problems like this never arise again. We must work together to rebuild our country so that every citizen feels the true benefit of peace. The real victory is not in defeating the LTTE but in regaining what we lost during the years that they plagued Sri Lanka.

The task ahead will require much from all of us. We have to work together, thinking of country before self. We have to be positive about what we can achieve, and plan ahead with foresight and confidence. There are many parallels that can be drawn between what was required to win the war and what will be required to win the peace. There are many lessons that can be learnt from the military successes as we strive now to revitalise our nation’s economy and society.

The first thing to focus on the success of our operations is the importance of optimism and positive thinking. Before our mission to eradicate the terrorist menace was launched three and a half years ago, the popular myth was that the LTTE could not be destroyed.

Maybe their survival for thirty years, maybe some of the debacles that we faced or maybe they were controlling one third of the land mass of Sri Lanka, especially a major part of the Northern Province and the Eastern Province. Maybe that they were controlling two thirds of the coastal line, that they were seen as impregnable.

People thought that instead of trying to eradicate the terrorist menace, we should try to accommodate the demands of the terrorists. An enormous negativity had infiltrated the discussion of the issue of terrorism and its effects.

Breaking away from that negativity to consider the actual situation rationally demanded visionary leadership and a great deal of optimism. This was provided to the entire nation by His Excellency the President, who – after the LTTE rejected his attempts to push for peace – decided that the only way to achieve a bright future for Sri Lanka was to eliminate terrorism from our land. This task, that many thought was impossible, was entrusted to the defence establishment.

Guided by his Excellency’s bold vision, we, in the defence establishment, were determined to remove the terrorist menace from Sri Lanka once and for all. We were confident of our ability and certain of our cause. There was no ambiguity about our objective; nor, was there any wavering from it. Because our aim was very clear to everyone from the top decision makers in the Government to the soldiers on the battlefield, and because we were optimistic and decisive, we were able to push ahead without any hesitation.

In life, in business, as well as in battle, having a clear aim is essential. Making sure everyone is committed to this aim is even more important. It is very important to communicate this to your subordinates. Sometimes, small things go a long way.

I can remember one incident in early 2006, just before the second round of peace talks. The LTTE wanted a helicopter to take their leaders from the North to the East and from the East to the North. At the Security Council we said no, we rejected it. Some thought it’s a simple thing, to get them into the peace talks, that we should give that. But, if we had given that helicopter that day, that would have communicated a wrong message to our soldiers. These type of incidents to maintain, to communicate our commitment to the aim was very essential. As the leaders of industry you are sure to agree, tireless commitment to a cause is at the heart of every successful enterprise. Ensuring this commitment is one of the key tasks of leadership.

As important as having a clear aim having a sound plan is equally important. Whether in business or military operations, planning has to be meticulous. One key element of this planning was appointing the appropriate people to the appropriate positions – the correct man at the correct place. The most important source of success in any enterprise is the human element that drives it forward.

In this instance, his Excellency the President made sure that able leaders manned the top defence hierarchy. These leaders, in turn, made sure that their subordinates were capable of carrying out the task at hand.

In some instances, traditions had to be ignored in favour of performance; key people in the chains of command were handpicked for their capabilities and not their seniority. This proved to be the foremost success factor as the battle to eradicate terrorism from our shores unfolded.

At the same time, it was also very important that nobody was discarded. If you’re a leader you must be able to work with anybody under you. As you know, that we can’t get super men for us. If you have to lead super men then you are not a leader – you don’t have to be a leader to get work out of super men. In the Army, 90% of the soldiers, all three services and the Police, came from the rural villages. These are average men. As a leader should be able to train them, motivate them, and get the work out of them. I think everybody’s capabilities will be properly utilised.

Another key element of planning was making sure that all potential obstacles were properly identified and analysed and steps taken to counter such obstacles well in advance.

One of the first tasks President did was to get a military assessment from the Commanders. The Commanders in turn provided a complete analysis of the situation at the time. I can remember, in that analysis, the Commanders gave the capabilities, the strengths, the weapon systems, and most importantly, the LTTE’s intentions and plans. I can remember, the President took this assessment when he visited India for the first time and Pakistan, and handed over copies to the Prime Minister and President of Pakistan and he told them that though he is committed to finding a negotiated, peaceful settlement, that according to this assessment, that their intentions are not so. Therefore, he requested assistance from these countries to counter the threats of the LTTE.

I can remember in this analysis of the Commanders, they predicted how, exactly how the LTTE would attack the Military Forces. And after six months, when they attacked Muttur, Kattuparichan in Trincomalee and Muhamalai, and the simultaneous landing in Kites, that’s the exact plan the Commanders predicted.

We knew our enemy very well and also that the enemy we faced was formidable. At the time our operations began, they occupied strategically important locations. They possessed nearly 30,000 cadres; and had access to enormous stockpiles of weapons as well as international support.

Many suicide cadres had also infiltrated Colombo over the preceding years. To face the threat we expanded the military significantly. The strength of the Sri Lanka Army was almost doubled through continuous recruitment. Parallel to increasing the number of personnel in the Armed Forces, we made sure that they had access to the best equipment and training. This, in turn, prepared them for the toughest of the challenges ahead. At the outset, there was a general opinion that starting military operations in the North would result in massive death and destruction in the South, especially in Colombo.

Attacks were predicted on economic and political targets, on civilians, on schools and school children. If such attacks had taken place, there would have been a lot of pressure on the Government to stop the military operations.

We were able to prevent these attacks due to the successful control measures we took – measures such as establishing checkpoints, roadblocks, raiding lodges, conducting cordon and search operations. All of these were part of our plan to protect Colombo and the rest of the country, and even though these measures were unpopular at times, we stuck to them. We knew that these measures, at the end of the day, were for the well being of our society that had been suffering for thirty long years. I must confess that we would not have achieved our victory, if not for these measures that looked very unpopular at the beginning.

It was not only the local situation that needed proper and careful analysis and planning, but the international environment as well. We analysed the likely international pressures and flashpoints, and made sure that plans to deal with them were in place.

Healthy relationships were established with our allies. While material and moral support was received from China, Russia, Pakistan and many other countries, our relationship with India was strengthened by his Excellency the President’s proposal of establishing a small bilateral body to maintain constant contact and prevent any misunderstandings. This particular body had on the Sri Lankan side, Senior Presidential Advisor and Member of Parliament Mr Basil Rajapaksa, Secretary to the President and myself while the Indians had their National Security Advisor, Foreign Secretary, and the Defence Secretary. This unique arrangement prevented any strain on the special relationship between the two countries.

In fact, it proved so successful that the Indian leadership is now considering replicating this model in its relationships with other nations.

Everyone knows information and propaganda is vital in any endeavor. You gentlemen and ladies in the business sector place great emphasis on propaganda in the highly competitive business world. Advertising therefore attracts such attention when it comes to products and services that your businesses offer. Similarly, we were up against the most ruthless terrorist organization with well oiled propaganda machinery that reached far corners of this earth. Countering malicious propaganda was no easy task and successive Sri Lankan governments had succumbed to the propaganda machinery of the terrorists. Opinions in the world capitals were all formed based on the Tamil net.

To win the war, we had to win the propaganda war that was launched in the world capitals. It is at this point, we had to design a website that would concentrate on our military initiatives and also counter the malicious propaganda dished out by the terrorists. The www.defence.lk is a resounding success and single- handedly fought the propaganda war against the terrorists. It was not only the tamilnet, we had to take on, but also local defence analysts who seemed to know it all and ran down our Armed Forces and projected the terrorists as impossible to defeat. Once again it was identifying the propaganda threat early and countering it. The defence web while helping to disseminate the true situation also helped to motivate local population and Sri Lankan diaspora. I am happy to share with you the news that the birth, the early and struggling stages and the maturing of the defence web-site, today is a subject of research in business schools. We never lost sight of the mission we were on. It was the consistency, dedication and application that made this website the most visited Sri Lankan website. We knew, that the road ahead would not be easy. There would be many obstacles to rise above, many sacrifices to be made. Ultimately, the war could not have been won if we did not have patriotic soldiers on the field of battle who were willing to make those sacrifices on behalf of the nation. That is why one of our key beliefs throughout the war was that it is the soldier behind the weapon that is important, and not the weapon itself.

We did maximum to make sure that the soldiers were well looked after. They were provided appropriate training and proper equipment; their bravery and outstanding service was duly recognised; and they received outstanding moral support from both the defence establishment and the country at large. Crucially, they were motivated by certain knowledge that we were determined to push through to the end. From time to time, especially at the height of the war, certain foreign governments to stop our operations mounted enormous pressure. His Excellency the President and the political leadership, helped by our many international allies, were able to resist this pressure.

This demonstration of resolve gave our personnel the confidence that there would be no half-measures taken this time around. The war would be fought to the finish, and their sacrifices would not be in vain. This confidence, along with the overwhelming support from their countrymen, uplifted their morale.

As a result of these factors, unlike in previous years, there were no significant occurrences of desertion by service personnel, and virtually no instances of orders being disobeyed. Progress was difficult, but they persevered. Their discipline was outstanding; their perseverance and sense of national duty won us the war. Their commitment in the face of so many hardships is an object lesson for all Sri Lankans to learn from.

Looking back at the themes I have touched upon – visionary leadership, foresight, anticipating and preparing for problems, good human resource management and perseverance – it is clear that each of these is relevant to achieving success in any endeavour.

The pursuit of success in today’s environment is vital for all of us. There is much that needs to be done. Whether in the military or in the business world, often there are turbulent times and these factors I have enumerated above are vitally important. Successfully achieving proper economic development means up-lifting the living standards of all our citizens, not just the relatively privileged few. This requires achieving sustainable economic growth in all parts of Sri Lanka. The war-torn areas need rapid rebuilding, and the rest of the country needs to feel the proper benefit of the peace we have achieved with so much of sacrifice.

I must assure you that the Government will play its part by providing the platform for accelerated infrastructure development. It will continue to invest in social services such as health and education. It will continue to invest in the law and or-der measures required to maintain peace and foster a just society free of strife.