By Gen. Sarath Fonseka (January 14, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) With less than two weeks left for the election we would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment and steadfast faith in the democratic process and more importantly in our supporters.
The violent incidents against our loyal supporters, murder, intimidation and deception that we are experiencing at the hands of our political opponents will only increase as we surge ahead.
These acts of violence will not deter us, rather, these acts of violence and senseless murder perpetrated by our opponents have only strengthened our resolve to be more determined to uphold and establish democratic values, pluralism and diversity by giving citizens of this country the respect and dignity they rightfully deserve.
Today, the life of Kusumwathi, a mother of five was brutally taken away by our political opponents who fired indiscriminately at a bus carrying our supporters to a rally in Tangalle.
Kusumawathi was exercising her democratic right to participate and support any political party according to her conscience. She did not violate the law of this country, nor was she misusing taxpayer money, she was simply an ordinary citizen, willing to spend her time and effort to usher in a change she believed in.
We are citizens of a great nation; deriving our strength from our diversity. Ethnicity, religion, and diverse political affiliations all serve to make our great nation more vibrant, pluralistic, and unique. If we let diversity erode and crush people's right to exercise their free will especially at elections, we lose our moral character as a nation and our claim as a government representing its people.
Your patriotism and spirit of voluntarism has taken our campaign to far greater heights than anything we have witnessed in the recent history of Sri Lanka.
As we enter this decisive campaigning period, we urge all our loyal supporters to exercise your voting right at this election. This is your opportunity to be active and patriotic citizens of Sri Lanka and seize the opportunity to put this nation on the correct path, the path to prosperity, freedom, honor and greatness.
We urge you to organize yourselves to spread the message of believable change, convince the skeptics, prevent voter intimidation and vote buying, organize to secure your ballot and your polling booth, alert the law enforcement officials and the media of any untoward incident leading up to the elections. Intimidation, malicious propaganda, guns and bullets will not prevent us and our message of a Believable Change from becoming a reality on January 26th.
Let us unite for our future!
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