SLFP mark 70th anniversary with blood donation programmes countrywide

By Ifham Nizam

The Central Committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has launched countrywide blood donation programmes with over 10,000 donors to mark its 70th anniversary.

The first programme commenced on Friday at Ranna Maha Vidyalaya in the Hambantota District with the participation of the Minister of Environment and the Senior Vice President of SLFP Mahinda Amaraweera.

It was carried out following strict health guidelines due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.

Amaraweera said the past 70 years in politics was not a trivial period. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party was still a party respected by the majority of the people in the country.

Although some immature politicians criticised the SLFP, there was no other party that had produced as many respected political leaders as the SLFP.

“Our founder the late Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was a great erudite leader of international standing. After him, it was the Sri Lanka Freedom Party that also created the world’s first woman Prime Minister Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who also shone on the world stage. She became the leader of SLFP after the assassination of her husband S.W.R.D Bandaranaike. Today, we as a country are indebted to the whole world. The foundation to become a debt-ridden country was laid after 1977.”

The programme of building the country through the development of the local economy initiated by Mrs. Bandaranaike in the period 70-77 if continued, Sri Lanka would have been the most developed country in South Asia today, Amaraweera said.

He said: “It was she who introduced the brand name Made in Sri Lanka to the world. Kelani tyres, Oruwala steel, Pulmudai minerals that invaded the entire world market”.

In 1977, she handed over the country without debt to J.R. Jayewardene. “But the UNP destroyed our local economic upliftment programme. We came to import everything that could be produced and cultivated in our country. The people of the country were turned into lazy people. Today we are suffering as a result.

With the Covid-19 pandemic the national outputs of the whole world has been disrupted. Therefore, we have to wait for food items to be imported. But what happens if those countries do not sell their products. The leaders of our party saw this situation then,” he added.

The second blood donation programme took place yesterday at Lunugamvehera.