Respecting Religious Freedom

The fastest growth of Sri Lanka's economic freedom took place after the end of the war against terrorism during the Mahinda Chinthana Decade.

Our policy is to expand economic freedom to allow any citizen to work, produce and consume goods and services, and invest their wealth, as they please to their best abilities.

To achieve the above-integrated development targets, Sri Lankans living in this country and abroad should actively contribute to the economy. Structural, regulatory and legal barriers to do so will be removed and reorganised to suit the modern world.

In the public sector as well as in the private sector, market monopolies will be minimised, and efforts will be made to create a market in which labour, goods and capital are exchanged fairly and competitively.

State and legal protections for individuals' physical property and intellectual property will be strengthened in line with international standards.

Over the next decade, the tax burden will be gradually reduced to a lower single digit. Also, to protect the local entrepreneur, tariffs and other restrictions imposed on imports and exports will be minimised as far as possible and the exchange of goods and services will be facilitated.

State regulation will be streamlined by removing obstacles for entrepreneurs to start new businesses and develop them rapidly.

The freedom of workers will be further expanded by removing regulatory and legal barriers to deliver the maximum productivity of the country's labour resources.

Domestic and foreign investments will be promoted while minimising regulatory and legal barriers.

The government will refrain as much as possible from controlling the economic process of the state and regulation will be strengthened to protect the national interests, individual rights and business freedoms.

Every citizen of the republic has equal sovereignty. It cannot be given up. Accordingly, every citizen should have an equal right to have an opinion about the affairs of the republic, be able to express their opinions freely and be able to join a political party which represents their views. This is what we call political freedom. But as has happened from time to time in history, there are cases where some terrorist groups suppress other people's political freedom.

For example, some organised groups operate repressively on social media to prevent holding and expressing opposing political opinions. Also, some people Strictly Confidential This is the property of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. Do not copy or reproduce. operate to destroy the political freedom of individuals by subjecting them to verbal threats, physical violence and torture.

This uncivilised trend, which is not compatible with the modern world, will be immediately and permanently controlled and the political freedom of every citizen of the country will be protected.

The freedom of speech of every citizen will be protected and the rule of law will be upheld so that no other citizen's freedom of speech or any other freedom is impeded.

Among the various and divergent views held by the inhabitants on the affairs of the republic, the most successful proposition will be chosen by free and fair vote, after peaceful and rational debate. This is democracy.

Efforts will be made immediately to eradicate terrorism, which tries to achieve its political goals by terrorising the population.

Also, the constitution which legitimates the democratic systems and structures of the republic will be strengthened and all necessary steps will be taken to protect the political freedom of the people.

Political education from pre-school to university will be introduced into the curricula.

Political repressions seen in some educational and service institutions will be ended forever and the ability of every citizen to fully enjoy their political freedom will be guaranteed.

No matter how much economic growth is achieved, if there is no society with cultural values in it, it will be of no use.

People of any nationality including Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Malay, Burgher, Vedi living in the Republic have equal freedom to hold and practice their cultural identities.

Also, those who hold one cultural identity will not be allowed to discriminate against another cultural identity as low or high, so that the ceremonies and practices built on the cultural roots and beliefs of the respective communities can be carried out peacefully without disturbing the other communities.

Opportunities for intercultural interaction between the different cultures will be increased so that mutual understanding among different cultural communities can flourish. We believe that beautiful cultural innovations will be born through such human interactions.

Linguistic and other structural barriers that may interfere with such interconnection will be minimised as much as possible using ICT.

Moreover, artistic and performance opportunities will be created to showcase the cultural beauty of the Republic to the world.

Every citizen of the Republic shall have equal freedom to hold, embrace, practice, alone or in association with others, Bauddha, Hindu, Catholic, Christian, Islamic or any other religion, faith or belief.

The spiritual development of man is greatly supported by religious teachings. And the moral virtues to be followed for the common good while living in a society are taught through religions.

But there are also cases where certain religious teachings incite their followers to act against the other faiths. Therefore, efforts will be made to ensure that religious teachings will always be in the best interest of the individual and society.

Strictly Confidential This is the property of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. Do not copy or reproduce. Moreover, a free environment will be created where every citizen can gain a broad understanding of various religious beliefs and philosophies by providing a basic education about various religious teachings to every citizen as well as through peaceful and respectful conversations.

Due to the competition required to achieve the above economic growth goals, psychological pressure will be created in individuals. The social mission of religious places such as temples, shrines and churches and their clergy are highly important to face such pressures and to withstand the world realities of good and evil, shame and praise, profit and loss, happiness and sorrow experienced by all human beings.

Therefore, necessary measures will be taken to protect and improve those religious places.