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| Sunday, 22 January 2006 |
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Politics |  |
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Government stable - President by a Staff Correspondent The UPFA Government which received a mandate in April 2004 is comfortably placed with a working majority in Parliament and it will complete its full term. A sizeable number of Opposition MPs recognise this situation and are knocking on the door to occupy the Treasury benches. A two third majority could be a reality if certain minority parties also join the Government enbloc said Premier Mahinda Rajapakse addressing Editors of mainstream newspapers at Temple Trees on Friday. President Mahinda Rajapakse welcomed the response to his call for an All-Party Conference to work out a common formula to strike a deal with the LTTE. Within a fortnight of ascending to the Presidency the LTTE began its provocative attacks on unarmed soldiers who were transporting food for their colleagues. Despite the subsequent acceleration of attacks, the security forces have conducted themselves with utmost restraint as peace and not war is the object of all. The international community has viewed this positively and has called upon the LTTE to halt the violation of the Ceasefire Agreement and return to the negotiating table. Referring to allegations of disappearances of civilians in the North, President Rajapakse said that all these allegations would be investigated if substantiated with details of identity, locations and dates of such disappearances. He cited the example when he catalogued such disappearances in the 1980's and tabled them in Parliament. Even international agencies took up the matter then. Referring to the case of a girl who had spent some time with her paramour but was reported to have been abducted, he said such incidents may happen again. Killings over land disputes, political rivalry take place islandwide and it would be unfair to point a finger at the security forces without evidence. The Government is committed to ensure the security of the State and the
liberty of the citizen. In such a situation the law enforcing authorities
have a role to play. That is uppermost in the mind of President Rajapakse as
Head of State. |
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