Abductions, killings: conspiracy against Govt - official

A spate of abductions and killings occurred in the recent past is a conspiracy to discredit the Government and discourage its on going development activities, a senior Government official told the `Sunday Observer'.

He further said that certain groups in the country have started an ugly campaign not only to discredit the Government but also to tarnish the image of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Killing two Red Cross members at a time when the President is planning to leave the country to address an international conference in Geneva was good testimony to this conspiracy.

He accused these groups for the killings of Tamil Parliamentarians Joseph Pararajasingham and Nadaraja Raviraj last year. He also said these groups must take the responsibility of attacking the Udayan Newspaper and killing of some of its employees in Jaffna.

He also blamed several political organisations for staging protest campaigns all over the country against the Government at the time when this invisible group continuously engaged in their killings and abductions, in the country.

- AK