SLAF goes all out for Prabhakaran - Commander

by Shanika Sriyananda

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) will go all out to get rid of the LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran soon.

SLAF Commander Air Marshal Roshan Goonatilleke told the "Sunday Observer" that it was not a difficult task for the SLAF to get at Prabhakaran as he was confined to a very limited area of land in the Wanni.

"I do not think it is that difficult for us to get at him now. We will find him somehow soon. We need a great deal of patience", he said.

According to the SLAF Commander, the days of the LTTE leadership is numbered and they would find the whereabouts of Prabhakaran soon.

Air Marshal Goonatilleke said since Prabhakaran?s movements are restricted to a very limited area in the Wanni, the SLAF also seeks the support of the civilians to make its target more accurate. When people in the area provide information we will be ready to target him?, he said.

Commending the fullest support of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in these military operations, he said that the SLAF appreciates the commitment of the top political leadership and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to make the missions successful. "It is very easy to work with him because we are given clear instructions and targets. We are free to make our own decisions without any problem within the given framework", he added.

Meanwhile, Premier Ratnasiri Wickremanayake presenting the Emergency Regulations in Parliament last Wednesday reiterated the government"s willingness to find a fair solution to the North-East conflict.

He said that as a responsible government, it always goes for a peaceful solution though the Armed Forces achieved military victories in the recent past. "The other duty of the government is to defeat terrorism. As a democratically elected government we cannot tolerate terror activities and we should eliminate terrorism", to liberate the people from the LTTE, he said.

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