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Sunday, 3 May 2009

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Government Gazette

Sincerity, the need of the hour

Sri Lanka's relentless battle against terrorism has come to a virtual end with the entire Northern Province being cleared, except for an eight square kilometre stretch in the No Fire Zone (NFZ).

With the utmost care for the lives of innocent civilians, the Security Forces are in the process of liberating the remaining civilians trapped in the NFZ as the LTTE is forcibly keeping them as a human shield.

Even at this late stage, some countries, INGOs and a section of the International Community (IC) are making a desperate attempt to persuade the Government to go for a ceasefire. But the Government has been firm in its decision that the battle against terrorism would not be stopped until the last terrorist is defeated.

The Security Forces are carrying out a humanitarian operation to rescue the civilians forcibly held by a group of terrorists and not against a particular ethnic group.

Even the few countries and INGOs which are lobbying to give the last drop of 'oxygen' to the LTTE are well aware of ruthless terrorism. That is why perhaps they show 'extra concern' for the civilians trapped in the NFZ and use it as the sole weapon to press for a ceasefire. There have been many requests for a ceasefire. But as President Mahinda Rajapaksa has pointed out, there was no time and need for such at this stage as the Government's aim is to liberate the remaining civilians in the NFZ within the next few days.

Over the past three decades, successive Governments in Sri Lanka have expended a great deal of effort to negotiate for a peaceful settlement, but the LTTE has never been sincere in its dealings at the negotiating table. On the other hand the LTTE made use of such periods of peace talks to reinforce and strengthen their military capabilities.

It is unequivocally clear that terrorist chief Velupillai Prabhakaran understands only the gun culture. Hence, the Government has no option but to treat the Tigers in the language they understand best.

Prabhakaran and his men have brutally killed thousands of innocent people, including heads of State such as Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President Ranasinghe Premadasa. The Tigers have also murdered several Ministers, Tamil leaders, religious dignitaries, intellectuals and countless innocent civilians belonging to all three ethnicities - Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.

Instead of calling for a ceasefire from the Government, the international community should order the LTTE terrorist outfit to permit the innocent civilians trapped in the NFZ to move to the safe areas so that the Security Forces could provide them with all facilities.

The Government is making a sincere effort to protect its people, irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds, through the humanitarian missions in the North and the East. Foreigners could not have a greater feeling for our own people than our leaders.

The International Community must seriously consider the proven track record of the Government in liberating people from the clutches of LTTE terror and resettling them in next to no time. Having liberated the Eastern Province, the Government successfully resettled around 200,000 IDPs in the East.

These hapless people were not only rescued from the ruthless LTTE terror rule and resettled, but were also granted their democratic rights. The Eastern Provincial Council elections and Local Government elections were conducted to enable the people in the area to elect their own representatives to run local and provincial administrations. The Government's speedy resettlement program implemented in the East was hailed by many countries and INGOs. Infrastructure development programs have been implemented and the people in the East are making a tangible contribution to the national economy. The Government's top priority is to implement a similar program for the North as well, once the LTTE is completely defeated within the next couple of weeks.

The resettlement program in the Northern Province has already got off the ground under the personal supervision of Senior Presidential Advisor and Parliamentarian Basil Rajapaksa MP. Over 400 persons from 122 families in Savariarpuram in the Mannar district have been resettled in their original places of residence.

On the direction of the President, this program would be expedited to resettle all IDPs as fast as possible. Until such time, the Government will take good care of the IDP camps and provide all facilities.

The Government has taken all measures to ensure that these people were provided with all basic needs. The children of these families can now attend school. All Government agencies such as Divisional Secretariats, Post offices and stores are kept open for civilians.

Sri Lanka needs global assistance to develop the North and the East.Nevertheless, the aid organisations should be honest in helping civilians who have fled from the barbaric LTTE rule. Certain INGOs have been engaged in futile attempts to create fissures among communities on the pretext of assisting Sri Lanka. They should by no means be allowed to sow the seeds of discord and division among communities.

It is the paramount duty of all Sri Lankans to give their wholehearted support to the Government's sincere efforts to put an end to terrorism which has plagued Sri Lanka for over three decades. It's time to sink petty political and other differences to beat the common enemy.It would not be out of context to reiterate the important statement made by President Rajapaksa at the last UN General Assembly - that terrorism anywhere in the world is terrorism and should be treated in equal fashion.There can't be good terrorists and bad terrorists.If those countries which raise a big hue and cry for the safety of civilians are sincere, they should genuinely support President Rajapaksa's unrelenting battle against terrorism.

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