Govt confident of countering baseless allegations - Foreign Secretary

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

The Government is confident that under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership it could counter the baseless international allegations and criticisms levelled against the government said, External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunatileka Amunugama.

Unfortunately the so-called international community and other groups which are critical of Sri Lanka, are not aware of the ground realities, he said. The Secretary told the gathering at the launch of the book - “Winning an Unwinnable War”, by J.F. Ranjith Perera - that the government would continue to combat all external threats.

“The Government had to face the international community and counter the influence of the powerful Western media. It was not an easy task.

However, the government released two comprehensive documents prepared under the guidance of President Rajapaksa and the Secretary, Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa on the humanitarian operation and the humanitarian assistance to people in the North, he said.

Amunugama who participated in the sixth round of talks with the LTTE in Hakone, Japan said he knew how the LTTE evaded all opportunities for peaceful negotiations and this led President Rajapaksa to take a firm stand to eradicate terrorism and restore peace in the country.

The Secretary said that the Government, took all possible measures to protect civilians during the humanitarian operation, by sending essential items including food and medicine until the final days of the battle.

“This is because protecting civilians, in terrorist controlled areas, was the legitimate responsibility of the government”, he said adding that when the international community levelled false allegation against the government, we questioned whether there was any country that restored normalcy within two years after ending a battle with the world’s most ruthless terrorists’.

He called upon the public to join the Government, to counter the baseless allegations to restore the country’s image by using emails and social networking sites such as facebook, youtube, writing books and various other communication means such as films and videos on their experience about the 30-year-old terrorism.

“We need to document all information as evidence regarding the battle that we engaged in to defeat LTTE terrorism. Such documents need to be made available internationally to change the mindsets of the international community”, he said adding that only a few people knew the role played his Ministry to win the support of the international community and counter the false allegations.

Chief of Staff Major General Daya Ratnayake also highlighted the need for public support to document their experiences during the 30-year terrorism.