Govt responsible for the welfare of every citizen - President [October 21 2008]

"Our primary responsibility as a government is to look after all our citizens. I carry out this responsibility to the fullest especially with regard to the people who are temporarily displaced in the North, due to the ongoing military operations to defeat terrorism. There is a wrong impression created in Tamil Nadu that this not been done. This is furthest from the correct position. All these are our citizens and we take every measure to look after and provide for them."

So said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing Sri Lankan media heads and editors at Temple Trees today (Oct 21). The President said there are inflated figures of number of IDPs from the current Wanni operations. He was aware that some misconceptions were created by reports in the Tamil newspapers which were under pressure not to report the facts as they were.

He added that recently when the World Food Programme (WFP) turned back a convoy of essential supplies to IDPs because of damage to a culvert, within two days the government agencies had ensured that the supplies were delivered. At present there are food supplies for two months in the affected areas where the IDPs are not more than 150,000.

"We continue to supply food even to the LTTE because our responsibility is to the civilians, the farmers and the rural producers of the region who are trapped by the LTTE," he said.