Views on Thoppigala victory
Secret deal
UNP leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe
There is a secret deal between the government and the LTTE that was
why the Security Forces did not take steps to destroy hundreds of LTTE
cadres along with their arsenal during the Thoppigala operation. There
were over 2,000 LTTE caders in the Thoppigala Jungle and less than 200
LTTE cadres were killed and others allowed to retreat to the North
through a safe passage and they have done it on the orders of the
government.
Letting cat out of the bag
People's Alliance General Secretary, D.M Jayaratne
When Thoppigala was liberated by the Armed Forces the Opposition
Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said there is no reason to crow about "Thoppigala"
as it is a jungle in the Eastern Province and that there was no point in
capturing an abandoned jungle with flies and mosquitoes.
Now he is accusing the government of not capturing or killing all
LTTE cadres in the Thoppigala Jungle. Mr. Wickremesinghe has now let the
cat out of the bag. It is very clear that he was well aware of the LTTE
camps in the Thoppigala jungle. While knowing it he has misled the
public by saying that it was a jungle with no LTTE terrorists.
The clandestine link between the UNP and the LTTE is a longstanding
one.
Great achievement
Minister of Social Services, Douglas Devananda
The liberation of the civil community by the Armed Forces in the
Eastern province from the LTTE clutches was a great achievement and
there was no point in counting the number of LTTE terrorists who had
escaped from Thopigala or those who died in the jungle.
The urgent task is to re-establish civil administration in the
Eastern Province. When local elections are held the development task
will be taken over by local bodies with the participation of the civil
community.
In the meantime all political parties should focus attention to bring
about a long lasting political solution to the Tamil community living in
the Northern and Eastern Provinces and not the LTTE.
Vicious agenda
The JVP Media Secretary, Wimal Weerawansa
The capture of Thoppigala and liberating the Eastern Province from
the LTTE terrorists by the Armed Forces was a heroic victory to the
peace-loving people in this country.
The Wanni is also another jungle like Thoppigala with LTTE camps.
These camps should also be destroyed the way it was done in Thoppigala.
There are some distructive elements and they tried to thwart the move by
the Armed Forces in the Wanni to liberate the civil community from the
terrorist grip of the LTTE by Taking some politicians to Geneva and this
vicious agenda must also be condemned.
Priority for resettlement
Secretary, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Hassen Ali
The victory achieved by the Armed Forces in the Eastern Province
should be transformed with the re-establishment of civil administration
in the Eastern Province.
The governing process should be fully in the hands of the government
and it should not be left in the hands of any armed groups.
Once it is done the whole community in the Eastern Province will be
able to live in peace and harmony.
|
