President condemns bomb blast

President Mahinda Rajapaksa issued the following statement on the bomb blast in Dambulla, yesterday. "I vehemently and unequivocally condemn this latest act of savagery by the LTTE in carrying out the blast in a civilian bus at Dambulla.

Among those killed and injured were many women pilgrims on their way to Anuradhapura to participate in a Buddhist ceremony. This shows the reality of the struggle we have to face to eliminate terrorism from our country.

I send my sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and my prayers and good wishes for the speedy recovery of those injured.

I call upon the people to remain calm and refuse to be provoked by this repeated brutality by the LTTE, which in its desperation in the face of defeats inflicted on them by the Security Forces, is eager to create a backlash to their terror, to obtain the sympathy of the international community.

This act of terror, similar to many other acts of savagery directed at innocent civilians before, underscores the continued commitment of the LTTE to violence to achieve their goal of separation.

In the face of such grave provocation, the people of Sri Lanka must be aware of the many forces that are attempting to obstruct the efforts of the government to eradicate terrorism from our country, and halt the success of the Security Forces in this task today.

These repeated acts of unmitigated brutality must bring to the attention of the entire civilised world the nature of the terrorist threat that is faced by Sri Lanka, and that it is the most brutal and politically bankrupt movements that are capable of continuing with such acts".