Government appeals for utmost vigilance to thwart terrorists

GOVERNMENT STATEMENT

The LTTE having suffered defeat after defeat in the face of the relentless advance of the security forces and facing imminent annihilation have resorted to targeting unarmed, helpless and innocent civilians. The LTTE, thereby, has proved once again that they are terrorists and therefore to identify them in any other terms would not only be erroneous but ethically reprehensible.

The Government, while condemning in the strongest possible terms these cowardly attacks over the past few days, emphasizes the fact that the people, Government and the nation cannot and will not be intimidated by terrorism.

The Government is of the view that nothing short of the total defeat of the terrorists can put a stop to such attacks and expresses confidence that the commitment of the heroic armed forces will achieve this end soon. In the meantime, the Government reiterates that each and every citizen has a responsibility to support these efforts by exercising utmost vigilance regarding their surroundings and all suspicious persons.

The Government and the people were largely undeterred by the numerous threats to disrupt the celebrations associated with the 60th anniversary of Independence. It must be understood that the aim of the LTTE is to disrupt normal life and this is exactly what should be avoided. The 60th anniversary of Independence was celebrated with the pride and pomp appropriate for such a momentous occasion and this itself is a victory for the people’s democratic spirit and their will to be free from all shackles, including fear of terrorist attacks.

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http://www.news.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4804&Itemid=44

LTTE carnage continues ; 13 civilians killed 16 injured in a claymore blast - Ethawatunwewa

LTTE terrorists have carried out a cowardly claymore blast targeting a civilian bus at Ethawatunuwewa around 3.50, this evening. According to the defence sources in the area, the terrorists have targeted a state owned public transport bus that was playing from Anudradhapura to Janakapura at a location close to "Kobbakaduwa Junction".

13 civilians have been killed and 16 others including children injured in the explosion. According to the hospital sources the victims have been initially taken to Padaviya hospital. Six out of them, including two children have been transferred to the Anuradhapura Hospital. Two among the dead are women, the sources added.

LTTE is a ruthless terrorist outfit fighting for a mono ethnic separate homeland for the Tamils living in Sri Lanka since 1983. Led by its psychopathic leader, V.Prabhakaran, the outfit routinely carryout civilian massacres in pursuit of its utopian state of Tamil Eelam.

LTTE is infamous for attacking soft target such as infants, schoolchildren, pregnant women, elderly persons etc in its regular genocides. Yesterday, it massacred six students of a school base ball team when one of its brainwashed suicide bomber exploded herself at the Colombo railway station.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080204_07

Rajapaksa praises security forces for success against LTTE

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today asserted that the LTTE was facing "unprecedented defeat" at the hands of the security forces as the island nation marked its 60th anniversary of independence today.

"Terrorism is receiving an unprecedented defeat," Rajapaksa said in an address to the nation from Colombo's Galle Face road.

"The move to eradicate terrorism from the North is still under way with good expectations for success. We owe a heavy debt of gratitude to the security forces for their exemplary work in the battle against terror," he said.

The diamond jubilee celebrations came despite threats from the LTTE and the two weekend bomb attacks that killed 34 civilians and nearly 200 injured.

"As we complete sixty years of freedom, there are two main challenges before us. One is the challenge of eradicating terrorism and the other is that of eradicating poverty.

"With regard to the first there is cause for satisfaction that the entire Eastern Province has now been cleared of terrorism," Rajapaksa said.

The President said as one of the first developing countries to promote universal healthcare and education, gender equality and social mobility, Sri Lanka has been able to achieve exceptional socio-economic indicators.

The country was moving towards achieving or surpassing many of the Millennium Development Goals, he added.

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http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200802041440.htm

Sri Lanka president vows to crush LTTE

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse vowed on Monday to continue his present military thrust against Tamil Tiger rebels in the embattled north while offering a political solution to end grievances of the Tamil minority.

Addressing the 60th anniversary of independence, Rajapakse said" we will liberate the north from the clutches of terrorism and also provide a political solution and bring political freedom to the people."

Rajapakse said over a half of Sri Lanka's 60 years since independence from Britain had been spent while grappling with terrorism, which was a reference to the armed separatist campaign carried out by Tamil Tigers on behalf of the Tamil minority in the north and east.

The president was addressing a ceremony held under tight security level never seen in the capital for such a ceremony.

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/04/content_7565959.htm

Rajapaksa claims international support for fight against LTTE

President Mahinda Rjapaksa Monday said Sri Lanka enjoys the trust of its neighbours and unflinching support of the international community in its fight against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorist group.

In his speech at the main function to celebrate the island nation's 60th Independence Day here Monday, Rajapaksa said: 'Our neighbours trust us and the international community's confidence in us has not been reduced one iota.'

This was in answer to criticism that his no-holds-barred fight against the Tamil Tigers had given rise to serious human rights abuses against the minority Tamils and that because of this, Sri Lanka had got isolated from the rights-conscious international community.

It was also said that India was displeased with the slow progress of his efforts to find a political solution to the conflict between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils.

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http://www.indiaenews.com/srilanka/20080204/95483.htm

UAE leaders greet Lanka president

The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has sent a cable of greetings to Mahinda Rajapakse, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, on Sri Lanka’s Independence Day.

A similar cable was sent to the Sri Lankan leader by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai

Extracted from,
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theuae/

Viet Nam, Sri Lanka must boost trade, investments

Sri Lankan’s ambassador to Viet Nam, Aparekka Ratnapala, spoke to Viet Nam News on the occasion of Sri Lanka’s National Day today.

Could you give us some background information about Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka is a free, independent and sovereign nation. Legislative power is exercised by a Parliament elected by the people on a proportionally representative basis. The executive power of the people, including defence, is exercised by the President, who is also elected by the people.

The people of Sri Lanka are of diverse ethnicities and faiths. The country is an ancient centre of Buddhist religion and culture. The ethnic majority are the Sinhalese, who are mostly Buddhists, and minorities include Tamils, Moors and Burghers.

Sri Lanka has an export-oriented economy with a widely expanding service sector. Tea, rubber and coconut are important export agricultural crops, with tea being a major foreign exchange earner. Other crops of importance are cocoa and spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, pepper and cloves.

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http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01COM040208

CIAL in discussions for proposed Sri Lankan airport at Weerawila

A high level delegation from the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), headed by managing director, S Bharath, is currently in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to explore the possibility of setting up a Greenfield airport at Weerawila in southern Sri Lanka on the same model as the CIAL airport.

The delegation has arrived in the island nation on the invitation of the Govt of Sri Lanka and has already held discussions with the president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, as well as the Sri Lankan minister for ports and aviation.

At their meeting with the Sri Lankan president, CIAL managing director S Bharath provided a detailed presentation on the economic model adopted by CIAL in the development of an aerotropolis around the airport, which has allowed it become self-sustainable.

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Karuna ready to lose power on LTTE issue

Piqued by frequent criticism from key ally Congress, accusing the DMK government of not cracking down hard on LTTE supporters, an angry Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today hit back, saying he was prepared to lose power on the issue.

"If you want to dethrone us by levelling false allegations, I am ready to face that change of power in Tamil Nadu," he said at a wedding ceremony of a relative of his associate Shanmuganathan, where Congress leaders, including TNCC president M Krishnasamy were present. Reacting to remarks by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram at Nagercoil last night, where he reportedly said the LTTE continued to operate in the state and asked the government to "nip the issue in the bud", Karunanidhi said the Congress should not be a party to a conspiracy to topple his government.

"I am the disciple of late C N Annadurai, who gave up his Dravida Nadu (seperate nationhood for Tamils) demand for strengthening the unity of India," he said Karunanidhi listed out his government's efforts to curb LTTE activities, including arrests of members of the outfit and its supporters. He wondered if it was fair on the part of the Congress to have accused him of giving room to the LTTE in Tamil Nadu.

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http://news.indiainfo.com/2008/02/03/0802031857_karuna_congress.html