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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