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| Saturday, 18 October 2003 |
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| Peace does not mean victory to a single party - Minister Markar Richmond Wijesekera, Bentota group correspondent "We are all hoping to transform the temporary peace that has dawned in the country into a permanent peace by making whatever the sacrifices possible. Such an objective cannot be achieved, single handed by the Government, unless it receives the cooperation of all parties and groups. Peace does not mean victory to a single party, it should bring victory to all parties concerned. Achieving such a lasting and durable peace is not an easy task, it involves an exchange of ideas, said Mass Communication Minister Imtiasz Bakeer Markar. The Minister was speaking after opening a new post office and 'Sannivedana Piyasa' in Bentota on World Tourism Day. The Minister said, the peace, we hope to achieve, should be long lasting, where all Sri Lankans could live with dignity and self respect. The war has even temporarily stopped due to Government - LTTE talks because both parties aspired to achieve a permanent peace. Our country is a multi-racial and multi-religious country where there are Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and other communities. These social groups should be an asset rather than a liability to the country. We should pay attention towards obtaining their contributions towards the social development effort by utilising their talents. Minister Markar said World Tourism Day had been celebrated throughout the world today. Bentota is the first Tourist Resort opened in Sri Lanka, by the late President J.R. Jayawardene. Therefore, I am very happy to open this new post office and "Sannivedana Piyasa" in Bentota with the invitation of my brother M.P. Gayantha Karunatilake, on this historical town. Galle District M.P. and UNP Media Spokesman Gayantha Karuntilake said: "New building for the Bentota post office was a long felt need of the area. Thanks to the Minister of Mass Media Imtiasz Bakeer Markar within six months, we managed to get this new building opened today in Bentota. This is the 70th post office opened within this short period of 20 months. Of these 70 post offices, six are form Galle district. I am very happy to inform you that, with the invitation of the Minister, two of them were opened by me. Within another few months, the Bentota-Elpitiya main road will be developed. In phase of the peaceful situation prevailing in the country after two decades of war, Sri Lanka is almost certain to receive 500,000 tourist arrivals this year with the first half of the year having already reached 260,000 arrivals, a remarkable 24.4 per cent increase compared to the first half of the previous year. According to Ministry statistics, tourism earnings have made 'speedy and steady progress' with a huge margin of over 20 per cent increase every year, after the Government assumed office. Commending the progress made in tourism one of the main income sectors of the island, the M.P. said that the present room capacity of 14,000 which could accommodate nearly 600,000 tourists per year, was inadequate to cope with the future tourist arrivals. Therefore, the Government has proposed to increase the room capacity to 5,000 by the end of this decade, he said. About 3,000 of these rooms were to derive from converting bungalows and circuit bungalows in the Southern province. A very big Tourism Development Project will be started in Bentota, very soon. After this project is completed, Bentota will be one of the best Tourist Towns in the world. The M.P. Gayantha Karunatilake said, the peace, we hope to achieve, should be a long lasting one, where all sri Lankans could live with dignity and self respect. Galle district M.P. Jayantha Jayaweera, Southern Provincial Council Members Gamini Abeywardene, Jayasiri Nanayakkara, Bentota PS Chairman Ranjit Wickremasinghe, Bentota Divisional Secretary U.D.C. Jayalal, Bentota Post Master W.D. Sirisena and several others also spoke. |
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