Work in unison, President tells political parties

Help give real picture to the world

Ranil WIJAYAPALA

COLOMBO: President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday appealed to all political parties to work in unison to resolve the current critical situation in the country and to give the real picture of the country to the world which has encountered the wrong image created by certain foreign media internationally on the current situation.

Addressing representatives of all political parties at the All Party Conference at the Presidential Secretariat, President Rajapaksa pledged that he would take all steps to resolve the current critical situation in a transparent and responsible manner.

He said he would discuss all measures that must be taken to resolve the country's current situation with all political parties as he did earlier in the process of continuing negotiations with the LTTE.

President Rajapaksa said the country was now at a critical juncture where the Ceasefire Agreement has been severely violated and the joint statement at Geneva - 1 was totally ignored.

"As a responsible Government we oppose any form of brutal killing by any organisation whether it could be the LTTE or any other organisation," he said.

"We should also bring to the notice of the international community the fact that the LTTE has used a pregnant mother to carry the suicide attack to assassinate the Army Commander", he added.

President Rajapaksa also said the response from the international community towards the action taken by the Government was a great strength.

"The international community's response towards the steps taken by the Government has given the strength to us," he said.

The President said certain media organisations were trying to give a bad picture about the current situation of the country and political parties should be extremely cautious on this situation.

President Rajapaksa also thanked all political parties for their responsible behaviour in face of the situation that arose in the country within the past few weeks.

"All political parties should act in a responsible manner to avert any unfortunate situation in the country following the attempt by a LTTE suicide cadre to assassinate the Army Commander", the President added.

He said it is the responsibility of all political parties to work in unison to create a peaceful atmosphere for all ethnic groups to live without any fear.

President Rajapaksa said as the door to peace was very narrow, every step should be taken very carefully.

"We all should act intelligently when entering through the door of peace in our effort to bring peace to the country," the President said.

All political parties representing Parliament except the TNA were present.