Govt. ready to solve any issue through negotiations

President tells All Party Conference

Ranil Wijayapala

COLOMBO: President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday stressed that as a responsible Government, his Government was ready to solve any issue through negotiations at any time but would not allow anyone to solve any problem by using guns.

Briefing political leaders about the current situation at the All Party Conference, the President said the Government was compelled to take action to open the Mavilaru anicut as the LTTE had deprived the basic rights of 15,000 families by forcibly closing the anicut.

"We will not let the issues to be solved by the use of guns," President Rajapaksa said.

"The LTTE has clearly violated the Geneva Convention by depriving 15,000 people of their basic human rights," the President said.

"As a responsible Government it is our prime responsibility to safeguard the basic human rights of the people and it is our duty to deploy the Security Forces and the Police to safeguard the people's basic rights," he said.

President Rajapaksa said the Government was compelled to take military action to restore the water supply for 15,000 families as it was the only way to resolve the issue, as several rounds of discussions to solve the issue ended in failure.

He said in clear terms that the Government would never stand against peace and always stood to resolve issues through negotiations.

The President said the Government launched the operation to open the Mavilaru anicut in a well planned manner and the present situation arose due to LTTE attacks on several military camps in Trincomalee.

President Rajapaksa told political party leaders that the areas where fighting erupted were totally under the Security Forces control and appealed to the political leaders to encourage all the people who had left their native places to return to their villages as the Government assured their safety.

The President also told the party leaders that the Government has already taken steps to look after the needs of the Muslims fleeing the Muttur area by sending a Ministerial delegation to the Serunuwara area yesterday.

He also appealed to the political leaders not to be misled by media reports as some sections of the media were publishing misleading reports about the present situation.

All political parties except the United National Party were present at the All Party Conference convened by the President to brief them about the present situation.