Unity among all must to defeat Tigers - PM

Uditha Kumarasinghe, Rajmi Manatunga and Irangika Range

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake yesterday stressed the importance of uniting everybody irrespective of divisions to defeat LTTE terrorism militarily and internationally. Winding up the Emergency debate in Parliament, the Premier said steps should be taken to create an environment to defeat terrorism.

The Government needs the support of all political parties and the law to make this a reality, he said.

"Our sole intention should be to defeat LTTE terrorism militarily and internationally. There is no need for any division to eradicate terrorism." The Prime Minister said President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his address to the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly had said the Government while taking measures to eradicate terrorism in the North has already established law and order in the Eastern Province by completely defeating LTTE terrorism.

The President also stressed that the Government's intention is to bring a honourable solution to the ethnic problem while ending LTTE activities by military means.

People have a lot of confidence on the Government's development activities. The Government's objective is to further conduct these development activities in a more efficient manner, he said. The Government has been able to recapture the Silawathura area due to successful humanitarian mission launched by the Armed Forces.

As a result, Sea Tiger operations have faced a serious threat. The recapture of Silawathura has ensured the security of Army Camps in Puttalam and Anuradhapura.

The Premier said the victory achieved by the Armed Forces in Silawathura has been able to reopen the Wilpattu National Park for tourists. Civilian life in Silawathura has turned into normality, he said.

The Armed Forces have been able to destroy a large number of LTTE camps in Silawathura and recover a large number of LTTE boats and suicide jackets. Most of these boats had been seized by the LTTE from fishermen, he said.

The Prime Minister Wickramanayake said the Armed Forces have made a lot of sacrifice to bring honourable peace to the country. The Navy's Intelligence Unit has been able to destroy three LTTE ships within 24 hours. The Navy also destroyed another LTTE ship last week. The LTTE has faced a severe set back due to successful military operations launched by the Government.

The LTTE which cannot tolerate this set back is making various attempts to distrupt civilian life, he said. The Armed Forces have arrested several LTTE carders who came to Colombo to attack the Colombo harbour and assassinate top Army high officials.

Some LTTE carders disguised as priests have come to Colombo. The armed forces have arrested these LTTE carders. Some under-world gangs in south are also connected to LTTE activities, he said. "The LTTE used innocent civilians in Silawathura as a human shield. A large number of people have lost their livelihood due to LTTE terrorist activities.

Therefore as a responsible government, we have to take measures to prevent these terrorist activities," he added.