Defence vote passed with majority of 126

Uditha Kumarasinghe, Irangika Range and Sandasen Marasinghe

The vote on the Defence, Public Security, Law and Order Ministry was passed with a majority of 126 votes in Parliament yesterday.

One hundred forty one members including the UPFA, JVP, JHU, SLMC and the CWC voted in favour of the vote.

Thirty seven JVP members also voted in favour of the vote.

Fifteen MPs including 13 TNA MPs, UNP MP T. Maheshwaran and Western People's Front MP Mano Ganeshan voted against while the other UNP MPs abstained from voting.

The TNA asked for a division. Later the JVP asked for a division by name.

Addressing Parliament during the Committee Stage debate of the votes of the Defence Ministry, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka said the heroic Armed Forces were acting with dedication to defeat terrorism.

"Today the country has reached a decisive stage, and steps should be taken to wipe out terrorism completely. It is a pity that there are some groups who could not tolerate the steps we have taken to crush terrorism and appreciate the victories our Armed Forces have achieved so far," the Prime Minister added.

He said: "The country has reached a decisive stage. Steps should be taken to completely eradicate terrorism. This is the wish of the entire nation. Our heroic Armed Forces are acting with dedication to defeat terrorism. But there is a certain group which cannot tolerate these victories achieved by our Armed Forces.

When the LTTE faces severe setbacks this group gets very upset. There are local and foreign forces who are trying to stifle the victories of our Armed Forces. The intention of this group is not to see a peaceful Sri Lanka by defeating terrorism.

They have taken various measures to sabotage the military operations launched by our Armed Forces. Therefore, we are at a decisive stage today.

Bloodthirsty LTTE terrorists again attempted to assassinate Minister Douglas Devananda as they tried on 11 previous occasions. Why is the LTTE killing its own Tamil political leaders ?

This clearly shows the brutality of Prabhakaran. He knows that his end is nearing. Therefore he is attempting to make the South unstable through his murder and mayhem. Nearly 20 people were killed while more than 50 were injured in the bomb explosion at Nugegoda. The intention of Prabhakaran is to resort to more terrorist acts in the South and measures should be taken to prevent such terrorist activities.

An opportunity should be created for the people to live without any fear. The LTTE wants to create an unstable situation in the South.

That is why the LTTE resorts to these kind of ruthless attacks by targeting the innocent civilians. Another 15 civilians were killed while 25 were injured in the LTTE claymore attack on a bus at Kebithigollewa.

Among those who were killed in this attack were two Army personnel, one policeman and a "Divaina" newspaper correspondent. This is another cowardly attack by the LTTE. They launched a similar claymore attack at Kebithigollewa in June 18 last year killing 60 innocent civilians including 12 children. What is the purpose of these brutal LTTE attacks against innocent civilians ?

Their intention is to spread terrorism in the South. The LTTE is now facing its end. The Air Force has launched air strikes against key LTTE targets. A large number of weapons belonging to the LTTE have been recovered by our Armed Forces. We were also able to destroy a satellite centre belonging to the LTTE.

Some LTTE cadres have surrendered to the Army. The US has banned the TRO, one of the key fund raising arms of the LTTE. Thamilchelvam was also killed in an air attack. Therefore, some people are unable to stomach these things.

Some small groups in several countries are helping LTTE terrorist activities. Even in Sri Lanka, some groups are assisting the LTTE. It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure the security of the people. The intention of the Government is to defeat terrorism and bring peace to the country.

The benefits of development should be brought to the North and East. The LTTE killed several villagers in Ranminitenna. Through such killings, the LTTE attempts to direct the plans of the Security Forces in another direction. In this situation, everybody should act in a responsible manner.

People should not try to take undue advantage out of this situation. We should have a country to live and do politics. The necessary environment should be created to eradicate terrorism."