PM rules out future truces with LTTE

Chamikara Weerasinghe

COLOMBO: The Government will not enter into any kind of ceasefire agreement or temporary pacts with the LTTE in the future under any circumstances, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka said.

"The Government's position is very clear on this and that is, it will not have ceasefire agreements or truce pacts with the LTTE in the future."

The Premier was speaking at the Viru Mawa Surakimu Programme of the Seva Vanitha Unit of the Prime Minister's Office, which was held yesterday at the John de Silva Memorial Hall, Colombo 7.

The programme was held by the Seva Vanitha Unit to serve the mothers of heroic sons who had fallen in the battlefield sacrificing their lives and limbs to rid the country of LTTE terrorism.

First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa was present on the occasion.

The Seva Vanitha Unit gifted 200 sewing machines to the mothers of the fallen heroes.

The unit handed out other gifts such as bank pass books with money amounting to Rs. 12,000.

The Prime Minister said the Government has reached a decision to eliminate the scourge of terrorism without delay.

"About one month ago I said that Prabhakaran was on the 'edge of the ditch'. Today, I say, he is in the ditch, and it will be closed very soon," he said. "Prabhakaran is living in a concrete ditch. And it's a matter of time for our Security Forces to get to him with the help of the technologies available to us no matter where he may be," he added.

Prime Minister Wickramanayaka said that the practice of the enemy as a rule was to get external elements to back them whenever they are in a tight corner or on the verge of being defeated by the Security Forces.

"The terrorists have resorted to the ploy of entering into temporary truces and ceasefire agreements with the Government as a means to pull themselves out of a spot," he said.

"Since the coming of President Mahinda Rajapaksa into power, the enemy's movements have been kept under check and their deadly plans were being foiled," he said.

Kusum Wickramanayaka, the President of the Prime Minister's Office's Seva Vanitha Unit said steps would be taken during the next few months to prepare a programme to improve the living conditions of the mothers of heroic soldiers with a special focus on the improvement of their dwellings.