ANCL hails war victory

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) wish to thank President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Commanders of three Armed Forces, war heroes and all who contributed towards the victory which became a reality after 30 years of suffering, ANCL Chairman Bandula Padmakumara said.

He was addressing a special ceremony held at ANCL to mark the war victory achieved by the Government completely eradicating terrorism from Sri Lanka. The Chairman said the President, Defence Secretary and the Commanders of the three Armed Forces always maintained a close relationship with State media and expected the ANCL to deliver the best because it was the print media that reached to the world through online editions of newspapers and raised awareness on the true situation of the Government's humanitarian mission.

All editors, defence correspondents and all the other departments contributed very well towards this task.

"The war is over now. But there is another war ahead of the President and that is building the country. I am sure that ANCL will contribute towards this war too which is ahead of us just as it contributed towards the successful completion of war during the past two to three years. It is because we have been fortunate enough to live in this historic era and it is our duty towards the future generation to build the country. Pro- LTTE Media said the war cannot be won and people were scared to come to Colombo because of terrorist activities. But today the country is relieved," the Chairman said.

Delivering a special speech Dinamina Editor Mahinda Abeysundara said that Sri Lanka is free of death and mourning. Prabhakaran killed many people including 120 devotees who were worshiping at Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi.

The LTTE killed feeding mothers, Buddhist Bhikkus and Muslim devotees inside a mosque.

It is the Sri Lankan Forces which completely crushed terrorism for the first time in the world. Usually Sri Lankans people mourn even over a death of a stray dog or a cat but it was Prabhakaran who made them celebrate his death by eating milk rice. While the LTTE was killing innocent people, Prabhakaran enjoyed a luxurious and comfortable life with his family.

"President Mahinda Rajapaksa never took his step back but walked forward. This is how he rescued the country. There are many war heroes who have become disabled. Some are in their early twenties but they are happy because they contributed to eradicate terrorism completely.

We lead normal lives today due to the sacrifices made by war heroes. While some `journalists' were picketing at Lipton roundabout when Prabhakaran was under attack, defence correspondents risked their lives to report the war by staying in the battlefield. He thanked News Editor, Daily News, Ranil Wijayapala and other defence correspondents of ANCL newspapers on behalf of the ANCL.

General Manager, ANCL, Abhaya Amaradasa said ANCL celebrates the victory with all the other State institutions and pay tribute to the war heroes.

It was the print media which covered war from the beginning and two journalists, Kirama Piyasoma and Edwin Weerasinghe were killed in 1995 while reporting war. Arrangements have been made to grant benefits to their dependents continuously.

He thanked all ANCL employees who contributed to report the humanitarian mission, design newspapers, print them and deliver them to the public. A lot of people were killed and became disabled because of the war. Heroic Armed Forces led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Commanders of the Armed Forces completely eradicated terrorism from the country, he added.

Director, Editorial, Nihal Ratnaike hoisted the National Flag. Editors, members of the Board of Directors, members of the administration and several participated in the ceremony.