President’s leadership won war

Indrani Thoradeniya

There was a time when the Security Forces were without any proper direction and were stranded. The LTTE almost controlled certain parts of the country which were supposed to be under the Government. During this period, nearly 30,000 soldiers and policemen and another 90,000 civilians were killed. The country was in the throes of a catastrophe when the people handed it over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

The Defence Secretary made these remarks while delivering the keynote address at the inaugural seminar titled Wijayagrahanaye Kathawe - Adha Saha Heta on Saturday in Galagedera.

“Four former Presidents faced this problem in the past. They discussed with the LTTE and also waged war against them. In the process, thousands of soldiers and policemen sacrificed their lives but with no end result,” he said.

President Rajapaksa closely studied all these implications and discussed the issue with the Indian Government. The President then made a firm resolution to bring an end to this war, he said. “The youth joined the Forces in large numbers and the total strength of these forces increased three fold. Then we increased the number of brigades. The President then provided all what was needed to fight the war,” Rajapaksa said.

President Rajapaksa also didn’t give into foreign pressure. He fought the war with renewed vigour received from the soldiers and the people in the country, he said.

The Navy destroyed all the ship armaments in the sea while the Air Force launched massive air attacks on LTTE hideouts in the land. Meanwhile, Civil Defence Force also protected the villages in the threatened areas, the Defence Secretary said.