Secretary to President at ceremony to present rewards to Ranaviru Gammana inmates :

Gotabhaya's appointment pivotal in war victory

Rafik JALALDEEN

The reason why the country today is witnessing everlasting peace is President Mahinda Rajapaksa's decision to appoint Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as Defence Secretary who continued with the humanitarian operation despite International pressure, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga said .

Addressing a gathering to present rewards to inmates of the Ranaviru Gammana, Secretary to the President Weeratunga said the President and the Defence Secretary showed great concern about the Security Forces and police personnel's welfare and their betterment.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa soon after becoming the Head of State appointed Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as the Defence Secretary considering his involvement in the military as an ex-Army officer engaged in many operations. "The Defence Secretary had taken many steps to look into the welfare of the Security Forces and finding solutions to their problems," he added.

"The Security Forces fought to save the country during the three decades of bloody war. They have sacrificed their lives and lost their limbs. What I believe is that behind every gun stands a noble man," Weeratunga said.

He noted that out of 574 Mahinda Chintana pledges at least 512 pledges have been fulfilled by the President. They were achieved in four years although the projects were targeted for six years. "The President achieved enough in four years which no other leader could achieve in six years," he added.

The President and the Defence Secretary who were committed to liberate the country from terrorism worked hard round the clock.

They did not give in to foreign pressure. There were many brilliant Military commanders who fought against the LTTE. They were forced to stop their operations due to local and international pressure, Weeratunga said.

Weeratunga pointed out that there were two main reasons that won the war and attained peace.

If not, the situation would have descended to anarchy in the country and LTTE leader Prabhakaran would have been fighting against the Security Forces, with many more lives being sacrificed, he said.

The first reason is appointing Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as the Defence Secretary. The President as the Commander-in-Chief has the power to declare war and power to cease the war. He appointed Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as the Defence Secretary, since he could rely on him. He is a man with experience to handle the war. He didn't have to go every time to meet the President to take a decision. He could merely do this by a call.

The other decision is continuing humanitarian operations amid international pressure. A delegation from India arrived in Colombo on April 24,2009 urging the President to stop the war against the LTTE and that they were holding an election and needed the support of the Tamil people in Tamil Nadu. "The President told them that he will not stop this war until he rescued 300,000 innocent civilians trapped under the LTTE. Many Security Forces sacrificed their lives. I myself and the Defence Secretary were present at this meeting," he added.

He said British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visiting Sri Lanka on April 27, 2009 met the President and requested for a ceasefire . They said their country and European countries were against this humanitarian operation.

"The President responded by saying he was a leader elected by the people and he had duties and responsibilities to them. He said he would save this country from terrorism," he added.

Weeratunga reiterated that the Mahinda Chintana-2 has focused on many issues and problems affecting the Security Forces, police and war heroes as well as their parents and family members. There are many welfare projects that have been planned to lift their standard of living, he said.