'Govt pumps money into N-E development'

Ridma Dissanayake

The government allocated Rs 8,000 million to develop the Northern and Eastern provinces through the budget 2013 in addition to the allocations made to the Uthuru Wasanthaya and Nagenahira Navodaya development programmes, Economic Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa abeywardena said.

"The Tamil diaspora is trying to discourage foreigners visiting Sri Lanka. They are propagating that Sri Lanka is not a suitable destination for tourism," he said. The Tamil diaspora is trying to build a bad image about Sri Lanka among tourists while saying that the government is not serving the Tamils.

The government has taken measures to uplift the lives of the people of the North and East while completing the resettlement programmes and demining programmes in war affected areas.

The government launched rehabilitation programmes for former LTTE cadres and programmes to uplift their livelihoods, the deputy minister said.

The diaspora should force the Tamil political parties to take part in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the 13th amendment to the constitution. It will be a great support to lead the country forward while protecting the rights of the Tamils, Deputy Minister Abeywardena said.