'We are members of one family'

Premier tells cricketers from North and East

COLOMBO: Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka extended a warm welcome to a group of cricketers from the North and East who called him on at his office last Monday.

Addressing them, the Prime Minister said: "We are all Sri Lankans whether we hail from the North or the South. It is the Government's aim to provide you with a bright future.

The people of the North have undergone immense suffering for many years. Today the Government has been able to redeem you from these hardships. The main objective of the Government today is to develop the East. We are working towards this end. The Government's action to defeat terrorism is in no way a campaign against the ordinary Tamil people".

The squad comprising 22 players representing Jaffna, Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Batticaloa and Ampara districts made the trip and played a game against a Colombo combined schools XI on Wednesday.

The Premiere also noted that sports and arts were unifying forces and there were no religious or ethnic barriers when it comes to their enjoyment. Sports and arts could form an ideal vehicle for peace, he said.

He said from wherever they came they were sons of SriLanka. Therefore he would welcome them as members of one family.

"Nobody has the right to break this bond. We were born in Sri Lanka. We would die in Sri Lanka. Therefore let us dedicate ourselves to protect our motherland," he told the cricketers.