Free innocent Tamils or face ban - President to LTTE

(December 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) President Mahinda Rajapaksa today called on the LTTE that to release all innocent Tamils it is holding hostage, in bondage and using them as human shields, with the dawn of 2009, and allow them to come to the safe areas provided for them by the Government and the Security Forces.

Failure to do this would lead the Government to proscribing the LTTE with all its consequences for the terrorist organization and will ensure that 2009 is the true Year of Heroism for the troops and also see the wiping out of LTTE terrorism from the pages of history.

He said the only enemy faced by the people is the terrorism of LTTE, and that he will not agree to any ceasefire that will strengthen the LTTE in any form.

President Rajapaksa was addressing religious dignitaries, ministers, senior administrators and leading members of the private sector to thank them for the cooperation extended to the government in this year and to inform them of the progress of the military operations against the terrorism of the LTTE and state of the economy of the country. The meeting was held at the Presidential Secretariat, Colombo.

There is only one enemy in the country, and that is terrorism. The Sinhala people are not the enemies of the Tamils, as the Tamils are not the enemy of the Sinhalese. Separatism and terror is the enemy of all, be they Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or Buddhists; Hindus, Christians and followers of Islam. All people should come together in unity to fight the savagery of terrorism.

He told the audience that the people of the country had given him and the government the strength top fight terrorism, and bring the LTTE to the weak position it is in today; the strength to free the motherland from the grip of terror.

“I will not agree to any ceasefire that will strengthen the LTTE in any form” he said.
“The New Year 2009 will be the fourth year with the country under my leadership. There will be very decisive challenges in 2009, to face which there will be the need for the widest unity among all people. 2009 will be the year when the country will be freed from the menace of tiger terrorism. Many evil forces will conspire to prevent the victory against terrorism, but we shall overcome them all. There will be many attempts to create division, crisis and unrest in the country, all of which are targeted at helping the cause of tiger terror. Attempts will be made to create a negative public mood in the battle against terror. But, we will face the biggest challenges and obstacles to make 2009 the Year of Heroic Victory against Terrorism,” the President said.

He called on all political parties and forces to unite with the government to defeat terrorism and take the country towards development. This is the message as to the NFF that voted with the government in the last budget, to the JVP that helped me in the victory in the last presidential election and to all patriotic sections within the UNP, too, who should preserve the honour and dignity of their party by joining the government in the great patriotic tasks that lay ahead. - Sri Lanka Guardian