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The Commanding Officers of Divisions and Task Forces involved in the Vanni offensive were felicitated by the Army Commander Gen. Sarath Fonseka at the Army headquarters yesterday. Our photographer Kamal Bogoda captured Maj Gen Jagath Dias, Maj Gen Nandana Udawatte, Maj Gen Kamal Gunaratne, Brig Prasanna Silva, Brig S.Liyanage, Brig Shavendra Silva, Brig Chargie Gallage, Brig P.M.R.Bandara, Col. N. Wanniarachchi and Col Ravipriya Liyanage at yesterday’s gathering.
Ranil demands media freedom
UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday urged the government to restore media freedom. He said that the people wouldn’t be able to enjoy the armed forces’ triumph over the LTTE if they were denied the media freedom.
Addressing the press at the Opposition Leader’s Office, he said that the UNP had been at the receiving end of LTTE attacks for over two decades. He said that as President Mahinda Rajapaksa had declared his readiness to implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the UNP was ready to discuss the issue with the government.
He said that though the President had called for a consensus among political parties, the rebel UNP group in the government had repeatedly attacked the opposition.
He claimed that he lost the 1999 presidential election due to the abortive LTTE bid to assassinate the then PA candidate Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga.
The LTTE caused the UNP the most damage–Ranil
“The LTTE caused the greatest damage to the UNP by going to the extent of killing President Premadasa, prominent political leaders and even disrupting elections,” said Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe making a special declaration to a media gathering at the opposition leader’s Cambridge Terrace office, yesterday.
The attempt by the LTTE to assassinate Chandrika Kumaratunga during the election campaign and the use of force to prevent people of the north and east from voting, affected the UNP adversely, he said. He emphasised that the government should work towards establishing harmony among the people and providing a viable political solution, now that LTTE terrorism has been crushed.
When terrorism started, the armed forces and the police were unprepared. And many believed that the LTTE would compel the Sri Lankan Government to submit to its terms and conditions.
However, President J.R.Jayawardena took steps to reorganise the armed forces and police to make them capable of meeting the challenge. Presidents Premadasa and Wijetunga continued to strengthen our forces. It was during President Premadasa’s tenure that tanks, modern cannons and other military equipment were brought in.”
“During my term as prime minister, I negotiated help from India, the USA, Britain and other countries and upgraded coordination and professionalism in security related matters. As a result of the efforts to upgrade the standards of our armed forces, the military power of the LTTE has been completely destroyed. As we tried to make the forces stronger, the LTTE hated the UNP,” he said
“The LTTE believed that 100% of international support would be in their favour due to the world opinion that came up against the government. This belief of the LTTE was shattered by the Indo-Lanka Agreement and other actions taken later. We managed to obtain international support, including that of India,” he said.
According to the opposition leader, when the Peace Accord was signed in 2002, the government received much support and LTTE lost the support it had enjoyed before. Elaborating on this, he said that the LTTE was offered political solutions which were quite unexpected. The Indo-Lanka Agreement, the Provincial Councils System and the related developments influenced the thinking of the Tamil people. That had proved to the international community that the Government of Sri Lanka was ready to work towards a political solution.
When the LTTE refused to accept the political solutions offered in 2005, they lost international support, said the opposition leader.
He concluded by saying that he wished to thank the armed forces, the police, and the civil security forces for their contribution towards the destruction of the LTTE’s weapons, military power and prowess in terrorist activities. He also took the opportunity to thank the Indian Armed Forces personnel who had sacrificed their lives in the fight against the terrorists.
