Top Indian delegation in Colombo

A high-powered Indian delegation headed by National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan arrived here Friday, with Indian and Sri Lankan sources giving different accounts of their mission. Accompanying Narayanan were Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh. The three officials between them virtually determine India’s policy vis-a-vis Sri Lanka.

The three arrived on a special flight from New Delhi around 11.30 a.m. on a two-day visit, an Indian diplomat told IANS. “Their visit is in connection with the forthcoming SAARC summit.”

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit is scheduled to open Aug 1 in Colombo. “The delegation is scheduled to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other key government officials”, the source said, declining to give further details about the previously unannounced trip. When contacted, a top official of the Presidential Secretariat played down the importance of the visit, calling it a “regular one”.

“Their visit is a part of the ongoing consultation between Sri Lanka and India on the current developments,” the official said, in an obvious reference to the conflict raging in Sri Lanka. The official pointed out that a Sri Lankan delegation comprising Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the president’s secretary Lalith Weeratunga and presidential advisor Basil Rajapaksa went to New Delhi in late 2007.

Source: TheIndian News

No negotiations with the LTTE in this moment, says Sri Lankan PM

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickremanayake said the Sri Lankan government would not hold any discussions with the LTTE until they lay down their arms. He said Tiger organization is facing its biggest defeats now.The Prime Minister at a meeting with the new New Zealand ambassador to Sri Lanka Rupert Hall Biro at the Prime Minister’s office on Thursday said that the LTTE must lay down their arms before arriving at the negotiating table.

The Prime Minister has reiterated that the Sri Lankan government is committed to safeguard the rights of the Tamil people. He further pointed out that the government was able to liberate the Eastern province from the terrorists due to the implementation of a systematic programme.The Prime Minister requested the New Zealand Ambassador to assist in the development of the local dairy farming. Ambassador Biro has pledged to assist Sri Lanka in the programme to eradicate terrorism.

Mahinda Rajapaksa deserves Nobel Peace Prize

Mahinda Rajapaksa is a visionary with absolute commitment to the democratic rights and the well being of the people of Sri Lanka. He is determined to work relentlessly to ensure that the people of Sri Lanka – Sinhala, Tamil, Malay and Burgher – live as equal citizens enjoying democratic rights and freedoms in a peaceful and prosperous nation.

Addressing the swearing-in ceremony of the new Chief Minister for the Eastern Provincial Council Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (Pillayan), President Rajapaksa re-iterated that all stakeholders to the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) should refrain from cultivating any type of animosity, jealousy and discord.

They should work unitedly, in harmony with each other, to realise the true value and potential of the franchise of the people whom they represent, irrespective of their race and creed.

“They should set the standards and benchmarks to the entire nation. They should work in unison for the betterment and prosperity of their motherland. If they fail to achieve these objectives, the whole country would suffer the consequences and head for chaos and destruction.”

“This land belongs to all of us, to the Sinhalese, Muslims and the Tamils, sans any discrimination, to live in harmony. “the President stressed.

Although the Provincial Council Administrative System was initially devised for the benefit of the Tamil speaking people of the North and the East, ironically to date, it had failed miserably in its implementation within that region.

“Political solutions need not be confined solely to racks and tables or to Constitutions, but they should evolve from the people, the man on the street, and be implemented for their benefit. We are a Government which understands when and where we should legitimately adopt a gun or the political solution policy, as appropriate, to suit the conditions and situations demanded,” President said.

“However, today for the first time ever, we have accomplished that arduous task of establishing the Provincial Council, as a remedy and solution to the problems faced by the Tamil-speaking community and also succeeded in electing their own representatives to fulfil their aspirations”, he noted.

“Do not think in terms of a Sinhalese, Tamil or Muslim leader, and lead the country to chaos. Let us think as Sri Lankans,” President Rajapaksa added. These words demonstrate President Rajapaksa’s statesmanship, character and vision.

The entire Nation now rallies round the Government and the Security Forces to encourage them on the noble mission of liberating the people in the entire Northern peninsula from the scourge of terrorism and restoring democracy.

In this crucial time, the democratic and peace-loving world is duty bound to strengthen President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He deserves no less than the Nobel Peace Prize for his relentless endeavor for peace and democracy.

Child soldier turned Chief Minister to build harmonious relationship with Muslims and Sinhalese

“All necessary measures will be taken to bring about peace and harmony in the East. I will take all required steps to embrace Muslims and Sinhalese living in the East and ensure their security. As a first step, I will be making arrangements to meet the Muslim leaders of the East to dispel if and any doubts that loom in their hearts and minds about my genuine love and brotherly affection towards them, especially of those in the East, said Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, the just sworn-in Chief Minister for the Eastern Province.

The child soldier turned provincial Chief Minister was speaking to News-Lanka just after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council. Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, 33 years old youngest Chief Minister, was earlier a child soldier, abducted at his tender age of 14 years and given arms training by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and trained as another killing machine.

In 2004 March, he along with V. Muralitharan, also known as Col. Karuna left the LTTE and was one of the founder members of TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal. Later the outfit got rid of the word ‘Eelam’ and renamed it as Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal.

Chanthirakanthan led many successful battles against the LTTE in the Eastern Province and fought standing shoulder to shoulder with the Sri Lankan security forces to liberate the East.

He took over the leadership of the TMVP after Muralitharan left the country. As a first step he registered TMVP as a political party and successfully contested in the Local Government elections held in the Batticaloa district. Subsequently under Chanthirakanthan’s leadership, TMVP entered as one of the coalition partners with the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance and contested East Provincial Council election.

After swearing in as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council, he spoke with News-Lanka.

He said, I want to bring about a good and sustainable relationship between the Tamils and the Muslims. To do that, he added, I have decided to meet the Muslim leaders and dispel their suspicion about the East Tamils and build cordial and brotherly relationship with them.

Therefore as a first step, I wish to meet these Muslim leaders. Almost all Muslim leaders are Ministers and if one of the leaders arranges a meeting in their Ministry office, inviting other Muslim leaders also for a discussion, I am prepared to participate and listen to them and to assure that I care to work with them.

Chanthirakanthan said as far as TMVP is concerned, we have already handed over all the underage children who were with us. As far as I am aware, there are no more underage children with us. If anyone points out as we have still underage children with us, then I am prepared to investigate and do the needful.

I want to provide opportunities for unemployed youths of the province to find for themselves suitable livelihood arrangements, Chanthirakanthan said.

Also he said that still there are thousands of Internally Displaced Persons in our midst. We will try our best to see that they are resettled in their respective villages and they have roof over their heads.

Chanthirakanthan said that he is thankful to President Mahinda Rajapakse and other Government leaders for the confidence they had on him by making him the Chief Minister of the East. He assured, I will try my best to live up to their expectations by dedicating fully and working for the well-being of the people of the East.

He said, my appointment as the Chief Minister is an eye opener for our Tamils brothers in the North. I think by now it will dawn on them that to undertake their day today business with the Government they have an option available for them. They have to come up to openly resist the Vanni Tigers and live peacefully. Eastern brothers are always there to assist them in their battle for freedom against the ruthless Prabakaran and his killing machinery.

He thanked the Buddhist clergies and the leaders of the Jathika Heela Urumiya for the support and the trust they had on him and for openly supporting him in his bid for the Chief Ministership.

Chanthirakanthan said that he was very sad to hear of the Colombo bomb blast and the death and injury of Police personnel and civilians. He said that he wishes to convey his condolence to the bereaved families and assured he will work with the Sri Lankan security forces and ensure the security of the Easterners.

The newly sworn in Chief Minister reiterated that with the help of the people of the East, he was able to defeat the Vanni Tigers democratically. He further said that he along with TMVP has entered the mainstream of politics and there is no turning back from the democratic mainstream.

When asked about MLAM Hisbullah’s statements before and after his swearing in as Chief Minister, Chanthirakanthan said he is not prepared to response to the accusations made by Hisbullah. He said Hisbullah is a person and not an organization and he is not the voice of the Muslims of the East. He said, there are many respected and well trusted Muslim leaders in the East. He also said I wanted to live peacefully and harmoniously with my Muslim brothers of the East and by responding to the unsubstantiated allegations, it would definitely create a provocative situation in the east. This is what Rauff Hakeem and UNP wanted and longing for. I can only appeal to Hisbullah not to fall into the trap of Rauff Hakeem and UNP and not to be provocative with communal speeches.

Tamil Chief Minister for East, Just and Fair Decision

The Chief Ministership stakes are now being fought in the East. To any impartial observer, it is crystal clear that any attempt to bypass a Tamil for the post of Chief Minister would be a travesty of justice. What is of paramount importance is that the government must not give the impression that the support it got from the Tamil voters who were earlier in the clutches of the LTTE, were not taken for granted. Pillaiyan received the highest number of preferential votes far more than that of HisbullahPillaiyan received the highest number of preferential votes far more than that of Hisbullah

Tamils boycotted the 2005 Presidential election under life threatening orders from Prabhakaran. Now they have rallied to the President’s call for unity. They must not be denied their due. Muslims who also threw in their lot with the government could wait a little longer.

How much the TMVP vote meant for the future of the East is a major consideration. More importantly the battle in the North where the armed forces are winning a fiercely fought war will ultimately be an indication that they can look with great satisfaction at the elections results in the East. Already a top level Presidential Committee headed by Minister Devananda is planning to get the people to participate in a democratic process very much like what the East did. It is imperative that the Chief Minister has to be a Tamil in the East.

It was obvious that the East was won with the massive support that the TMVP gave to the UPFA coalition. Of the 308,886 votes that were received by the UPFA, more than half or 160,000 came from the TMVP supporters. It would be a historical blunder to ignore the contribution of the TMVP to the liberation of the East from the LTTE as well a democratic revival in the region. They joined the Muslims and the Sinhalese to show the world that the Sri Lanka Government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa had the interest of all ethnic groups at heart. They wanted to defeat terrorism and bring about national unity in the country. The sense of togetherness was tremendous. To forget that fact is a colossal rejection of the ground realities that emerged in the East. M L A Hisbullah can afford to wait in the interest of Tamil Muslim unityM L A Hisbullah can afford to wait in the interest of Tamil Muslim unity

The TMVP worked with the Muslims and Sinhalese during the elections. The Muslim members of Parliament from the region are holding key positions in the government. Almost all the Muslim parliamentarians from this region are holding ministerial posts. There is adequate representative for this group. The Tamils in the East do not have that luxury.

In the 2005 Presidential elections the Tamils did not participate fully due to the LTTE forcing a boycott on them. The situation has changed today. In Batticaloa 48 percent of the people voted for the UPFA at the Provincial Council elections. The actual votes were as follows: Pillaiyan 38,718, J S Mohammed 34,782 and M L A M Hisbullah 34,581.

To deny the Chief Ministership to a Tamil due to the proposition that the Muslim candidates number 8 versus the TMVP’s 6 is a fallacy. It is a denial of what is a just demand by the TMVP that their contribution to bring about a change in the dynamics of the eastern politics be recognized.

Muslims have key representation with Mrs. Ferial Ash raff, ALM Athauulolah, A R Risath Bathiyutheen and M N Andul Majeed holding ministerial posts in the government. M.L.A.M Hisbullah, who crossed over from the SLMC just one day before the Eastern Province nominations can be asked to wait a little longer, to serve the people of the East before he gets into higher gear.

The President announced that the East answered his call for unity and gave the UPFA a good victory. The time is ripe to show the world that the Chief Ministership should be given to a Tamil as they fully deserve this honor.

Mahinda Rajapakse at Oxford Union

Calling it the plain truth President Mahinda Rajapaksa said if Sri Lanka failed in her war against the LTTE the world will fail in its fight against terrorism and democracy will be victim addressing the Oxford University Student Union.

“The LTTE is the most brutal terror outfit the world has ever seen and defeating them requires global support. What Sri Lanka is doing is fighting the terror outfit single handed to ensure that democracy and respect for human life prevail in the world,” the President said.

Calling the LTTE the main obstacle to development in Sri Lanka the President said, it is time the world raising its united voice express its utter revulsion of the barbaric practice of suicide bombings and that form of political expression, if it could be described as such is utterly unacceptable in the civilized world.

Speaking to a packed house of Britishers and expatriate Sri Lankans the President pointed out at the Oxonians like the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike whose wife was the first woman Prime Minister of the world and the late Laxman Kadirgamar who was brutally assassinated by the LTTE.

Sri Lankan Society President Dilan Fernando and his members were joined by Pakistani, Palestine, Indian Society members in felicitating the President. Thai Society also sent their delegation to the audience.

The following is the unedited full text of the President’s speech:

It is with much pleasure that I address you in these hallowed surroundings tonight. I must thank the Oxford Union and Mr Dilan Fernando for this opportunity. Many renowned speakers have addressed you from here before me. I do not seek to match them in their eloquence but I do wish to speak to you on a subject of much interest to my country at the present time.

That is the empowerment of rural economy a central theme of my development strategy for Sri Lanka. Our development strategy towards empowering the rural economy of our country where majority of our people live has now become relevant to the global economy itself in the context of emerging world food crisis and environmental challenges to our own survival. We have an additional burden. We are threatened by the challenge of terrorism and the need to protect the rights of our fellow beings.

Sri Lanka where I was born and bred is a country where our culture is firmly rooted in rural tradition. The Sri Lankan culture has been essentially conditioned by the great religion of Buddhism but later influenced by Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. The concepts of loving kindness, compassion and tolerance are at the heart of our psychological make up. They nourish and sustain us through the uncertainties of life. Our traditional greeting ‘Ayubowan’ means – May you live long.

It is not surprising then that in a world where rulers constructed massive castles and grand palaces to demonstrate their power and wealth our kings constructed huge reservoirs Tanks, as we call them to provide water to sustain food production and ensure sustainable livelihood to the people. The great legacy left behind by our ancient rulers and which is in use even today scattered across three vast Provinces of my island home is the massive irrigation network.

This unique hydraulic civilization which sustained an essentially prosperous rural society was based on a philosophy which has much to offer the modern world. Buddhism taught us that we have no absolute ownership of the forests the rivers the oceans and the atmosphere that sustain life; that every generation holds the environment in trust so that abuse is prevented; and that our duty was to hand down the environment to future generations without harm.

Even today over 77 percent of our people still live in rural areas because of a wide range of attractions in our rural home base. I myself hail from the deep South from an agrarian village with a beautiful natural environment. I am extremely proud of that fact. The attraction in our villages is not only the economic resources and greenery but also the traditional culture arts religion and bio-diversity which are incentives to keep our people away from migrating into urban townships. The horrors of poverty and suffering that have engulfed many booming Asian cities have not affected Sri Lanka.

Strengthened by the caring attitude inherited from our ancient rulers we were able to adapt to modern democracy with great ease. It was in 1931 while still under the British that Sri Lanka was granted universal franchise. You will recall that Britain achieved this status only in 1926. Since then we have continued to develop and strengthen democratic institutions in Sri Lanka. Political pluralism has always been fundamental to our democracy. We have parties of different political views represented in our parliament. This diversity uniquely enriches Sri Lanka's political canvass.

The government although elected by a Sinhala Buddhist majority represents a coalition of Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim communities and all the religious groups in the country. You will be hard pressed to find a similarly representative government in any of the other democracies of the world. I am proud of our vibrant parliamentary system the strong judicial establishment and the independent press. “Not a day passes without an attack on me, I must say totally without foundation from some parts of the media. We have not hesitated to adopt global standards collaborate with international organizations such as the UN, ILO, and the Commonwealth and participate in efforts to consolidate institutions designed to protect the rights of our fellow humans.

Sri Lanka has contributed with vigor and creativity to the development of the principals incorporated in international conventions through their work in international organizations and through the international Court of Justice. We have always played our part in global efforts to establish higher standards and to make our earth a better place for all because we fundamentally feel that this is the correct thing to do. This is a reflection of our cultural traditions. Sri Lanka’s conformity to global environmental standards has been commended time and time again.

Women in Sri Lanka enjoy equal opportunities with men. Over 60 percent of our medical practitioners are women. Over 80 percent of our teachers are women. The nursing profession is dominated by women. The legal profession too is increasingly dominated by women! Women have also entered sections of the work force previously monopolized by men such as, academia, engineering, computing, quantity surveying and architecture. I recall with great delight that Sri Lanka produced world’s first elected woman Prime Minister in 1960. Her husband, SWRD Bandaranaike’s photograph hangs over there.

Ladies and gentlemen, for decades we have invested in education and health. My country enjoys one of the highest literacy standards in the world while still being categorized as a middle income developing country. 97 percent of our children are enrolled at school. Our infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate at child birth is on par with that of many developed countries. The country provides free healthcare to all. Education is free and universal from childhood to university. During the primary and secondary school life of every child the government provides free text books and uniforms. One of my long-lasting joys is the sight of thousands of children in crispy white uniforms heading for school each morning. This is probably a sight that one can not witness in many other places of the world.

Children are precious to us. I believe they are our future. We have ensured a massive investment in our children. My government firmly believes that no child must be deprived of his or her childhood. We have created a separate ministry to look after the welfare of our children. We do not employ any children in our labor force and no one below the age of eighteen is recruited to our armed forces unlike the LTTE which engages thousands in its baby brigades. These children are robbed of their childhood and brutality is ingrained into their character making them life long misfits for society.

Sri Lanka has achieved a very high standard in the United Nations Human Development Index and we have already to a large extent achieved the Millennium Development Goals. It was only last month that a UN Report commended Sri Lanka for being well on its way to eliminating malaria. We have a very low rate of HIV AIDS infection. I point these things out to you only because of the intense campaign that is being conducted internationally to describe my country as one that does not care about our fellow human beings and human needs. Facts demonstrate that this is far from the truth.

There are no signs of obvious starvation in any part of the country. In fact for over 25 years since the beginning of the LTTE’s violent challenge to our very existence to our sovereignty the government has been sending food, medicine and educational material to the two districts dominated by the LTTE. Every single teacher, nurse, doctor, hospital and government official in the so called LTTE controlled areas is appointed and paid by the government in Colombo. Very few countries grappling with terrorism have been so accommodating. This itself illustrates the caring nature of our society.

These noteworthy achievements have been possible because of a holistic view of human development to which we have always been firmly committed. We believe that development becomes meaningful to the vast mass of the people only when its fruits are capable of being enjoyed by all segments of the people. That is why we have constantly tried not only to achieve growth and expansion of our national wealth but to ensure that the resources generated by our efforts are distributed among the people especially, in the rural hinterland on an equitable basis.

Our development model as presented in my election manifesto Mahinda Chintana signifies the empowerment of the rural economy. The centre piece of this new strategy will be the development of modern infrastructure throughout the country to provide a basis for development of agriculture Industry Construction Tourism SMEs and transport services that will bring about new opportunities to our people in the rural economy. Our strategy has enhanced the public investments over 6 percent of GDP to support ‘Randora’ – meaning golden Gate – our infrastructure development initiative to develop new ports power generation and distribution network irrigation and water supply schemes expressway and road network and integrated townships to link rural economy to the global economy and create new space for growth. We have integrated strategies to promote insurance shipping aviation trade logistic industries and petroleum explorations and above all skills and knowledge to position Sri Lanka as an emerging economic hub in south Asia.

Empowering people at grassroots level is equally important in this whole development process. ‘Gama Naguma’ meaning revival of the village is an initiative to empower communities adopting bottom up programmes originating from people reflecting their needs. A series of rural development initiatives have been implemented permitting the community to prioritize their needs and objectives. These initiatives are monitored by community leaders to ensure that a larger volume of resources are productively used for the betterment of the rural community.

The main thrust of this programme is to retain people in rural environments rather than encouraging them to move into urban areas which have been the pattern in many developing economies. Why should people move into urban areas and live in slums or sub standard housing when they can live in very healthy environments in villages and enjoy clean air water and pure and good food. It is my belief that rural people are much healthier than those who live in urban cities.

Our approach to development takes into consideration the dangers of destroying the green environment. Every project that is implemented under Gama Naguma recognizes the value of green belts and the preservation of the forest cover. The environmental protection programmes that are implemented throughout the island make a serious attempt to ensure that rivers are kept clean water ways are not dirtied and trees are not destroyed. The bed rock of our development is maintaining and preserving the environment.

Consolidating our achievements in human resource development we are now working towards a knowledge economy based on productivity, skills, knowledge and technology. Therefore education and health is being undertaken at grassroots level through multi-faceted government programmes. In particular I am very keen to ensure that our children are able to become global citizens through the use of information technology in a very novel programme called ‘Nenasala’a network of 500 rural tele-centers that have already been established. I have set a target to increase this up to 1,000 by next year. Three years ago Sri Lanka’s IT literacy stood at a little over 5 percent. Today I feel accomplished that we have been able to enhance this to percent which means that more and more people will be able to enter the lucrative IT job market. All this is being done to enhance the employability of rural youth.

The essence of our rural empowerment programme is to ensure that rural infrastructure development takes place at a rapid rate. So far neglected rural roads are being paved today with concrete to make them last monsoon rains that are common in our part of the world. Rural electricity programmes community water supply schemes minor irrigation projects housing and market facilities are included in our rural infrastructure development drive. In essence our strategy is to level the playing field between the ‘urban, organized minority’ and the ‘rural, unorganized majority’ in the national development process. I am encouraged that our development strategy - Mahinda Chinthana – Vision towards a New Sri Lanka sustained a near 7 percent economic growth during the last three years and reached US dollars 1,600 per capita incomes in 2007. Except in one district people below the poverty line have declined drastically in 2007.

Unfortunately we are being challenged by “the most brutal terrorist group in the world” as the LTTE has been described by the FBI. Suicide killings using even women and children have become their hallmark. It is this terror group that invented the deadly suicide vest for the suicide killer. Having pioneered the suicide vest they have freely given this technology to other terror groups in the world. This has now become a global menace.

There have been hundreds of innocents civilians returning home after work children going to school and young mothers going to their weekly clinics being maimed or killed by indiscriminately exploded bombs in crowded centres or being targeted by brain washed suicide bombers. You need to see the havoc caused by shattered limbs and burning human flesh to understand the sheer brutality that motivates this group of terrorists. They killed Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India and Ranasinghe Premadasa, the former President of Sri Lanka. Most recently a senior Minister of my government a Tamil speaking Catholic was brutally murdered by a suicide killer along with a former Olympic athlete among many others participating in a sporting event.

They also killed our former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, a scholar of distinction a legal luminary who once occupied this seat as the President of the Oxford Union with distinction.

Ladies and gentlemen it has become incumbent upon us to confront this group to the extent of our ability deploying all the resources of the State to protect the people of Sri Lanka and their democratic way of life. I must add that what I am doing is in no way different to what other democracies have done before and continue to do in the face of terrorism. However I must state that the LTTE is the most brutal terror outfit the world has ever seen and defeating them requires global support. What Sri Lanka is doing in my opinion is fighting this terror outfit single handed to ensure that democracy and respect for human life prevail in the world. If we fail in our war against the LTTE the world will fail in its fight against terrorism and democracy will be the victim. This is the plain truth.

Our development thrust unfortunately has had its own obstacles the main being the brutal terrorist threat that makes us a developing country to take a heavy toll. It is time that the world raising its united voice expressed its utter revulsion of the barbaric practice of suicide bombings. It must be made absolutely clear that this form of political expression if it could be described as such is utterly unacceptable in the civilized world.

There is a considerable challenge to the security forces of my country whose goal is simply to protect the innocents and their simple way of life. We need to understand that our security forces do not go out of their way to harass innocents or to discriminate against a minority. They take great personal risks constantly. The fear psychosis created by the LTTE terror may cause some lapses in judgment but by and large independent observers have always commended the efficiency politeness and courtesy of the men in uniform.

We must remember that there are no methods or solutions which are universally applicable to situations of this nature. It is the principal duty of a government to assure the public of security of life and limb. It is the terrorist group that decides when to strike: They decide the time the place and the opportunity. They are in no way constrained by the values and procedures which rightly control the responses of democratic governments. These realities must be taken into account as the basis of a fair and objective assessment of Sri Lanka’s situation.

Although many have said that the LTTE is invincible we have freed our Eastern Province of their terror. Within one year we have restored democracy there after nearly two decades. Only last week we conducted free and fair elections to the first ever Eastern Provincial Council contested by several political parties.

As our forces seek to defeat and disarm the LTTE we are firm in our resolve to have a negotiated solution to the crisis in Sri Lanka. I do not believe in a military solution. We have attempted talks with the LTTE on several occasions – thrice since my election as the President – but they have not reciprocated. They have always left the talks with lame excuses. We are still ready to talk once we are certain of their genuine intent for a political solution and their readiness to give up arms.

As young leaders you will take on increasing responsibilities in later life. Destiny will place you in circumstances where you will be called upon to lead and defend your countries. As someone who has been nurtured and strengthened by an ethical and caring culture I want to leave with you with some thoughts.

You and I are privileged to be what we are today but, there are millions of our fellow beings who are not that fortunate and who need our guidance leadership and caring. Leadership to these masses of people will have to be given by you. Your leadership must be one that reflects your cultural and religious values a sense of integrity dedication to the cause of eliminating human suffering and a sense of generosity.

In conclusion, let me say that our chosen path to development of my country especially the rural areas continues to be a challenge for all of us particularly with threats that are both internal and external. Ladies and gentlemen, the protection and advancement of human rights continues to be a challenge for all of us not only in Sri Lanka but globally. I only seek to encourage you to think of Sri Lanka as a country that has achieved considerable success in caring for its people in the face of a most brutal challenge thrown at us by terrorists. We will continue to comply with the highest standards in keeping with values and traditions we hold to be sacrosanct.

May the Noble Triple Gem Bless you all !

Mega projects for Eastern development

Susantha Punchinilame, Minister of Nation Building and Eastern Development said Rs. 8,000 million has been allocated to develop the Eastern Province from this year's budget and of Rs. 2100 million has been allocated to the Ministry of Nation Building at a press conference held at Ratnapura.

He said Rs. 8,000 million will be invested to develop Ampara, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Mullaitivu districts which have 50 divisional secretariat areas including 1208 rural villages and an area of 11514 square kilo metres.

The people living in this areas will be benefited with their basic needs and their living standard will be upgraded. State income will be increased and a population of 1,819,555 will be granted with facilities in the year 2008.

Iran gives $15b aid for Lanka

Sri Lanka has received US $15 billion as aid from Iran for development schemes including the modernisation of the Oil Refinery and several irrigation schemes including the Uma Oya scheme.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to Iran from November 26 to 28 opened a new chapter in the centuries old friendship and relations between the two countries, sources said.

The President’s official tour of Iran has been highly successful and rewarding, a joint statement issued by the two countries following the conclusion of the President’s tour on November 27 said.

Meanwhile, private sector business co-operation between Sri Lanka and Iran will be further enhanced with the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding with the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka and the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka.

A joint statement between Sri Lanka and the Islamic Republic of Iran yesterday said President Mahinda Rajapaksa accompanied by a high-ranking political-economic delegation paid an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran from November 26 to 28 on the invitation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad.

IERN NEWS REPORTS:

Sri Lankan president arrives in Tehran

President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse arrived in Tehran Monday night heading a high-ranking political- economic delegation.The Lankan president was welcomed at Mehrabad International Airport by Commerce Minister Massoud Mir-Kazemi.

An official welcoming ceremony will be held for President Rajapakse by his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad within coming hours.During his stay here, the Lankan president will discuss key bilateral, regional and international issues with senior Iranian officials.

Sri Lankan president: We support Iran's peaceful nuclear program

According to Foreign Ministry Media Department report on Monday, in the meeting, Mottaki presented a report on the latest situation of Iran's peaceful nuclear program, active cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency( IAEA) and (IAEA Chief) ElBaradei's report to the IAEA Governing Council.

Referring to the level of bilateral ties, Mottaki said, "Iran is interested to expand ties with Sri Lanka in all fields and the visit is a new chapter in mutual relations." The foreign minister added, "President Ahmadinejad has already ordered the implementation of the signed agreements between the two countries." Mottaki expressed Iran's readiness to cooperate in constructing power plants, refineries, irrigation projects and exporting engineering and technical services to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse briefed Mottaki on the situation of Sri Lankan Muslims and said, "Muslims in Sri Lanka enjoy a good situation, and have an active role in the country's politico-social life." He also called for the implementation of a number of agreements previously signed between the two countries.