02-02-2008

Dambulla blast shows the necessity of eliminating terrorism – President

Feb 02, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa while ‘vehemently and unequivocally’ condemning the bomb blast at Dambulla, said that it shows the urgent need to eliminate terrorism from the country.

“This shows the reality of the struggle we have to face to eliminate terrorism from our country,” the President said in a statement to the media.

“I call upon the people to remain calm and refuse to be provoked by this repeated brutality by the LTTE, which in its desperation in the face of defeats inflicted on them by the security forces, is eager to create a backlash to their terror, to obtain the sympathy of the international community.”

“This act of terror, similar to many other acts of savagery directed at innocent civilians before, underscores the continued commitment of the LTTE to violence to achieve their goal of separation,” it said.

“In the face of such grave provocation, the people of Sri Lanka must be aware of the many forces that are attempting to obstruct the efforts of the government to eradicate terrorism from our country, and halt the success of the Security Forces in this task today.” These repeated acts of unmitigated brutality must bring to the attention of the entire civilized world the nature of the terrorism threat that is faced by Sri Lanka, and that is only the most brutal and politically bankrupt movements that are capable of continuing with such acts, the President added.

Source-CP