Civilians our main concern - President

Rohan Mathes

COLOMBO: The battle against terrorism which we could convincingly win within a few days, is nevertheless prolonged due to the grave concern and the optimum caution exercised by the highly disciplined Armed Forces who are fighting under severe constraints, to cause no harm or loss to innocent, civilian human life, observed President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

President Rajapaksa made this observation when he addressed a ceremony organised by the National Research Council, at the Presidential Secretariat, to felicitate and confer ‘Presidential Awards for Research’ to indigenous Scientists who have been of yeoman service for the Nation’s economic wellbeing. “We have directed the Armed Forces to refrain from inflicting any harm, even a scratch, to the innocent civilians who are being utilised as human shields by the terrorists in the Wanni. We are proud to have an Army which is complying and carrying out their humanitarian operations accordingly,” he said.

He pointed out that the liberation of the East and the Madhu shrine was carried out without causing any harm to civilians. “Not a single bullet was fired, in those operations, as we had a duty and responsibility to conserve and protect human life and maintain the church’s religious and spiritual significance and dignity,” he added.

The President was of the view that Sri Lanka was the first country ever, based on humanitarian reasons, dispatching and providing food and other essentials to a ruthless terrorist outfit, while simultaneously fighting them.

He said that as clearly indicated by some serious personal sentiments of nostalgic and sentimental value, in the personal letters which have been found in the abandoned LTTE bunkers recently,

the LTTE cadres have not joined Prabhakaran spontaneously. They have joined due to an array of personal issues and are consistently striving to escape from the clutches of the LTTE. Nonetheless, the LTTE is forcefully depriving them of their freedom of choice and retaining them as a ‘human shield’ to achieve their fascist objectives.

“The masses of this country selected me as their President, with the objectives of protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of their motherland and end its needless fragmentation. We are not in any way fighting against the Tamil polity of this land. We are relentlessly engaged in liberating the innocent Tamil diaspora from the cruel grip of terrorism under Prabhakaran,” the President categorically stated.

President Rajapaksa opined that Scientific Research was crucial in the multi-faceted development of any country, including Sri Lanka which unlike in the past, rely highly on such know-how. Scientific research and knowledge has been used in all spheres of development, including the agro sector. The budget allocation for ‘Scientific Research’ would be enhanced soon. ‘Scientific Research’ could alleviate poverty and help us in achieving economic development, President Rajapaksa added.