Statement by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the bomb blast at
Dambulla, today
I vehemently and unequivocally condemn this latest act
of savagery by the LTTE in carrying out the blast in a civilian bus at
Dambulla today. Among those killed and injured were many women pilgrims
on their way to Anuradhapura to participate in a Buddhist ceremony. This
shows the reality of the struggle we have to face to eliminate terrorism
from our country.
I send my sincere condolences to the families of the
deceased and my prayers and good wishes for the speedy recovery of those
injured.
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.
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
terrorist threat that is faced by Sri Lanka, and that it is only the
most brutal and politically bankrupt movements that are capable of
continuing with such acts. |
