Free innocent Tamils or face ban - President to LTTE
President Mahinda Rajapaksa today(Dec 22) called on
the LTTE that to release all innocent Tamils it is holding hostage, in
bondage and using them as human shields, with the dawn of 2009, and
allow them to come to the safe areas provided for them by the Government
and the Security Forces.
Failure to do this would lead the Government to
proscribing the LTTE with all its consequences for the terrorist
organization and will ensure that 2009 is the true Year of Heroism for
the troops and also see the wiping out of LTTE terrorism from the pages
of history.
He said the only enemy faced by the people is the
terrorism of LTTE, and that he will not agree to any ceasefire that will
strengthen the LTTE in any form.
President Rajapaksa was addressing religious
dignitaries, ministers, senior administrators and leading members of the
private sector to thank them for the cooperation extended to the
government in this year and to inform them of the progress of the
military operations against the terrorism of the LTTE and state of the
economy of the country. The meeting was held at the Presidential
Secretariat, Colombo.
There is only one enemy in the country, and that is
terrorism. The Sinhala people are not the enemies of the Tamils, as the
Tamils are not the enemy of the Sinhalese. Separatism and terror is the
enemy of all, be they Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or Buddhists; Hindus,
Christians and followers of Islam. All people should come together in
unity to fight the savagery of terrorism.
He told the audience that the people of the country
had given him and the government the strength top fight terrorism, and
bring the LTTE to the weak position it is in today; the strength to free
the motherland from the grip of terror.
"I will not agree to any ceasefire that will
strengthen the LTTE in any form" he said.
"The New Year 2009 will be the fourth year with the
country under my leadership. There will be very decisive challenges in
2009, to face which there will be the need for the widest unity among
all people. 2009 will be the year when the country will be freed from
the menace of tiger terrorism. Many evil forces will conspire to prevent
the victory against terrorism, but we shall overcome them all. There
will be many attempts to create division, crisis and unrest in the
country, all of which are targeted at helping the cause of tiger terror.
Attempts will be made to create a negative public mood in the battle
against terror. But, we will face the biggest challenges and obstacles
to make 2009 the Year of Heroic Victory against Terrorism," the
President said.
He called on all political parties and forces to unite
with the government to defeat terrorism and take the country towards
development. This is the message as to the NFF that voted with the
government in the last budget, to the JVP that helped me in the victory
in the last presidential election and to all patriotic sections within
the UNP, too, who should preserve the honour and dignity of their party
by joining the government in the great patriotic tasks that lay ahead.
Fuel prices
Referring top the prevailing debate on fuel prices and
economic policy, President Rajapaksa said the Government had to act with
responsibility, and its responsibility was to the people. The Government
needed revenue to meet the demands of development and the costs of the
ongoing military operations to defeat terrorism.
It was from revenue that the government earned that it
was possible to give free books to schoolchildren, provide healthy
services to the people, milk food to mothers and children and also carry
on the necessary operations to free the country of terrorism. Any
decisions on the prices of essential items had to be taken with
responsibility and concern for the actual needs of the people. The needs
of a mere 04 per cent of people who use petrol for cars could not
supersede the needs of more than 90 % of the people who traveled by bus
and train.
He said that those who petitioned the courts on the
price of petrol were the same people who campaigned abroad against the
extension of the GST+ relief for the country. If they had succeeded in
that, all workers in the garment industry would have suffered.
President Rajapaksa said that the government always
respected the orders of the courts, even when they went against some of
the policies that were being implemented to combat terrorism. These
orders such as the ban on searching homes at night, and issues involving
High Security Zones were observed with due respect to the courts and as
there were alternate policies to be followed, despite adverse
consequences, some of which were tragic.
He said the government was committed to reducing
prices of essentials we when they went down in the international
markets, and this was clearly seen in the reduction of the prices of
petrol diesel, kerosene and other fuels in the recent budget. However,
as much as the government benefits from the reduction in prices of such
imports one had also to be aware of the loss the country faces with the
drop in prices earned by commodities exported from the country, due to
the prevailing condition s in the world.
The issue of taxation and duties should not be looked
at in isolation, but as a whole, taking into consideration the needs of
the entire economy. There was the need to raise duties on the import of
many items to help local industry and production to benefit. Speaking in
lighter vein, he said some people may today seek relief in court against
the 300 % duty on cigarettes and arrack, the 450% duty on whisky or the
500 % duty on imported luxury cars.
President Rajapaksa stressed that that the function of
good government required proper understanding among the Legislature, the
Executive and the Judiciary. The Executive should not try to grab the
powers of the Legislature, and likewise the other arms of government
should also not seek to grab the powers of any other. He was fully
conscious of the responsibility of the government to the people, and all
decisions that affect the people would be taken ion all honesty to
discharge that sacred responsibility that he bore.
Courtesy: priu.gov.lk |
