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In his speech President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that if Sri
Lanka failed in the war against the LTTE, the world will fail in
its fight against terrorism and democracy will be the victim.
"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,"
President Rajapaksa told the Oxford University Student Union on
Tuesday, he said.
Calling the LTTE the main obstacle to development in Sri Lanka,
the President said it was time the world raised its united voice
to 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
civilised world.
President Rajapaksa said, 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.
"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."
"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.
However I must state that the LTTE is the most brutal terror
outfit the world has ever seen and defeating them requires
global support. "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." |