'India gives full blessings to eliminate LTTE,' says SL Prime Minister

'India gives full blessings to eliminate LTTE,' says SL Prime Minister
[TamilNet, Friday, 16 May 2008, 11:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka, in a special interview to Thinakkural, a Colombo based Tamil daily, on Friday, claimed that the Indian
government had given "full blessings" to the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa to "eliminate the LTTE." Mr. Wickramanayaka further proclaimed that there was no
"ethnic conflict" in Sri Lanka. "The LTTE should lay their arms down if they want peace talks. We are not prepared for talks with them in the meantime," he further
said.
"How can Tamils live in Wellawatte in Colombo if such [ethnic] conflict prevails," Mr. Wikramanayaka asked, claiming that there was only a "terrorism problem," in
Sri Lanka.
"Hence, our government will destroy the LTTE very soon", said the Sri Lankan Prime Minister.
"We are confident that we will defeat the LTTE in the war front. The victory against the LTTE is in the hand reach."
However, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister was not prepared to fix a deadline to defeat the Tigers.
"We have started attacking the LTTE from four sides. We are using modern sophisticated weapons," he said.
"Thamileezham is not achievable," Wickremanayake was quoted as saying by the paper.
"We are not worried if fifteen nations declare independence tomorrow. But our expectation is that no division is allowed in Sri Lanka."
"We will stop that division at any cost. We will not stop the war." Oil from Mannar Basin - even chancesby Devan DanielThere is a 60 percent possibility that the Mannar Basin will have oil, said the Director General of Petroleum
Resources Development Secretariat in a public lecture Wednesday.

Srilanka - Rajapaksa challenges Prabhakaran to direct clash

நமது முப்படைத்தளபதி நடத்துவது தேசபக்த யுத்தம். அவர் மல் யுத்தங்களில் ஈடுபடுவதில்லை.மாட்சிமை தங்கிய ஜனாதிபதியே உடற்பயிற்சி தேவையென்றால் கோவலன் டக்ளஸைக் கேளுங்கள், இல்லையேல் காவலன் பிள்ளையானைக் கேளுங்கள், வீட்டு நாய்கள் ஒருபோதும் உங்களை வீழ்த்தாது, வீரம் பேச வசதியாக இருக்கும்.முகமாலை போல் மூக்குடைபட நேராது.ஒரு பாசமுள்ள பிரஜையின் ஆசை...அவ்வளவுதான்.
Colombo, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Tuesday challenged the elusive leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Velupillai Prabhakaran to
“clash with him directly” and declared that his government would continue in its bid to flush rebels out of their stronghold in the north.
“I will challenge Prabhakaran to clash with me directly if possible without engaging in a killing spree of targeting innocent civilians, parliamentarians and ministers,”
Rajapaksa said after inaugurating the Oluvil port project in eastern Amparai district Tuesday.
Rajapaksa, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has said his ruling coalition “will never backtrack on its journey to liberate innocent civilians” living in
the LTTE-held areas in the north.
“As much as the government liberated the people of the east from terrorism and enabled them to enjoy the fruits of freedom, the people of the north would also be
given such an opportunity soon,” the state-run Daily News quoted the president as saying in Amparai.
The inauguration of the Oluvil port project comes two days before campaigning ends for the provincial council polls on May 10.
“Now the people of the east should decide whether they should be governed by their own representatives or according to the dictates originating from (the rebel-
held) Kilinochchi. On May 10 the people in the east will decide whether they want the development process to continue or whether go back to the clutches of
terrorists,” Rajapaksa said.
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) have urged the government to disarm pro-government Tamil
militant groups in the east to ensure a free and fair election.