Not War just a humanitarian mission!
Not war, humanitarian mission: PresidentMonday, July 28,2008 COLOMBO: While claiming the ongoing military activity in the north is only a ‘humanitarian mission’ to reaffirm the right to life of all people,
President Mahinda Rajapaksa Sunday said security forces have already weakened considerably the striking capabilities of the LTTE. “What is
happening in the North is nothing more nothing less than a humanitarian mission to reaffirm the right to life of all people, Sinhalese, Tamils,
Muslims and others,” the President said addressing a massive election rally in Anuradhapura. He also praised the heroic efforts of the security forces, observing that they have already weakened considerably the capabilities of the LTTE
and that “theirs is a mission to recover a free and independent nation for all people.” President Rajapaksa said no period in history since the time of King Parakramabahu the Great has seen a development drive as the present
one launched by the government. The President also pledged that just as the East was liberated from the clutches of terrorists, the remaining strongholds of the LTTE
Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, would be liberated so that people living in those areas too could benefit from the government's overall development
strategy. He said the government has focused on developing irrigation infrastructure in the country and in this regard several projects would be initiated
in the province to rehabilitate tanks and other structures on the 14th of next month at a cost of Rs. 7200 million. Separately, President Rajapaksa also told the soldiers who were being treated at the Anuradhapura General Hospital that the war would not
be stopped until Prabhakaran was captured and brought before him. He was answering questions posed by soldiers who were injured in operations in the Mullaittivu and Welioya regions. “A morning news channel broadcast that the war will be stopped. Is it true?” an injured soldier asked the President. “I am not stopping the
war according to what is broadcast over various news bulletins. I will stop the war only when Prabhakaran is made to kneel at my feet in a
day or two,” President Rajapaksa replied. The President spoke warmly with a number of injured and asked them what they felt about the war. They asked the President not to stop the war at a
time when victory was so near and said they were prepared to return to the battlefield no
sooner they were cured.Meanwhile, Sri Lankan troops captured a Tamil Tiger satellite base in the country's north and seriously wounded a rebel commander in
separate fighting, the Defence Ministry said.Soldiers secured the Sugandan base north of Kiriibbanwewa in the jungles of Mullaittiuvu Sunday following days of ``heavy confrontations'
with the LTTE, the ministry said on its Web site.An LTTE area leader, identified as Veandan, was wounded during a failed rebel offensive north of Janakapura, according to the statement.
The LTTE didn't immediately comment on the incidents on its Web site.The defence ministry said at least 13 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed by security forces in fresh clashes in the north Sri Lanka. Soldiers killed the guerrillas in the Wanni region on Saturday, the scene of weeks of heavy fighting, the ministry said. There were no reports of
government casualties.The ministry said 19 bodies of Tiger rebels killed by security forces on Friday were handed over to the International Committee of the Red
Cross in the north of the island Sunday to be returned to the guerrillas.The figures bring to 5,314 the number of rebels the military says it has killed since the start of the year, when the government pulled out of a
Norwegian-brokered ceasefire.Just 464 government soldiers have died in the same period, according to ministry figures.Casualty claims cannot be verified independently because the ministry bars journalists from visiting frontlines.Colombo appears to be pressing ahead with its military offensive in the north despite the guerrillas' offer of a 10-day unilateral ceasefire ahead of a South Asian meeting that started here on Sunday.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa Sunday said security forces have already weakened considerably the striking capabilities of the LTTE. “What is
happening in the North is nothing more nothing less than a humanitarian mission to reaffirm the right to life of all people, Sinhalese, Tamils,Muslims and others,” the President said addressing a massive election rally in Anuradhapura. He also praised the heroic efforts of the security forces, observing that they have already weakened considerably the capabilities of the LTTE
and that “theirs is a mission to recover a free and independent nation for all people.” President Rajapaksa said no period in history since the time of King Parakramabahu the Great has seen a development drive as the present
one launched by the government. The President also pledged that just as the East was liberated from the clutches of terrorists, the remaining strongholds of the LTTEKilinochchi and Mullaitivu, would be liberated so that people living in those areas too could benefit from the government's overall development
strategy. He said the government has focused on developing irrigation infrastructure in the country and in this regard several projects would be initiated
in the province to rehabilitate tanks and other structures on the 14th of next month at a cost of Rs. 7200 million. Separately, President Rajapaksa also told the soldiers who were being treated at the Anuradhapura General Hospital that the war would not
be stopped until Prabhakaran was captured and brought before him. He was answering questions posed by soldiers who were injured in operations in the Mullaittivu and Welioya regions. “A morning news channel broadcast that the war will be stopped. Is it true?” an injured soldier asked the President. “I am not stopping the
war according to what is broadcast over various news bulletins. I will stop the war only when Prabhakaran is made to kneel at my feet in a
day or two,” President Rajapaksa replied. The President spoke warmly with a number of injured and asked them what they felt about the war. They asked the President not to stop the war at a
time when victory was so near and said they were prepared to return to the battlefield nosooner they were cured.Meanwhile, Sri Lankan troops captured a Tamil Tiger satellite base in the country's north and seriously wounded a rebel commander in
separate fighting, the Defence Ministry said.Soldiers secured the Sugandan base north of Kiriibbanwewa in the jungles of Mullaittiuvu Sunday following days of ``heavy confrontations'
with the LTTE, the ministry said on its Web site.An LTTE area leader, identified as Veandan, was wounded during a failed rebel offensive north of Janakapura, according to the statement.
The LTTE didn't immediately comment on the incidents on its Web site.The defence ministry said at least 13 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed by security forces in fresh clashes in the north Sri Lanka. Soldiers killed the guerrillas in the Wanni region on Saturday, the scene of weeks of heavy fighting, the ministry said. There were no reports of
government casualties.The ministry said 19 bodies of Tiger rebels killed by security forces on Friday were handed over to the International Committee of the Red
Cross in the north of the island Sunday to be returned to the guerrillas.The figures bring to 5,314 the number of rebels the military says it has killed since the start of the year, when the government pulled out of a
Norwegian-brokered ceasefire.Just 464 government soldiers have died in the same period, according to ministry figures.Casualty claims cannot be verified independently because the ministry bars journalists from visiting frontlines.Colombo appears to be pressing ahead with its military offensive in the north despite the guerrillas' offer of a 10-day unilateral ceasefire ahead of a South Asian meeting that started here on Sunday. 
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