2ND LEAD

Cabinet meeting in Ki'linochchi aims to deceive Sinhala people: UNP MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 July 2010, 18:17 GMT]
“All should understand that the Sinhala people also have to bear the burden of foreign loans Sri Lanka has to borrow to develop the North which was destructed by Tigers,” Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed in a public meeting in Ki’linochchi Wednesday after having held the Cabinet Meeting in Ira’naimadu Sri Lanka Army (SLA) head quarters in Vanni. Nearly a hundred people brought by SLA participated in the meeting held under tight security. “There is no minority in the country but all are majority in the sense that all are Sri Lankans,” Mahinda Rajapaksa further claimed. Meanwhile, Jayalath Jeyawardene, an opposition United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian said in a statement to media in Colombo Wednesday that Mahinda Rajapaksa’s cabinet meeting in Ki’linochchi was a political drama to deceive the Sinhalese in the South, condemning the Ki’linochchi cabinet meeting.



“There is no place for ethnic differences or separatism or arrogance in Sri Lanka any more,” Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa said in the public meeting held in Ki'linochchi.

Speaking earlier in a meeting with the government departmental heads and officials in the North, he said that the officials had to work under the Tigers earlier and now that the Tigers have been destroyed they should be faithful to the government in which they are employed.”

Mr. Jayalath Jeyawardne said in his statement that Mahinda Rajapaksa had held the Cabinet meeting in Ki’linochchi to remind the Sinhalese in the South of the 'victory' in the war in a way as to rekindle their passion for war.



“Even the opposition parliamentarians are not allowed by Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime to visit Vanni independently and meet the resettled civilians who suffer even without basic facilities,” he said.

Jayalath Jayawardene further criticized the government for conducting the Cabinet meeting in Ki’linochchi while it had failed to announce its decision on removing the High Security Zones (HSZs) in the North and East.

Key government ministers had come to Ki’linochchi through A9 road while President Mahinda Rajapaksa was flown in a special helicopter.

The Governor of Northern Province, Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri told of the achievements related to the Development of North (Vadakkin Vasantham) project that had been done in the last three months. while the Commissioner of Essential Services explained the present position of Sri Lanka in the sphere of economics.

The cabinet meeting was held in a building complex of Liberation Tigers in Ira'naimadu in Ki'linochchi. The SLA uses the building after renovation as its head quarters in Vanni.