NCP Chief Minister appointed to lead Trincomalee development

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 February 2006, 16:43 GMT]
The President Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed Mr.Bertilal Dissanayake, Chief Minister of the North Central Province in charge of the development activities in the Trincomalee district. Mr.Dissanayake Monday presided over the conference held in Trincomalee district secretariat pertaining to the development of the district, district secretariat sources said.

Only parliamentarian attending the meeting was Mr.Jayantha Wijeysekara of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). Other three Trincomalee district MPs Messrs.R.Sampanthan, K.Thurairartnasingham (both from the Tamil National Alliance -TNA) and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) dissident parliamentarian Mr. Abdul Majeed Mohamed Najeeb who is also a Minister did not attend the conference, sources said.

Trincomalee District Secretary and Government Agent Mr.K.G.Leelananda and officials of the North East Provincial Council and officials of several development projects funded by international financial institutions participated in the discussion, sources said.

Mr.Bertilal Dissanayake said majority of the people thought that war would start with the election of Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse as President. But the new President has committed himself to take forward the peace process vigorously. Hence the government and the LTTE have agreed to talk in Geneva.

All three communities are living in the Trincomalee district and it is very important to implement development programmes without harming the interests of these communities, he added.