'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."