Minister says majority support federal concept

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 December 2002, 18:27 GMT]
Health Minister in the United National Front government (UNF), Mr.P.Dayaratne, addressing a public meeting at Kurunagala Sunday said, "Majority of the people in south are supporting the federal concept. Only few communal elements are against a political solution to the ethnic problem based on federal constitution," sources in Kurunagala said.

Minister Mr.Dayaratne who represents the Ampara district in the eastern province in parliament said people in the south now enjoy the benefits of peace that is prevailing in Sri Lanka after the signing of a ceasefire agreement with the LTTE.

Tamils now live without any harassment. Normalcy is returning to the northeast province enabling Tamils and Muslims to return to their villages. More than one hundred thousand acres of land have been brought under paddy cultivation due to the stoppage of war, said Minister Mr.Dayaratne.

He expressed confidence that there would no war in the country as both the UNF government and LTTE are sincere in their effort to find a peaceful and just political solution to the twenty-year-old conflict, which could be accepted by all sections of the society.

However, in a conference on Development and Rehabilitation in Trincomalee, Mr. Tilak, Head of LTTE political division Trincomalee district said that people in Trincomalee still face harassment from the security forces.