13.8.08
By Walter Jayawardhana
Foreign
Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said there is no truth in
the statement of the United National Party that after
the Provincial Council elections in North Central and
Sabaragamuwa Provinces the war to eliminate terrorism
will be stopped.
"We
showed that terrorism could be eliminated from the country’s
Eastern Province and similarly we will eliminate terrorism
in the Northern Province and bring back democracy to the
citizens of the area they once enjoyed", he said
in a television interview conducted with him by the state
owned Independent Television Network and broadcast Tuesday
night.
He
rejected there was any foreign pressure to stop the war
with the terrorists and said during the South Asian summit
just concluded in Colombo there was nothing but unprecedented
cooperation from all the neighboring countries of Sri
Lanka to eliminate terrorism from the country and bring
back democracy to the deprived masses.
He
said to show solidarity; Foreign ministers have visited
Chief Minister Pillaiyan of the Eastern Province and learned
the truth about the ground situation.
He
said as the foreign minister of the country he had to
work overtime to undo the “status of parity”
UNP leader Ranil Wickramasingha had created for the Government
of Sri Lanka with the terrorist group the Liberation of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Bogollagama
said if not for the infamous Ceasefire Agreemnt the fight
to eliminate terrorism would not have taken such a long
time. He said it took a tremendously longer time to come
to the gates of Kilinochchi and Mulativu than usual, thanks
to the obstacles created by Ranil Wickramasinghe. He said
the government was strongly of the opinion, despite the
lies, when the final votes are counted it would be definitely
against those who promoted terrorism by approving infamous
demarcating lines through equally infamous Ceasefire Agreements.
Bogollagama
said statements such as of those who like Secretary Boucher
of the US clearly indicate that how the international
community was giving every encouragement to the government
of Sri Lanka to eliminate terrorism from the precious
island nation. He vividly described the progressive steps
they took by banning not only bogus charities who helped
the coffers of the Tamil Tigers but also how they sent
arms buyers into jail by now famous sting operations.
He said it was not possible for him to give minute details
of how countries give innumerable support to crush terrorism
in Sri Lanka due to diplomatic constraints the country
should observe.
He
said the anti-terrorism measures all regional countries
signed for at the SAARC summit in Colombo hereinafter
would not only allow a terrorist of one country to take
refuge in another country of the region as it happened
before but those measures would bring far reaching result
and would bring doom to such outfits like the LTTE.
He
said Australia is not a member but an observer of the
SAARC and the high commendation by Australia about the
anti-terrorism measures adopted by the summit were failed
to be seen by our own country’s opposition who were
on a disastrous political course of condemning the South
Asian summit.
Bogollagama,
being interviewed by Gayan Chinthaka Abeysinghe, of the
Independent Television Network (ITN) further said some
countries in the region have called terrorism as the 'single
biggest threat to our stability.'
Bogollagama
said the South Asian summit became a heavy body blow to
the efforts of the United National Party who have been
on a ruinous but futile course to internationally isolate
Sri Lanka and shouting from their roof tops that the most
important country, India would not even attend the leaders
meeting. But the Indian leader Dr. Manmohan Singh spent
three days in the country and the Indian Foreign Minister
spent five days in the country, Bogollagama said. It was
very important for the country to have all the eight leaders
of the region in Colombo, the Foreign Minister emphasized.
He
said it was also important that Pakistan and India chose
Colombo to meet each other and Pakistan and Afghanistan
chose our capital to meet each other heralding to the
world that Sri Lanka is a center for international understanding,
goodwill and peace.
The
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister said the numerous benefits
that would be brought to the people of Sri Lanka by the
SAARC summit would be undoubtedly immense. He said, for
instance, one should see the huge unprecedented market
the SAARC has opened up for the Sri Lankan products.
He
said one should compare the market of 450 million people
in the European Union with that of 1200 million people
in India to know the immenseness of the new vistas the
South Asian union is opening up for Sri Lanka. The Agreement
of South Asian Free Trade (SAFTA) has opened up the market
of the world’s biggest region of 1500 million people
of the eight countries of South Asia to the Sri Lankan
products in addition to the Free Trade Agreements the
country has signed with India and Pakistan, the foreign
minister emphasized. If Sri Lanka could expand our sales
to the Indian market for Sri Lanka’s apparel products,
for instance, it would be slightly less than three times
of the European market, Bogollagama pointed out.
The
United National Party belittled the SAARC to be less important
like a village level organization. But the SAARC Development
Fund would open up a vast fund of 30,000 million dollars
to releive funds for development in every rural areas
of the country. The underwater electricity cable is also
proposed not to stop develop our own energy resources,
but to obtain excess cheap energy for our use from neighbors.
Through that grid, one day we would be even buy electricity
from Bhutan , which is producing electricity in plenty
by their hydraulic power stations , the minister said.
The
SAARC University would be open for our own students in
2010 and the main campus is being already being built
close to New Delhi by India. Another campus will be built
in Sri Lanka too and the regional university would be
able to create a seat of learning that would produce intellectuals
who would think in terms of the region’s development.
He said the Indian Prime Minister is of the opinion that
we should elevate the institution to the standard of the
Ivy league universities of the United States, Bogollagama
said. Today India is leading the region by being able
to give birth to a knowledge economy like in the IT field.
Small countries like Sri Lanka would benefit immensely
by following in those foot steps, the Sri Lanka Foreign
minister said.
Another
method the United National Party wanted to implement was
to isolate Sri Lanka by making the press boycott the summit.
But defeating those efforts and not listening politically
motivated organizations nearly 600 reporters covered the
event, Bogollagama said.
Answering
questions, the foreign minister said Katchathivu, is an
integral part of Sri Lanka like Colombo, Matara, Galle
or Kandy. He said the Indian government has had no communication
with Colombo on Katchathivu and it was a slogan by certain
South Indian politicians raised for their own political
ends.
Bogollagama
said, before the summit a big cry over security has been
raised by the United National Party and a concern about
the safety of the leaders. He said during a UNP regime
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assaulted with a rifle
butt during a guard of honor creating a big blot for the
country. But he reminded, during the SAARC summit not
even a fly was allowed to rest on any leader!
Courtesy - Asian
Tribune