President congratulates valiant soldiers, calls LTTE to surrender

President Mahinda Rajapaksa while making the official announcement of capturing the LTTE’s last bastion of the western coast, Pooneryn, commended the valiant troops for their untiring efforts to liberate the strategically important area.

President Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, addressing the nation through the state media also expressed his gratitude to the citizens of the country who have been standing with him at the crucial juncture and for sharing his vision to rid the country from the grip of terrorism.

The following is the full text of President Rajapaksa’s announcement:

I inform the people in this country that our heroic soldiers have been able to liberate the full stretch of the A-32 road (Mannar- Pooneryn) and the Poonaryn area this morning. Now, we can open a land route to the Jaffna Peninsula after many years; I think we can say, it was after the Second Eelam war.

At this moment, I very clearly call Prbhakaran of LTTE to immediately lay down your arms and come to the negotiation table. It is the greatest service that you can do to the people in the Wanni.

We congratulate the war heroes and express our sincere gratitude to the citizens of Sri Lanka who have given their unstinted support to our struggle.