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.
Troops Capture Pooneryn – President Rajapaksa
LTTE loses last naval bastion in the western coast
President Mahinda Rajapaksa after being official informed by Commander of the Army, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka announced the capturing of Pooneryn ending 20 years LTTE tyranny in the area enabling the Security Forces to open a land supply route to the Jaffna Peninsula.
The area has been used as a hub for sea tiger activities in the Kilali and Muhamalai areas.
According to defense experts Pooneryn is strategically more important than Killinochchi, which only carries a symbolic value.
Troops belonging to the Army’s Task Force 1, entered and captured the LTTE’s most important stronghold Pooneryn after months of heavy fighting this morning (15th), scoring the most important strategic victory so far in the humanitarian mission to liberate the Wanni from the clutches of the terrorists, defence sources announced.
Infantrymen of the 12 Gamunu Watch (12 GW) and the 10 Gajaba Regiment (10 GR) had successfully negotiated the great marshlands south of Pooneryn last night and cut off the Pooneryn-Paranthan road (B-69) close to Nallur before dawn today, according to defence sources.
Troops then marched about 10 Km along the B-69 and entered the Pooneryn town.
According to the defence sources on the field, the terrorists had given a stiff resistance to the advancing troops but are not fast withdrawing towards ‘K-Point’.
Chinese fishing boat seized off Kenya
A Chinese fishing boat with 24 people on board has been seized off the Kenyan coast by “unidentified persons”, China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.
The boat was heading from Colombo, to Mombasa, Kenya at the time of the seizure, reports said.
Xinhua, citing a source in China’s transport ministry, said the boat was seized late on Thursday.
“The abductors demanded the Chinese fishing boat sail towards the coastal area off southern Somalia,” the report said.
The crew consisted of 15 Chinese, one Taiwanese, one Japanese, three Filipinos and four Vietnamese, it added.
Courtesy: Government Information Department
Sri Lanka establishes diplomatic relations with Botswana
Sri Lanka and Botswana have established formal diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level, guided by the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 1961.
The Joint Communiqué to this effect was signed on 27th October 2008 by the Permanent Representatives of Sri Lanka and Botswana to the United Nations in New York.
The decision to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries has been taken in order to strengthen the existing bilateral friendly relations and to promote mutually beneficial co-operation on the basis of mutual respect and the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference.
Botswana, which is located in the Southern African region, is a steadily developing country. Since its independence in 1966, Botswana has enjoyed political stability and economic growth under a stable parliamentary democracy.
Currently, there are approximately 2000 Sri Lankan nationals living in Botswana, whose consular needs are looked after by the Sri Lankan High Commission in South Africa. They are employed in different fields, in the public sector and the private sector.
Courtesy: Government Information Department
WB undertakes local projects worth US$ 900
The World Bank, in addition to development projects already scheduled until the year 2012, will undertake a series of development activities in Sri Lanka including in the North and East, Country Director, Naoko Ishill said.The World Bank has allocated US$ 900 million for the implementation of these projects.
She said these projects will cover a series of development activities covering areas such as dam safety and water resource planning, integrated community development, national and provincial road development, irrigation, maintenance and water resource management, general education and health sector development.
She emphasized the importance of developing the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka as it has become the major source of livelihood of many Sri Lankans, especially in areas where the World Bank has initiated several development activities.
