External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris called on the Most Ven. Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter at the Malwatte Viharaya in Kandy and received his blessings. Here, the Mahanayake Thera ties a Pirith Noola on the wrist of Minister Peiris.
'Sri Lanka has been able to establish the largest number of diplomatic ties with foreign countries during its history under the tenure of the present government.
Visits to the island by Heads of State of three countries within the last fortnight have clearly proved this, said External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris. Prof. Peiris said the international community has been given the opportunity to investigate the living conditions of the people in the North without any restriction or observe any other development activities and they have expressed deep appreciation of the development work undertaken in the North by the government.
Prof. Peiris expressed these sentiments when he called on the Most Ven. Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter at the Malwatte Viharaya in Kandy and received his blessings.
Prof. Peiris said the number of displaced persons which stood at more than 300,000 when terrorism was defeated had now been reduced to 3,000 through planned re-settlement and Heads of State of foreign countries have made a good appraisal about the government's ability to overcome challenges within a short time compared to other countries which took nearly a decade to bring normalcy to their land after ending conflicts.
Most Ven. Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayake Thera said the displaced people would be happy if they were re-settled in their original places of residence. It would also be appropriate if the government expedited action against LTTE suspects detained by either instituting legal action against those guilty and exonerating and discharging who are not guilty. Prof. Peiris said there were no title deeds for most lands in Mullaitivu as the LTTE had given them over to Mahaveerar families during the conflict.
Now the problem is being attended to by the government in order to correct it.
Prof. Peiris also said that the total number of suspects in detention which was 11,600 in May, 2009 has now been reduced to 2,000 as the majority of them had been given vocational training and re-integrated to society.
Asela Kuruluwansa and Indika Polkotuwa
Source: Daily News (28th August 2012)
