Country faces two challenges at the dawn of 60th anniversary of independence-MR

President Mahinda Rajapakse says that the country faces two challenges at the dawn of 60th anniversary of independence. The first is to eliminate terrorism and the second is to eradicate poverty.
Government has already successfully faced the half of the first challenge by liberating the eastern province from the grip of terrorism.
The government ultimate goal is to liberate the northern province as well. In his independence message, the President added that all are indebted to the heroic forces for the supreme sacrifice they achieve to eliminate terrorism. He also points out that the progress of the development should be spread towards the people in remote areas as well. He appealed to the nation to work collectively to carry forward the progress of the development.