President insists war not against people

A group of religious leaders yesterday offered to facilitate a meeting between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in order to promote national unity.

Meanwhile President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that he was determined to defeat terrorism and not wage a war against the people of the country.

“I do not wish at all to wage a war against the people of the country,” the President told a group of leaders who called on him at Temple Trees yesterday.

He also said that if the LTTE lays down arms he will be ready to work with them to achieve peace, the President’s Office said in a statement following the meeting.


The President also stressed that he is not prepared to compromise the security of the country and betray the nation to any terrorist outfit.

Meanwhile, the Inter-religious Council of Sri Lanka in a statement said that during their discussion with President Rajapaksa they had offered to facilitate a meeting between the President and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. “Despite the current military operations we believed that two leaders should come together to promote national unity to promote good governance and human rights,” the Council said in a statement.

The Council also urged the President to ensure that all the political parties are included in the process of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC), and that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution be fully implemented with necessary powers and resources devolved to the provinces.

The Ven. Dr. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Nayaka Thera, Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha thera, Dr. Ven. Brahmanawatte Seewali Thera, Rev. Bishop Harold Perera, Rev. Bishop Rayappu Joseph, Moulavi Alhaj Niyas Mohamed, Moulavi Shahul Hammed Adam Bawa, Mr. Kyoichi Sugino of the World Religious Organization, Mr. Kingsley Rodrigo Executive Director of the Religions for Peace Sri Lanka and others participated with the President in the discussion.