Sri Lankan Government will not disarm Karuna

Munza Mushtaq in Colombo, July 13, 2006, 7.41 p.m.. The Sri Lankan Government has categorically declared that it will not attempt to disarm LTTE renegade leader Karuna and his cadres, because it does not want to get entangled in another war, the newly launched 'Sunday Standard' said in its lead report.

"Defence Spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella made the declaration amidst continuous LTTE pressure demanding the Government to disarm Karuna cadres, if they are to resume peace negotiations, the report said.

If the LTTE expects us to hunt down the Karuna faction, that's not possible at this stage simply because we will then have two wars to fight in the country, one with the LTTE the other with Karuna, Minister Rambukwella told the Sunday Standard.

He however assured that the government was taking all steps to maintain law and order and the Karuna faction or any other armed group will be strictly dealt with.

Minister Rambukwella also stressed that the Government was not ready to take any chances if it felt that the sovereign State was threatened, which was why it had decided to intensify the recruitment drive of youth to the military.

"We cannot take chances, although the most prudent thing to do is to negotiate for a peaceful settlement. But we must keep in mind that we are dealing with one of the most ruthless internationalized terrorist organizations. We have to be prepared even for the worst because we are responsible for 19.5 million people and the assets of this country," he said.

Meanwhile, the Government has also taken steps to boost the intelligence unit of the Army, now debilitated after the great betrayal of the safe house at Athurugiriya during the UNP regime. The move comes amidst allegations that the security forces have failed to thwart many LTTE attacks against security forces and civilians including suicide missions.

Minister Rambukwella despite admitting that the country had suffered several incidents of large magnitude stressed that even most developed countries despite having all the intelligence and funding, terrorists have successfully infiltrated.

"Despite lapses at some instances, what we should think is if not for our intelligence what will be the situation of the country today. We should also remember that we are dealing with a ruthless terrorist organization," he added.

ஓசி எண்டா ஒன்பது இடத்திலையும் ஒண்டையே பதிவியள். ஏன் இணைப்புக் குடுக்கலாமே உப்படி தாவி தாவி ஒண்டையே பல இடத்தில் பதியிற நேரம். :roll: