Asserting that the LTTE has been ‘totally destroyed”, Sri Lanka has said that Tamil Tigers or other terrorist outfits will not be allowed to take roots in the country again. Disclosing that more than 10,000n LTTE cadres had surrounded before the Government, defence secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa made it clear that the criminal elements among the surrendered Tiger cadres would be brought to book while others will be rehabiliated.
“Criminals among the surrendered rebels will be dealth with seriously and the rest will be rehabiliated,” he said. “LTTE has been totally destroyed by the security forces and there is no way it can revive itself in the country,” Rajapaksa said. He said several human rights organizations employed in Sri Lanka in the recent past were keen on saving the LTTE leaders and not the displaced civilians.
“Hence the governemnt identified their real objectives and acted accordingly,” he told a TV channel.
Mr Rajapaksa said that the government will never “disturb media freedom” in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Mr Rajapaksa also called on the international community and the United Nations to assist in arresting the LTTE arms producer K Pathmanathan.