Terrorism should be totally eradicated – President

I would take immediate measures to totally eradicate terrorism and in the mean time make sure that the development work in the country proceeds without any obstacle, said President Mahinda Rajapakse in his New Year message.

I truly worked to find a political solution for the North East problem. I consulted all the other political parties to find a consensus on the issue. But the LTTE started attacking and killing the people within a month of me becoming the President of Sri Lanka.  I requested the LTTE to stop the killings, but they continued the killings. Hence I had no choice but to retaliate said the President.

The rights of the Tamils should be safeguarded at the same time they must have pluralism and they should be set free of terrorism. The rights of the Muslims and the Sinhalese also should be safeguarded.  For all this to happen the terrorism in the country should be totally eradicated, said Mahinda Rakjapakse.