Sri Lanka has sought support to defeat the LTTE’s international network which continues to push its ideology.
Speaking at the United Nations today via video conferencing, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that having experienced separatism and terrorism for near three decades, Sri Lanka condemns all terrorist acts in the strongest possible terms, be it domestic or international.
He said that in spite of its elimination from the Sri Lankan soil, the international network of this terrorist outfit remains, pushing its ruthless ideology and influencing certain Capitals to spread its baseless lies and propaganda.
“We are hopeful that no State will tolerate activities of this international network which continues to espouse and propagate violent ideology under different guises and manifestations,” he said.
The President said that the global community must stand in solidarity with Sri Lanka, notwithstanding narrow domestic political compulsions, to counter terrorism. This ideology that introduced suicide bombings to the world has set precedents for acts of violent extremism across the world. This is evident by the growing recruitment drive of the extremist outfits.
“It is the hope of my people that the world community will not seek to forget or rewrite the violent past of this terrorist organization and allow the propagation of the group’s propaganda, which aimed at indoctrination and radicalization of another generation of youth,” he said.
The President said that as a nation that has witnessed the bitterness of war, Sri Lanka is committed to promoting peace across the world and remains fully committed to UN Peacekeeping.
He also said that the UN system needs to ensure equity, inclusivity and transparency, while being more responsive to the ever-changing global environment.
In order to ensure the sustainability and the credibility of the Organization, Rajapaksa said that political witch hunts through questionable motives against Member States, need to be halted.
The President also said that Sri Lanka is committed to follow a neutral foreign policy with no affiliations to any particular country or power bloc.
“As a strategically placed country in the Indian Ocean, it is our priority to ensure that the Indian Ocean is maintained as a zone of peace where no country could gain advantage over any other. Moreover, Indian Ocean has many international sea lanes that are economically important to a large number of nations and therefore, should remain accessible to global trade and commerce,’ he said.
The President said that powerful countries and nations should provide their support and assistance to maintain the neutrality of the Indian Ocean and to protect its valuable marine resources.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
