28 January 2010 06:40 pm
The President expressed these views during a meeting with media heads at Temple Trees this evening.
About the dissolution of parliament the President said he had got an invitation from the Russian government to pay them a visit and would go for the dissolution before he leaves for Russia shortly.
President Rajapaksa also said that polling in the North and East itself is a triumph of democracy and the fact that the vote was split between the government and the opposition is a welcome feature.
“Although I did not emerge the winner in the North I am glad that people entered the democratic process after a long break and cast their ballot for the ruling party and the opposition” the president said
.
“It was only nine months ago that war was brought to and end. The old hostilities need time to heal. I will give whatever possible to the people in the North and the East it is the responsibility of media to abstain from sowing seeds of separatism again” he said.
The President reminded that while it took three years for the UNP government to release the JVP suspects arrested during the 1987-88 JVP insurrection he had moved to release LTTE suspects without charges, within a period of six months.
“We are well on the path to reconciliation and I am sure that the people in the North will read our intentions correctly and act prudently hereafter” he observed.
Speaking about the Presidential election campaign the President said it had been the worst in terms of maintenance of ethics during his entire 40 year political career.
“They were on record that they would send me to Bogambara, shoot Gaotabhaya and set Basil on fire in the event of them grabbing power” the president recalled.
“And at the rate they were going they would definitely have done that if they got a chance to do so” he added.