4mn sq m of mined areas cleared in Wanni: Lankan PM
Colombo: Sri Lankan security forces have
managed to clear LTTE planted land-mines in an area of four
million square metres in the Wanni, Prime Minister Ratnasiri
Wickremanayake has said.
Wickremanayake, who was speaking yesterday on a motion
for extension of the Emergency by another month in Parliament
said, "it was estimated that about 1.5 million "death traps"
including land-mines had been buried in the Northern
Province".
The Premier said it was estimated that these death traps
had been laid in an area of 500 square kilometres in Jaffna,
Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya.
He observed that there were certain elements who are
attempting to "demoralise us when we stood as a sovereign
nation", the state owned Daily News reported.
"Those elements who attempted to paralyse us in the
economic, social and political aspects or at least to tarnish
the image of the country which seemed to have intensified
presently."
The Prime Minister said the world seemed to have divided
into two camps - "one that respected the sovereignty of a
nation and the other that attempted to be puritans by
violating human rights of other nations", the Newspaper
reported.
Bureau Report