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Sri Lankan President Urges People to Rebuild Nation
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has urged her people to used the noble day of Christmas to rebuild the country where fighting between government forces and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels has been continuing in the north and east since 1983.
"This is the moment to shed all petty differences that have arisen among us and to serve our motherland," Kumaratunga was quoted by local newspapers as saying in a Christmas message on Saturday.
She said that they have come to a decisive stage in their quest to usher in an era of peace and friendship. They have been debilitated by a cruel war which has destroyed their resources and values, she added.
The president said that being on the threshold of the new millennium they are deeply committed to achieve peace and cooperation in the war-torn country.
On the Christmas eve, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam started their one-month unilateral ceasefire with the government forces as they announced on Thursday.
The government said on Saturday that they would also stop fighting only on the same festive occasion. In earlier response to the LTTE truce offer it insisted that fighting continue until negotiations proceed to mutual satisfaction of both sides.
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