International   

Rajapaksa holds Cabinet meet in Kilinochchi

— Photo: AFP

Closer to people:Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa heads a Cabinet meeting in Kilinochchi on Wednesday.

COLOMBO: A special meeting of the Sri Lankan Cabinet chaired by President Mahinda Rajapaksa was held on Wednesday in the northern provincial town of Kilinochchi, the de-facto political capital of the LTTE till January 2009.

The meeting, first of its kind outside the national capital, is part of an initiative by the President to hold them in all the districts once a month.

The customary weekly meetings of the Cabinet are held either at the presidential or the Prime Minister's office. By choosing Kilinochchi for the first session, Mr. Rajapaksa has sought to send out a message that the writ of Colombo now runs in all parts of the nation.

Early January 2009, Kilinochchi fell to the advancing Army, which in a way marked the beginning of the end of the LTTE saga under Prabakaran.

Besides the two-hour Cabinet session, Mr. Rajapaksa reviewed the construction work in the former war zone and interacted with recently resettled war-displaced Tamil civilians, his office said.

Addressing officials, he said the time had come for everyone to join in serving the people sans political differences and commit to rebuild the lives of the people who suffered for 30 years due to terrorism.

A section of the opposition has criticised the move as wasteful expenditure and moderate Tamil voices have said the regime should have been more sensitive to the war-torn people of the area who are still in the process of resettling.

But government spokesperson Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the initiative had brought the administration closer to the people.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Rajapaksa holds Cabinet meet in Kilinochchi
Gaza-bound ship changes course
U.S. may label Haqqani network terrorists
Balochistan tense after murder
Well integrity tests put off
Worst year for Afghanistan: report
300 held in raids on north Italy's ‘Ndrangheta mafia
Restored da Vinci back on show
Findings of Bhutto commission final: Ban

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu