Moragahakanda waters will douse fires of communalism in North and East - President Rajapaksa

Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order

"What we will win from this Moragahakanda Maha Samudra are the lives of people of the North Central Province and those in the North and East. Remember that what we will douse from the waters released from Moragahakanda to the North and East is the fire of communalism spread in those two areas by deadly terrorism," said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the large gathering present at the launch of the Moragahakanda Reservoir Project today.

The Moragahakanda Reservoir is the last reservoir to be built under the Mahaweli Development Scheme. Upon completion it will be the third largest irrigation reservoir in Sri Lanka.

The President said: "Had this project been implemented 20 or 30 years ago; had expressways from Colombo to Jaffna and Batticaloa been constructed then as it is proposed today, we can be certain that the terrorism of the LTTE would have been stillborn."

"I believe very strongly that the most powerful weapon against communalism is being fair and doing justice by the innocent Tamil people. If not, the cruel forces of communalism can completely destroy the great Sri Lankan civilization. We should understand this danger very well," he added.

President Rajapaksa said: "Our security forces have the ability, will and strength to defeat terrorism. Trust in them, for they have proved it in the East. Apart from trust, the main secret about that success is that we did not give political targets or goals to the armed forces. We did not sell or market the war for our benefit."

"This government is a people's government. The door is open for anyone who loves this country to join our government. There is only one condition. The policies of the Mahinda Chinthana should be respected, because it represents the national aspirations of this country. Anyone can come and nourish it. But no one can weaken it," the President said.