Rajapakse visits East, urges LTTE to resume dialogue

Colombo, Feb 3 (UNI) Srilanka President Mahinda Rajapakse today visited Sampur and Vakarai towns, formerly the strongholds of the Tamil Tiger rebels in the East, and urged the rebels to return to the negotiating table to establish a lasting peace in the war-ravaged island nation.

According to Presidential sources, Mr Rajapakse has said his coalition government would ''unveil a political package very soon to be placed before the people and the LTTE as the basis for a negotiated political settlement to the bloody ethnic conflict''.

''This is a big opportunity for the Tigers to resume talks with the government and I will offer them a political solution,'' President Rajapakse said during this surprise visit to the eastern towns, accompanied by Service Commanders, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Presidential Advisor, Basil Rajapaksa.

Addressing the heavily armed troops inthe region, Mr Rajapakse, who is also the Defence Minster and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, said that he undertook this visit to the recently captured towns in the East ''to personally thank the troops for their achievements ahead of the 59th Independent Day celebrations'' to be held in the Galle Face Green in Colombo tomorrow.

''During the presidential election campaign, I pledged to the people that I will not allow this country to be divided and the capturing of the former LTTE strongholds of Vakarai and Sampur is part of my effort to unite the country together,'' the President has said.

His visit to the recently captured areas in the east comes at a time when his government is taking steps to clear the area in a bid to resettle the Tamil people in their own habitats.

Meanwhile, tight security arrangements were made in and around the capital city of Colombo ahead of the Independence Day celebrations, which include public display of the military might of the nation.

Amid all these developments the police detected a claymore mine weighing two kilograms concealed in a trishaw in Colombo.

Over 250 people were taken into custody today from the Colombo Fort area on suspicions for questioning, according to police sources.

UNI