Lankan President Visits Seized Political HQ of LTTE

In a first ever trip of any Sri Lankan President to the embattled northern part of the island nation in last three decades, president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday paid a surprise visit to the LTTE’s captured political headquarters of Kilinochchi.

According to reports, Rajapaksa, also the Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan armed forces, attended a ceremony conducted by the army, which handed over a report to the President on the war situation.

An official statement said that the President made this goodwill visit during the traditional Sinhala and Hindu New Year period to meet with the troops positioned there as well as IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) and other civilians.

It should be noted that Sri Lankan army brought Kilinochchi under control on January 2 after tough fight with the Tamil Tigers, ending the LTTE’s domination of the region, some 350 kms north of the capital Colombo.

The LTTE, which had for over the past one decade used Kilinochchi town as its administrative and political capital, was now confined to 14 sq kms of coastal strip in Mullaitivu district.

Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara informed that the President went to Kilinochchi in the morning and was there for about 4-5 hours.