By Xinhua,
Colombo : Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said Tuesday that his government would ensure the northern people the right to own their land.
“As much as we have given the eastern people their right to own land we will soon ensure that northern people would be free to do likewise,” Rajapakse told a political gathering in Colombo.
The president was referring to his government’s military thrust against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.
Government troops say they have almost achieved success against the LTTE in trying to crush them in their last holds in Northern Province.
Rajapakse’ government evicted the rebels from Eastern Province in July last year and has held two elections in the province.
The LTTE has been fighting an over three-decade-old separatist war to carve out a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community in the combined North and Eastern provincial areas.
More than 70,000 people have died in the conflict.