LTTE's effort to divide Lanka 'completely crushed': Rajapaksa

I / Colombo May 12, 2009, 12:30 IST

As the Sri Lankan forces were poised today to deal a death blow to Tamil Tigers having entered the contracted no-fire zone in the embattled north, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has declared LTTE's effort to divide the country has been "completely crushed".  

"We will not allow any forces to raise their heads to divide this nation," Rajapaksa said, as his forces uncovered huge underground arsenals of the Tamil Tigers during the search operations being carried out of entire Wanni jungles.  

The weapons include both high calibre as well as assault rifles which apparently had been buried by the LTTE cadres while retreating in the face of Lankan offensive.  Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka will never allow "ugly head of separatism to raise its head" again.  

The fate of Sri Lanka seems to be extremely good as shown by "tons  and tons" of LTTE weapons now being dug out of underground arsenals by the country's security forces from the Wanni jungles, he said.  

"If they had been put to use, the country would have had a terrible devastation," the President said, indicating that the sheer speed of Sri Lankan advance had given no time to the LTTE to use them.  

Praising his soldiers' heroic efforts, Rajapaksa said the countrymen should back the armed forces in ongoing offensive.