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Latest arms have helped: Lanka

Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte, who returned to Colombo after spending 12 days on the battlefront in Jaffna, said timely action taken by the government in procuring the latest weaponry had boosted the morale of troops, which resulted in their advancing the forward defence localities.

The main contributory factors for the security forces gaining an upper hand over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in recent days were the timely action taken by President Chandrika Kumaratunga in getting military equipment from several countries and political decisions arrived at after careful consideration, he said. He told a government controlled television channel Wednesday night, ''Military action is an extension of political decisions in a democracy. Therefore, politicians do have an important role to play in taking certain decisions even in the theatre of war. This does not mean that professional military advice is not heeded.''

Ratwatte said that during the Elephant Pass setback in April, troops did not possess a high degree of firepower that the Tigers had acquired. However, the president took timely action and contacted several leaders of friendly and sympathetic countries and succeeded in getting the latest and best weaponry for the troops.

''This has given a great deal of encouragement to our soldiers at the battlefront and has helped uplift their morale,'' he said.

He said that during his stay in Jaffna peninsula, he visited several battalions and went down to bunkers and spoke to soldiers. ''I was able to boost their morale. Today, I can say without an iota of doubt that all our soldiers fighting in the north are determined to win back the ground they have lost.''

Military sources said troops supported by artillery and mortars and backed by the Air Force and Navy have weakened enemy advances in Chavakachcheri, Ariyali and Sarasalai sectors where intense fighting was going on for three days.

Meanwhile, Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said Wednesday that censorship may be eased in a month, the Opposition-backed The Island daily reported.

''We are in a strong position in the northern war and hopefully I don't think that the censorship will have to be extended for more than one month if the situation improves,'' he said.

The censorship, he said, had to be imposed to stop rumours and lies from spreading, while the battle was escalating in the north but the need for censorship would cease as the situation improved, he added.

UNI

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