July 18, Colombo: Government defence spokesperson Minister Keheliya Rambukwella today revealed that the armed forces have already taken steps to liberate Kilinochchi from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as their next aim.

He pointed out that the security forces’ “liberation” of the Vidataltivu Sea Tiger base, where Sea Tiger leader Soosai had once operated, was a “great victory”. He made these comments at a press briefing held at his residence.

He went on to say that following the capture of the Vidataltivu area, troops consolidated their domination over 90% of the Mannar district. The government expects to cultivate paddy in the Rice Bowl area in Mannar in the future, he added.

Responding to a question asked by a media person on abductions carried out by “white vans”, the Minister said that the only way to resolve this issue is to stop importing “white vans from Japan since 90% of the vans imported to Sri Lanka are white-coloured.”

He added that there was evidence now surfacing that the majority of these cases are fabrications aimed at troubling the government.