Oct 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa today addressing the All Party Representatives Conference at the Presidential Secretariat stated that LTTE Tamil Tigers should surrender and enter into democracy.

"We are to secure the democratic right of all citizens of this nation regardless their ethnicity or the place of dwelling. We will eliminate terrorism soon and now the time has come for the LTTE to surrender and to enter in to democratic movement," President said.

Main opposition, United National Party (UNP) and the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) refrained from participating in today's All Party Conference. President Rajapaksa pointing out that the struggle to eradicate terrorism from the country has reached a critical point, emphasized that he will inform the LTTE that it can now lay down arms and embrace democracy. Reiterating his commitment to a political solution, the President said political problems do not have military solutions and that the military offensive was nothing more than an effort to defeat terrorism and to ensure that the people in the North are also able to enjoy the freedoms and benefits of democracy. Representatives of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Lanka Sama Samaja Party, Jathika Hela Urumaya, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, National Unity Alliance, Western Province People's Front, Ceylon Workers Congress, Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal and the United National Party (Democratic Group), participated in the meeting.

[Picture by Sudath silva]