For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the Cabinet of Ministers met outside of Colombo in the northern town of Kilinochchi.

Prior to the end of the war, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had declared the town the capital of the region it controlled.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived by helicopter while ministers and deputy ministers arrived by bus. At the meeting, the cabinet decided to reduce the price of fuel in Jaffna.

ITN Sinhala News Coverage of the Meeting

President Mahinda Rajapaksa Speaks to Government Officials in Kilinochchi

Partial Transcript

0:11 - 0:28
Wipe away the tears of those who are crying. Keep politics aside. Don’t raise expectations of a separate state. It won’t happen. We won’t let it happen.

1:13 - 1:32
Please work for the people. That’s my request. This is the town you were born in, these are your people. There was a different administration. Change that. Remove that mindset and understand the peoples’ problems and prepare to help the people. That’s what needs to be done. That’s what we are asking for.

The president spoke in Sinhala, Tamil and English but the Tamil and English versions of the report were not available for embedding.

Photo Credit: News.lk

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