President Mahinda Rajapaksa has invited the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to Sri Lanka to see for himself the situation regarding the action for the accommodation and treatment of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have recently come to government controlled areas in such large numbers, and plans for their resettlement.

In the invitation made during the course of a telephone conversation between the President and the UN Secretary General on the evening of May 5, the President has also told the UN Secretary General that he would then be able to make a better assessment of the conditions faced by the Tamil civilians still held hostage by the LTTE in a small stretch of the Civilian Safety Zone.

There could also be a better understanding of the cooperation between the Government and the United Nations and its relief organisations and well as with Sri Lankan and foreign NGOs, in these temporary transit locations for the IDPs. No date for the UNSG's visit has beebn agreed on.

The telephone conversation was initiated by Mr. Ban Ki-moon.

On Tuesday (05) morning, President Rajapaksa told a group of visiting cross-party Members of Parliament from the UK, not to be misled by the increased false propaganda of the LTTE but to see for themselves the actual situation prevailing regaring the IDPs by visiting Vavuniya, and to better understand the nature of the LTTE and its commitment to violence and terror to achieve its goals. (PRIU)