In his first interactive session with key persons, of the Sinhala, Tamil and English media, since the defeat of the LTTE, President Rajapaksa said the first priority today was the building of trust and understanding among communities, with the view to national unity. The media has a major role to play in this. The forces of communal hatred, separatism and terror should not be allowed to raise their heads, through the misuse of the power of the media.

The President cautioned that at present “There is a danger that even a small incident could be blown up by provocative elements to cause much damage… My earnest appeal to you is not to write or broadcast anything that would create unnecessary divisions in society.”

“Do not write anything to arouse hatred, do not let another terrorist movement to emerge,” he added.

He also requested the media not to defame anyone or use the media to settle personal vendettas, which could lead to incidents that could implicate the Government for no fault of its own.

The President also requested the editors to visit the welfare villages in the North to see for themselves the conditions there and get an understanding of the colossal tasks that the government has already undertaken in the wake of the unprecedented and unexpected influx of civilians who fled from the clutches of the LTTE into the safety of the government. He urged the media to use their influence to make the country fully aware of the humanitarian issues that are being addressed in resettling these Internally Displaced Persons who are citizens of Sri Lanka.

The government has drawn up a 180 day plan for resettlement of the Internally Displaced Persons after completing de-mining and providing infrastructure and basic necessities, the President said.