Reaching out to the Sri Lankan Tamils, President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday spoke in their language while wishing them on the New Year and assured that a prosperous year lay ahead for the people of the embattled north.
"I would like to wish all citizens of our country a very happy new year. I would also like to wish all our brothers in the north," he told reporters in Tamil at his ancestral home in Tangalle in the hinterlands of southern Sri Lanka.
He said people in the north will see in the coming year "propitious signs of a new freedom and prosperity that awaits them".
He also thanked the country's Armed Forces for the "great sacrifices" made by them in the ongoing war against the LTTE.
"I extend my heartfelt thanks to all persons who remain at their posts to ensure protection, especially to the members of the Armed Forces and the Police who continue their great sacrifices for the country and the people," he said.
The Sri Lankan security forces are on the verge of wiping out the LTTE, who are now confined to a 20 square km area in the north east.
The government had announced a two-day ceasefire in view of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
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