UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament yesterday that the UNP stood for the territorial integrity of the country and the security forces had to deal with the LTTE that was not a democratic entity.

He said he had met the EU Commissioner Lord Malloch Brown in Colombo and London where he had told him that the security forces should deal with the LTTE but a political solution acceptable to all the communities should be reached to arrive at a lasting peace.

The Opposition Leader’s statement came after a heated exchange of words among the Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardene who wanted time to answer a question from Ravi Karunanayake about the number of security personnel, police and civilians who had been killed in the armed conflict during the last eight years.

Dinesh Gunawardena: I am not prepared to answer questions from those who had stood up for the LTTE and had gone to Europe to give evidence for the LTTE.

Karunanayake: Why are you getting angry?

Dinesh Gunawardena: Will anyone not get angry when others speeck on behalf of the LTTE?

Ranil Wickremesinghe: We met Lord Malloch Brown in London and in Colombo and told him that we stood for the territorial integrity of the country but the LTTE had to dealt with by the security forces as it was not a democratic entity.

In 1988-89 Mahinda Rajapaksa, also went to Europe to complain about human rights violation. The government was interferig with media freedom. We have complained about that. Recently journalist Uvindu Kurukulasuriya who was taking part in a TV programme was stopped from speaking.

Security forces...

Dinesh Gunawardene: Now you are trying to defend media freedom. But you were in the government and I was in the Opposition when journalist Richard de Zoysa was killed and the body dumped in the sea.