Defence Secretary was given 'clear orders' to carry on with military agenda

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the next target for the troops is to re-capture Wanni from Tamil Tigers after the military victories in the east.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa's younger brother made the comments addressing a passing out parade of special group of Civil Defence Force in Anuradhapura.

LTTE tactics

The government celebrated capturing of the LTTE's last stronghold in the east, Thoppigala, in a lavish ceremony in Colombo on 19 July.

We have learnt lessons from LTTE's past tactics Defence Secretary

The Defence Secretary accused the LTTE of trying to destabilise the country in an attempt to divert the attention of the security forces.

In this critical moment of history, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said, the government would not allow the rebels to employ their older tactics to capture the east once again, as they have done in the past.

"We have learnt lessons from LTTE's past tactics," he said.

Cost of Living

The LTTE moved back to the east as security forces focused on capturing the northern Sri Lankan town of Jaffna in 1992.

	President 'will not blame military actions' for increasing cost of living

Addressing the parade in Galkiriyagama training school, in Anuradhapura, the Defence Secretary said President Rajapaksa has given him clear orders to defeat terrorism in the island.

The military actions will not be averted as a result of the ever increasing cost of living (CoL), he said.

The President has assured that he will never blame the military operations for increasing CoL, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told the gathering.