President Rajapakse praised the troops

Addresing the nation from the celeberations in Colombo, The President also invited expatriate Srilankans to return to the motherland as the 'war is coming to an end'.

"I announce with pride that we have raised the National Flag today over a motherland that is being united in keeping with the heart felt wishes and prayers of our people", said the president.

Thirty years of 'illegal armed struggle' against the government prevented the people from celebrating true freedom.

Defeat of 'terrorism'

President Rajapaksa reminded the nation about the 'atrocities' of the Tamil Tigers. "Due to this terrorism the Sinhala and Muslim people who lived in the north were compelled to flee from their traditional lands. This period saw the massacre of Buddhist worshipers near the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, at Anuradhapura. At Kaththankudi, Muslims were killed while worshiping in their mosque. There were terrorist attacks on the pinnacle of Buddhist worship, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy. Innocent people were collectively massacred in many places of this land".

In his speech, the president accused the Tamil Tigers of ethnic cleansing. "They sought to establish a fascist state in which the Sinhala and Muslim people, as well as the Tamil people who were not prepared to bow before them, would not live. A large number of Democratic leaders of the Tamil people were killed by the terrorists"

not to cause harassment to the innocent Tamil people

The President also expressed gratitude to the troops for the sacrifices they had made. "Our troops have given us the opportunity to see the dawn of an honourable peace for the country. They have sacrificed their flesh, blood, sinews and life itself to bring this great historic opportunity to our motherland. Our troops were able to carry forward the battle against terror with great care so as not to cause harassment to the innocent Tamil people".

President comforting a Tamil child in Eastern Sri Lanka

The President called upon the Srilankans living abroad to return to build a united country. "The time has now dawned for the Sri Lankans who have their country, because of this unfortunate battle that had dragged for more than 20 years, to return to their land of birth and to the places they lived in. On this important occasion, on behalf of the entire Sri Lankan nation, I make an open invitation to all Sri Lankans – Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher, Malay and of all other communities, who left this country because of war to return to your motherland".

Enemies within

The President also focused on the enemies within the communities in the South. "We are today a nation that has defeated a powerful enemy that stood before us. Similarly, we should have the ability to defeat all internal enemies that are found in our midst."

He said the struggle for stability and building good governance and ridding the country of corruption and waste is a priority for the future." If we cannot do so we should be ready to leave the stage", the president said.