Lanka leader calls for unity after victory

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COLOMBO, Feb 4 (AFP): Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday issued an independence day call for unity and reconciliation after his victory in a bitterly fought election.
Rajapakse in an address to the nation said the island's freedom day assumed great significance as it was the first since the defeat of separatist Tamil Tiger rebels by government troops last year.
"The freedom from colonial rule that we gained 62 years ago is now more meaningful because we have been liberated from the forces of separatist terror that marred our freedom for nearly half that period," he said.
Rajapakse said the armed campaign for an ethnic homeland waged by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had "gravely threatened the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country".