Many Arab ambassadors have called up Foreign Minister Prof.G.L.Peiris after the interview published last Wednesday in the “Yedioth Ahronoth’’ magazine in Israel.

However, the Foreign Ministry had spoken to ambassador Donald Perera and asked him to deny the story, Foreign Ministry sources said. But so far the government has not denied the story of its own accord.

Meanwhile, the magazine has published ambassador Perera’s statement quoting him verbatim.

The Magazine excerpts the interview to say: After noting the similarities between the Tamil Tigers and Hamas, Perera says that Sri Lanka is a staunch supporter of Israel’s fight against terror. “No one wants bloodshed. The other side should be offered direct negotiations, without preconditions, to determine its level of seriousness.

These talks should focus on trying to reach a compromise that would allow both sides to sign an agreement,” he (Ambassador Donald) says. “In case the other side shows it is not interested in a compromise, (Israel) must move on to the military phase with full force. (The government) will have to explain to the citizens that (Israel) is headed for a long and difficult struggle that will exact a heavy price, but at the end of this struggle the country’s situation will be much better,” says the ambassador.

“Once you have the public’s support, you should fight relentlessly until all of the terror hubs are destroyed. There is no going back.”

Addressing the deadly May 31 commando raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish ship, Perera says, “As a military man I can understand that Israel had to protect itself. Due to Sri Lanka’s vast experience in fighting terror, I can say that it will always support countries that also oppose (terror).”
President Mahinda Rajapaksa is an ardent supporter of Palestine and he formed the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine in 1975 of which he remained Chairman for 30 years. Many attempts to contact Foreign Minister Peiris to ascertain the foreign ministry’s position on the interview proved futile .(LBN)