Toledo Blade BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lanka's president on Sunday hailed his party's election victory in the country's tense Eastern Province as a mandate to push ahead with his war against Tamil Tiger rebels in the north. "I note that the people of the east have given a clear mandate for peace through the defeat of terrorism, the strengthening of democracy and the development of the country," President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a statement. The opposition condemned Saturday's poll as irreparably flawed, saying it defied the government's promises to restore democracy to the region after...
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photo: AP /Guang Niu, POOL
