Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has reiterated his stand that the minority Tamils were misled for decades by politicians promising them various power sharing options, Indian news agency,  'DDnews' reported.

In an interaction with media institutions on Monday, he said such political options cannot go further if the majority is not in agreement. The President said he personally believed that more than any political change, the people of the North and East will appreciate economic development. The President added that several religious leaders especially in the North have requested him to bring in more industries to the region and also have more vocational training centers and these requests would be addressed. He said he has given one of the best and most productive Ministries of Fisheries to a Tamil Politician, Douglas Devandanda adding he can not only develop the fisheries sector which is a key area to the North but would also be able to tackle the Indian fishermen issue. Commenting on the continued complaints about wartime disappearance of people, the President pointed out that both the Tamils and Sinhalese experienced such a loss due to disappearance of people in the war situation. He said soldiers too went missing during the war because bodies cannot be recovered in such situations and the same fate awaited the LTTE fighters who died in action. Rajapaksa asserted that they are not hiding any Tamil youth and their relatives know about this but don’t like to believe that their loved one is killed.