{"word_count": 117, "character_count": 807}
Sri Lanka's president asked minority Tamils to "forget the past" as he campaigned for re-election Thursday (Dec 18), vowing not to allow another uprising after decades of ethnic war.President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is seeking an unprecedented third term, told a public rally in the former war zone of Mullaittivu that Tamils should join him to rebuild the battle-scarred region. He made no reference to allegations that his troops killed some 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of fighting, when the leadership of the Tamil Tiger separatists was wiped out."Let us unite. Forget the past. Let us develop this country together," he said in an address broadcast live. "We cannot let history repeat in this country."via: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/sri-lanka-leader-asks/1537582.html