Leading members of  the Sri Lankan  community living overseas returned to the country to extend their support to the candidature of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the upcoming election.

They held a news conference today at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo to  tell the media why they were supporting the President.

Anura Medagedera from London claimed they had returned to pay gratitude to a leader who liberated the nation and protected the people.

He said all Lankans living overseas loved their country."We are here today because we love our nation and to salute a leader who protected it", Medagedera added.

Senaka Rajapaksa associated at the  news briefing said,"We are here to perform a national duty for the country that we were born", and added that the President was the leader who liberated it after 30 years.

He dismissed Velupillai Prabakaran's claim that  the Sinhala people  had short memories that lasted three days."We have come after eight months of crushing the LTTE and we yet remember that national victory", he said.