JO urges Speaker to hold meeting with political parties and civil groups on communal unrest

• Says Government actions insufficient

By Skandha Gunasekara

The Joint Opposition yesterday called on Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to immediately hold a discussion with representatives of all political parties and civil societies to find a solution to the religious turmoil prevailing in the country.

Initially, National Freedom Front leader MP Wimal Weerawansa said that the Government had failed to take adequate steps to resolve the unrest in the country.

“As a result of riots in Kandy and Ampara, now both the Sinhalese and Muslim communities are living with fear. But the government does not take any action. They have created an environment in which the communities kill each other and now the government is merely watching the people suffering,” Weerawansa said, while going on to fault the Parliamentarians who failed to attend yesterday’s Parliament session.

“There are hundreds of Ministers in the Government but only a handful are present in the House today. Is this how the Government responds to crisis situation? What is the point of appointing these Ministers if they fail to attend Parliament during an emergency?” MP Weerawansa queried.

In response, Chief Government Whip Gayantha Karunathilaka assured the House that the Government was taking all measures possible to quell the unrest.

 “Several ministers did not come today because they had gone to the areas where there is unrest to take necessary measures. We, as a government, did not hesitate to take actions to solve this issue,” he said.

Thereafter, Joint Opposition Parliamentary group leader MP Dinesh Gunawardena said that Minister Karunathilaka’s reassurances were insufficient and urged the Speaker to summon a meeting with political parties and civil organisations.

“There is a very bad situation in the country. That is why the President had to impose a State of Emergency. Therefore, Hon. Speaker, I request you to summon representatives of political parties and civil organisations to discuss this issue. We cannot wait anymore. Instead of watching, we should act immediately to ease this critical situation,” Gunawardena said.

The Speaker acknowledged the validity of MP Gunawardena’s point and said that he agreed with the MPs’ request.

 “We discussed about this issue yesterday (06) and today (07) morning. I will look into the point MP Gunawardena made and let the House informed about it,” the Speaker said.