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Tuesday, 13 November 2018 01:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Ashwin Hemmathagama
Key members of Sri Lanka’s civil society, politicians and pro-democracy advocates gathered yesterday to denounce the actions of President Maithripala Sirisena and warned that greater efforts to unite the masses is needed to restore democracy and prevent the country sliding back to suppressive politics of newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The participants were severely critical of President Maithripala Sirisena’s recent actions in appointing a new Prime Minister, dissolving Parliament, and making controversial statements that undermined the mandate given in 2015.
Prof. Sarath Wijesuriya, addressing the gathering, slammed President Sirisena for misleading the public and pledges made during his campaign, which was centred on abolishing the Executive Presidency. “He is not in his correct mind to rule the country. He is nothing but a puppet of the Rajapaksa family. He is the only leader who betrayed his own country and crippled it by violating the oath he took. It has come to a point where the public should stand against Sirisena and send him home for good through the judiciary,” he said.
Nava Sama Samaja Party leader Dr. Vikramabahu Karunaratne, speaking his turn, charged the President had taken his self-serving agenda forward rather than working for the benefit of the whole country. “He should have taken the national agenda forward. Instead he brought his personal agenda to the forefront. Sirisena and Rajapaksa are almost the same. They have little difference. We have the fullest trust in the Judiciary. We are anxiously waiting to hear their decision.”
Educating the public on the 19th Amendment and what was missing in it compared to the 1978 Constitution, the former Director General of Government Information Department Sudarshana Gunawardena highlighted the possibilities of a reversal of the 19th Amendment if a Rajapaksa-Sirisena Government becomes a reality.
“The 19th Amendment reversed the arbitrary decision-making ability in the Constitution. The power removed was given to Parliament and the Judiciary. We lived with the removal of these powers and it was good. Now that unconstitutional decisions were made, Sri Lanka will suffer in the international arena. Sirisena has managed to turn back the changes we made. To change a government the people should vote. We should not allow politicians to change governments without a vote,” insisted Gunawardena.
Dr. Gamini Uyangoda, the next speaker to address the public forum, drew attention to the conduct of President Sirisena. “I apologise to the entire nation for getting involved and playing an active role in bringing this man into power. We thought he was a different person. But soon after the election, he followed the same route as Rajapaksa. To get power, he had options. One was to bring the crooks of the Rajapaksa regime to book. The second was to betray the UNP which was behind him getting to the Presidential position. He took the second option and started attacking the UNP. He is the mastermind behind the No-Confidence Motion brought against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. This was the start and now he has travelled down that lane to do anything to get rid of the UNP and be in power,” he said.
According to trade union activist Saman Rathnapriya, in the days to come, Sri Lanka could lose its GSP Plus concessions and other trade benefits. “It could only be a matter of time before travel warnings and bans are enforced on Sri Lanka by other countries. To safeguard the crooks of the Rajapaksa regime, he got rid of Bribery Commission Director General Dilukshi Dias who was doing a very good job,” he said.
Ven. Dambara Amila Thero held that the common enemy is not Sirisena but Rajapaksa. “Leading clergy and important personalities in this country welcomed Sirisena’s moves. But now see what has happened. Is this democratic? Sirisena only misled the public and the clergy,” he added.
Joining the forum, former Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said Rajapaksa is worse than President Sirisena. “Mark my words, Sirisena will not be able to complete his term with Rajapaksa by his side. I know what Rajapaksa and his family are capable of. We have the public strength and we should use it to get rid of them both,” he said.
