MR, MS must enjoy equal respect: SLFP Youth Front

By Chamodi Gunawardana

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Youth Front yesterday asserted that Sri Lankans should respect President Maithripala Sirisena and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa equally as the country’s saviours.

Youth Front Leader and former Deputy Minister Shantha Bandara said that the war victory credits went to former President Rajapaksa and the credit for the current winning situation went to President Sirisena.

“President Sirisena won the trust of the United Nations via his address at the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. It is a great victory which a small country cannot obtain easily. We believe Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also contributed his best for this victory,” he stated.

Bandara added that the SLFP Youth Front stance regarding the war crime investigation mechanism remained the same.

“We think Sri Lanka is capable of holding an impartial war crimes investigation process via a domestic mechanism. We do not expect international interference,” he stressed.

Bandara asserted that the Government could use UN assistance in order to ensure harmony in the country.

“The Government should not give opportunities again for separatists to tear the country apart. We expect the UN to support us continuously,” he said.

“We must reject all the allegations levelled against former President Rajapaksa and the war heroes. We should prove that LTTE leader Prabhakaran was the only culprit,” Bandara charged.