“MS, RW have brought about new democratic era as promised”: Sagala

Sagala Rathnayaka

Text and pix by P.D. De Silva

A new democratic era has dawned in Sri Lanka under the leadership of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinge as promised, according to Matara District UNP candidate and Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister’s Office, Sagala Rathnayaka.

“There is democracy in the country and a political culture where law and order is upheld. Even the Elections Commissioner and the Police are free to carry out their duties without favouring the party in power as was the case in the past,” he added, speaking at the public forum on the ‘Right to Information’ organised by the Southern Province Professional Journalists Union together with the journalists in Matara and the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions. 

“When the law is being enforced without favour, our supporters consider it as a weakness on our part because it has not been so in the past few decades when the law was blind to the misdeeds performed by the supporters of the ruling party. It is our duty as politicians to make the people accept and adapt to the ways of good governance. This election will go down in history as the most democratic, free and fair election held within the past decades.”

“With the 19th Amendment to the Constitution being passed in Parliament, we have laid the foundation for the Right to Information Act. Once it is approved by Parliament, it will be a powerful weapon in the hands of the public. It is imperative that a balance is reached between the Government and public as to its use in time to come.”

Ravaya Deputy Editor and Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association President Lasantha Ruhunage, prominent human rights activist lawyer Lakshan Dias, University Lecturers Associations Federation Vice President Upali Pannilage and Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions General Secretary Dharmasiri Lankapeli were the resource personnel at the forum on ‹Right to Information – For what is it and for whom is it?› held at the auditorium of the Matara Post Office last Saturday (25).

Members of the clergy, representatives from the main political parties contesting the election in the Matara District, university students, a large number of journalists and members of the public attended the forum.