Hakeem not quitting yet
Justice Minister and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader Rauff Hakeem said his party was yet to decide on how to vote on the Parliamentary motion on the UN inquiry, but stopped short of withdrawing support for the Government in a widely-anticipated statement yesterday.
Hakeem told Parliament during the debate on the motion on the UN inquiry that the SLMC parliamentary group would gather last night to make a decision. “I stand here today as a disillusioned and despairing member of Parliament,” the Justice Minister told the House.
He said the SLMC would require certain assurances from the Government before it could make a decision. “We need assurances about the safety and security of our people,” Hakeem said, condemning the riots in Aluthgama and Beruwala.
The SLMC Leader, who called the situation in the southern towns over the past two days a “complete breakdown of the law and order machinery,” said the Government had to arrest those who incite people to violence using hate speech.
He said there was no point in the Government crying foul about the UN investigation into war crimes, when Sri Lanka was providing the inquiry with all the evidence. |