Friday, 1 November 2013 03:46
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The Government yesterday gave assurances that the main Opposition would be invited to attend the CHOGM and insisted that holding protests was their prerogative.
Responding to charges from the United National Party (UNP) that it has not been invited to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella noted that all Parliamentarians would be invited and as part of that the UNP would also be allowed to participate.
“There is no custom of sending invitations months ahead. With just 10 days to go, we will now start distributing invitations and the UNP MPs will get their invites as part of the general distribution,” he said, adding that the Government has no intention of excluding any party.
When questioned over the UNP’s planned protest on 7 November, Rambukwella noted that it was up to the UNP to decide whether their actions were in the best interests of the country.
“We will not stop the protest and we don’t think it’s going to affect our preparations for the CHOGM in any way. At a time when the whole world is watching Sri Lanka, the UNP has to make a decision on how it will act in the best interests of the country. That is their decision to make, not ours.”
He added that the UNP was free to hold discussions with the visiting heads of state as they had announced earlier. (UJ)
