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Tuesday, 12 April 2022 04:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
.Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa seen in the televised address to the nation last evening
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday the Government has taken on the challenge of finding a way out of the economic crisis the country is facing and called on the people to be strong and patient in these trying times.
In a televised address to the nation, first since mass scale countrywide anti-government protests began, the Prime Minister also told protestors that every moment they stay on the streets, they are disrupting the flow of dollars into the country.
“Each minute of the day, the President and the Cabinet are discussing ways to address this situation. Though we cannot do it in a day or two, we are working to solve this problem as soon as possible,” the Prime Minister said.
He also said that the Government has decided to reintroduce the fertiliser subsidy to farmers. “The farmers, to whom the Government gave the most benefits, are against us. This is not the time to move forward with the organic fertiliser program,” he said.
Rajapaksa admitted the country has fallen into an abyss but blamed pandemic related lockdowns for the current situation. “I believe the people of this country are aware of the economic problems the country has had to face after the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we were able to save people’s lives, we can feel the country has fallen into an abyss. There is no need for me to repeat how, after the lockdown of the country, we lost sources of foreign exchange and how the foreign reserves dried up,” he said.
The Prime Minister said those in power understand the plight of the people who are suffering for days in fuel/gas queues. “We understand the pain of the women who have had to spend hours in queues to buy gas. We are aware of how the rising cost of goods is impacting people’s lives,” he said.
Rajapaksa said that even though all parties represented in Parliament were invited to get together to overcome this situation, they did not come forward. “Other than thinking of party interests, this is a time for us to come together to rebuild the economy. Even if others are not willing to take the responsibility, we as the party in power will shoulder the responsibility. We will provide solutions to these problems,” he said.
The Prime Minister also reiterated that the Government is committed to working within the democratic framework of this country and warned that those who say we don’t want all 225 (Members of Parliament) are treading a dangerous path.
He addressed the youth engaged in protests directly and asked them to take a look at history and understand that this is a dangerous thing. “We saw how a bomb thrown in Parliament in an attempt to assassinate elected rulers. We saw the high cost we had to pay because certain groups rejected the democratic path. More than 60,000 youth lost their lives in the 89/90 period. The campaigns in the North began the same way with youth rejecting Parliament and elected representatives and this led to a 30-year war and cost hundreds of lives. Don’t take this country to that dark era again,” he appealed.
The Prime Minister also referred to the insults being hurled at him and his family members. “Today the insults directed at me and my family are many times more than the grains of sand I stepped on while on the Padha Yatra. We can bear those but don’t insult and trouble police and military personnel on duty,” he said.
He said that people are walking the streets without fear and protesting freely because of the sacrifices made by the brave soldiers. He said they had come forward in the same way to save lives during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I can see you are carrying the national flag during the protest. We are the ones who ensured that you could carry the flag freely in any part of this country. We still have the courage and determination that we had then to face the challenges before us today,” he said.
