Next time we will come to take everything away – Mahinda
Posted on August 1st, 2016
Adaderana
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that the next time they arrive in a protest march with the masses, it will be to take everything away” and that today was just a rehearsal” for that. He was addressing a gathering at the Lipton Circus today (Aug. 1), which was a culmination of the 5-day Jana Satana Paada Yathra (protest march) from Kandy to Colombo. The UPFA Kurunegala District MP stated that it will provide a training for opposition MPs on how to achieve a government, how to struggle for that and how to select plans and strategies while in the opposition.
He stated that the incumbent government’s only refuge are the CID, FCID and Bribery Commission, and that the public will not be deceived by this. Rajapaksa said that the government should think what a big defeat it is to face such a opposition within a short period of time since coming to power. He claimed that the protest march was the largest in the country’s entire history and that the struggle would continue on for the victory of the people
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August 1st, 2016 at 10:50 pm
JO seeks Maha Sangha’s backing to thwart govt. projects inimical to SL
Island.lk
July 31, 2016, 9:33 pm
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L Peiris and UPFA Colombo District MP Udaya Gammanpila yesterday called for Maha Sangha’s intervention to thwart the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe project meant to create a Federal Constitution.
The Maha Sangha’s backing was sought when Prof. Peiris and MP Gammanpila met Ven. Keppetiyagoda Siriwimala thera, chief incumbent of Getembe Rajapovaramaya and Maha Nayaka of Asgiriya Chapter Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera.
Prof. Peiris told The Island that they had an opportunity to explain four major issues, namely the danger in setting up an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) through an act of parliament, constitutional reforms on the basis of Lal Wijenayake’s recommendations (Report on Public Representations on Constitutional Reforms), proposed Economic and Technological Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) and the Geneva process.
Prof. Peiris alleged that the government having made various commitments inimical to the country subsequently went back on its word. The former minister was referring to the on-going controversy over an alleged understanding among the government of Sri Lanka, the US and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as regards foreign judges in a domestic war crimes court.
Prof. Peiris said the government put off local government polls indefinitely because it feared the public opinion. “Sri Lanka is the only country in the world as we speak today where there is not a single functioning local government body. How can that be yahapalanaya or democracy?” As people had been deprived of basic democratic rights, they gave expression to their feelings through the pada yathra, Prof. Peiris said. “The government can ascertain the true state of public opinion by immediately holding long overdue local government polls.”
The top Joint Opposition spokesman said that they would continue to push for local government polls. Last week Prof Peiris briefed Head of the Lankan Catholic Church Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith on the same issues.
MP Gammanpila told The Island that contrary to public pledges given by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wicremesinghe regarding the proposed constitutional reforms, the Wijenayake committee’s recommendations posed a grave danger.to Sri Lanka. The MP said that the vast majority of members of Wijenayake Committee wanted to do away with the unitary status in the new constitution as well as deny special status to Buddhism. The PHU leader alleged that the yahapalana administration had caused turmoil and acted in a manner detrimental to national security.
August 2nd, 2016 at 9:38 am
The actions of this regime displays the hall marks of a dangerous dictatorship, that could carry on for a long time by postponing democratic elections, as they have already done by not holding elections to local government bodies.