Police and forces will back the people

Blames a single family appropriating all credit for war victory

Pressure building up among the masses over the current country situation imposing unbearable hardship on them is nearing exploding point. In the event of a public uprising it would be impossible to prevent the police and security forces taking the side of people, SLPP MP Wijayadasa Rajapakshe, PC, said last week.

He identified the beginning of the crisis to a single family taking the credit for the war victory against the LTTE and using this to control a lion’s share of the economy, he told a Colombo news conference on Wednesday.

“Today, we are facing the threat of not only losing the North and the East but the entire country because that single family has either sold many of our national assets to foreigners and are making plans to sell the rest off. We’ve already lost the Hambantota and Colombo harbours. The government monopoly in electricity has been eroded. The Trinco oil tank farm has been similarly sold,” Rajapakshe alleged.

“All this has been done so a single family in power could pocket the commissions. Even if we blame the rulers of the past 73 years, it is the incumbent rulers who have deprived the people of their tomorrow and pushed the country down into an abyss of uncertainty.

“This is not a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. None of the regional countries has suffered a foreign reserve plunge (of this magnitude) during the pandemic. They have instead increased their foreign reserves.

“During the past two years, the country’s economy was completely handled by the Rajapaksa family. The President, the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have got together to deprive people of their national assets. They by this time have sold many such assets and the rest are to be sold soon. In addition there is anarchy prevailing in the country and there is no security for anyone.

“People including the 6.9 million who had voted for this government are under tremendous pressure that is growing increasingly. Very soon there would be an explosion and if the government is thinking that they could bring the situation under control by using the police and military they are mistaken.

“This pressure is felt by the families of members of the police and security forces too. It is inevitable that they will take the side of the people,” Rajapakshe said.