News
SJB asks govt. to hold early general election
alleges refuelling stop of Macron’s plane exploited
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Spokesman Mujibur Rahuman yesterday (30) urged President Ranil Wickremesinghe to hold an early general election. He said so, responding to UNP MP Wajira Abeywardena’s recent declaration that Wickremesinghe would serve as the President for 12 more years.
Rahuman dismissed Tourism Minister Harin Fernando’s claim that the UNP would continue to rule the country until 2048, as rhetoric intended to divert attention of the electorate.In the absence of a party network at the grassroots level, President Wickremesinghe was actually helpless. The UNP leader was at the mercy of SLPP bosses,” Rahuman said.
Pointing out that in the previous Parliament, the UNP had 107 elected and appointed members, Rahuman said that the electorate had reduced the UNP to a single MP. “The SJB accommodated Harin Fernando on its National List. If the former minister remained with Wickremesinghe, he, too, would have been an ex-MP now,” Rahuman said. Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara, who successfully contested the last general election in the Galle district, switched allegiance to the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa several weeks before his ouster. Subsequently, they joined forces with Wickremesinghe, Rahuman said.
Responding to another query, Rahuman challenged the UNP and Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena to explain their respective positions on the inordinately delayed Local Government polls and Provincial Council elections.
The Opposition also wanted to know Premier Dinesh Gunawardena’s stand on the postponed elections, Rahuman said, warning the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government couldn’t deceive the electorate with bombastic statements.
In terms of the Constitution, President Wickremesinghe could dissolve Parliament anytime he wanted to after the House completed half of its five-year term, but couldn’t do so without the SLPP’s approval. The last general election was held in August 2020.
According to Rahuman, the SLPP has received an assurance from President Wickremesinghe that the Parliament wouldn’t be dissolved under any circumstances.Commenting on the recently conducted All-Party Conference (APC), chaired by President Wickremesinghe, Rahuman said that perhaps the UNP leader called it to appease the Indian leadership.
The President couldn’t have anticipated a consensus on devolution of power, particularly police powers, as the SLPP, the largest party represented in Parliament won nearly 2/3 majority at the last general election campaigning on a communal platform, he alleged.
“President Wickremesinghe knew it was a futile exercise but he went ahead with it to reassure India of his intentions in this regard. New Delhi cannot be deceived by such exercises,” Rahuman said, adding that the reportage of the 26 July event at the Presidential Secretariat exposed the pathetic way it was handled.
How could the President convince his interest in Provincial Councils and Local Government when he sabotaged the polls? Rahuman asked. Referring to President Wickremesinghe’s address to the Bar Association event, held in Nuwara Eliya recently, Rahuman said that he expressed views on elections regardless of the ongoing cases in different courts on the postponement of Local Government polls.
Rahuman said that the government believed that it could exploit events and various developments to its advantage without addressing real issues. The former Colombo District MP said that how the government used French President French President Emmanuel Macron’s refuelling stop at the Bandaranaike International Airport was a case in point.
The French flight landed at the BIA about 20 minutes after 11pm on Friday (28). It departed within three hours.Have you ever heard of Sri Lanka conducting bilateral talks at the presidential level at the BIA? Rahuman asked.
The former UNPer said that the French leader was on his way back home after visiting the French archipelago of New Caledonia, followed by stops in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.Rahuman pointed out that President Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, and Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardena were among those who were at the bilateral talks at the BIA.What is really happening is real issues are lost in rhetoric, Rahuman said.
Sri Lankan singer Latha Walpola has passed away today (27) at the age of 92.
Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa has alleged that the current government is attempting to suppress freedom of expression and media freedom to lead the country towards authoritarian rule.
In a video message on Thursday (25), Premadasa said that in a democratic country, the four main pillars safeguarding democracy are the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, and the independent media, but, at present, the government is using the police to violate both the democratic rights of the people and the rights of police officers themselves.
He said that the government is working to establish a police state that deprives citizens of their right to access truthful information.
“For democracy to be protected, media freedom must be safeguarded, and space must be given to independent media. Instead, the government is interfering with the independent media process, using the police to suppress and intimidate independent media,” he said.
He noted that even when independent media present their views based on reason, facts, and evidence, the government attempts to suppress them. Such actions, he said, amount to turning a democratic country into a police state. “Do not suppress the voice of the silent majority, the independent media,” he urged.
Premadasa emphasised that independent media represent the voice of the silent majority in the country and must not be suppressed.
“Media repression is a step towards authoritarian rule, and the people did not give their mandate to create an authoritarian regime or a police state. If the government attempts to abolish democratic rights, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya will stand as the opposition against it,” he said.
The Opposition Leader further alleged that the government was interfering with police independence, stating, “Political interference has undermined the independence of the police, making it impossible for them to serve impartially. Suppressing freedom of expression is an attempt to lead the country towards authoritarian rule.”
Premadasa pointed out that the media has the right to reveal the truth, and interfering with that right is a violation of the rights of 22 million citizens.
Vegetable prices at the Peliyagoda Manning Wholesale Market surged to unusually high levels yesterday (26), raising concerns among consumers as the festive season drives up demand. The situation is expected to persist over the next few days, a spokesman for the Manning Market told The Island.
He said a sharp increase in the number of buyers visiting the wholesale market, ahead of upcoming festivities, had resulted in a sudden spike in demand, prompting wholesale traders to raise prices significantly. The price hikes have affected a wide range of commonly consumed vegetables, placing additional pressure on household budgets.
According to market sources, the wholesale price of beans climbed to Rs. 1,100 per kilogram, while capsicum soared to Rs. 2,000 per kilogram. Green chillies were selling at around Rs. 1,600 per kilogram. Prices of other vegetables, including beetroot, brinjal (eggplant), tomatoes, bitter gourd, snake gourd and knolkhol, also recorded unusually high increases.
The spokesman alleged that despite the steep rise in prices, vegetable farmers have not benefited from the increases. Instead, he claimed that a group of traders, who effectively control operations at the wholesale market, are arbitrarily inflating prices to maximise profits.
He warned that if the relevant authorities fail to intervene promptly to curb these practices, vegetable prices could escalate further during the peak festive period. Such a trend, he said, would disproportionately benefit a small group of middlemen while leaving consumers to bear the brunt of higher food costs.
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