President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has directed the relevant parties to take steps to expedite the process of conducting the Provincial Council elections.

Currently, the Provincial Councils function without representatives elected by the people. The President emphasises the need to make people aware of this situation and pave the way for holding the elections immediately, the President’s Office has said.

The President made these comments at a meeting with the Provincial Council Forum representing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna at the Presidential Secretariat on March 12.

President Rajapaksa said the decisions taken during the past 15 months aimed at realising policies of the party and promises made to the people while prioritising national, internal and security interests of the country.

Given below are excerpts of the statement from the President’s Office: “Every time a nationalist government came into power, hostile local and foreign forces attempted to effect regime change. President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration was defeated by misleading the public with false propaganda. It is vital to understand how catastrophic were the setbacks suffered by the country in the last five years. The people of this country remember how the Buddhist monks and war heroes were harassed and intimidated in the recent past.

These forces have become active again in an attempt to sabotage the government’s policies and their implementation. The President emphasized the importance of educating the public about the consequences they will have to suffer if they were to be deceived by these falsehoods.

The government had carried out a smooth operation in eradicating underworld activities and the drug menace while ensuring national security. A concrete foundation for an employment generating and agriculture-based economy has already been laid.

Opposition expresses mixed opinions on the Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks. Steps were taken to continue the operations of the Commission with the consent and confidence of His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. The Report, which was handed over on 1st of February to the President, was presented to the Cabinet and Parliament within 28 days. But the Opposition is attempting to spread falsehoods claiming that the government is trying to hide the Commission’s Report. All the details in the report, except for the matters concerning national security have been made public.

The MCC agreement, which caused a great deal of controversy, has been withdrawn. Sri Lanka withdrew from the co-sponsorship of the Geneva Human Rights Council resolution on reconciliation, accountability and the promotion of human rights in the country which could result in a major blow to war veterans and the country’s sovereignty. Nobody notices those achievements which benefited Motherland within such a short period of time after coming to power. Despite these odds, the President said that he was committed to the betterment of the country in accordance with the promises and policies placed before the people.”