'Govt's objective to ensure people's safety'
Nadira GUNATILLAKE
The government's objective is to ensure the safety of all citizens
while their freedom is guaranteed. Therefore, President Mahinda
Rajapaksa lifted the Emergency regulations and is in the process of
formulating a system to ensure the safety of the people, acting Media
Minister and acting Cabinet spokesperson Minister Lakshman Yapa
Abeywardena said. He was addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing
held at the Government Information Department auditorium yesterday.
Minister Abeywardena said the government is now in the process of
formulating a mechanism with the consent of all political party leaders
to protect people from all forms of evil elements.
Relevant legal amendments will be brought through collective
agreement after holding discussions with all political party leaders.
According to the minister, the President and the government took the
most democratic decision by handing over the authority to Parliament to
formulate a legal system to ensure the safety of the people from evil
elements such as hardcore terrorists, suspicious persons etc.
Minister Abeywardena pointed out that in the recent past some evil
elements tried to provoke the public through suspicious persons but they
stopped their crusade to a certain extent after the government started
high level investigations. When evil elements failed to weaken the
government at international level they made allegations with regard to
suspicious persons. There is no connection whatsoever between
international pressure and lifting emergency regulations, the minister
added.
Sri Lanka has the right to introduce laws to ensure the safety of the
people. The Emergency regulations were relaxed by the government time to
time in the past long before lifting it completely, Minister Abeywardena
added. |
