It is unfortunate that those who plotted more than any other leader in the history of this country, to sell or transfer parts of the country to foreign powers, are the ones who are currently making false accusations that the country is being divided or sold, President Maithripala Sirisena said. He was addressing a public rally held in Matale, on Monday (29).
They talk as if they have forgotten how they planned to sell 240 acres of the Colombo Port City land to a foreign country and how they actually sold 6 acres of prime land that housed the Army Headquarters,’ to Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, the President added.
In response to a former leader’s comment on the garbage dump, the President said people know for a fact that it was the previous regime that terrified people at gunpoint and dumped garbage in Kolonnawa, despite many a protest from the local community. He added that this act was no exception to the conduct of that regime, that would open fire on people demanding drinking water as in Rathupaswala or workers standing up for their rights in Katunayake.
The President said the former President has erred again by saying “USD 10 trillion,” as he miscalculated once on January 8, 2015. What President Sirisena revealed was that ‘out of the Rs. 10 trillion of loans the country has obtained, only Rs. 1 trillion has been accounted for as per the records of the Finance Ministry.”
President Sirisena, reminding people that he did not alter the constitution to stay in power forever, said that after the 19th Amendment to the constitution, the real decision-makers are the people themselves.
All should unite to dismiss corrupt politicians, and votes given to parties other than the SLFP or UPFA, is a vote to strengthen such politicians, said the President.
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