No room for another ‘aragalaya’ | Daily News

No room for another ‘aragalaya’

Military will be deployed, Emergency will be enforced
Public no longer support the Aragalaya, public protests
Questions how FSP is against dual citizens when their leader is one

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday emphasized that any attempts to create another Aragalaya (struggle) aiming at changing the government will not be allowed in the country.

He said that military will be deployed and Emergency Law will be enforced to prevent such attempts as there is no room for Dinh Diems in this country. “The military will be deployed. Emergency Law will be enforced. Another Aragalaya will not be allowed. I won’t let Dinh Diem’s rule in this country.  

There is no room for Dinh Diems in this country.” he said.

President Wickremesinghe added that any attempts to create another Aragalaya (struggle) without permits for protests will be prevented, and the police have been instructed to take action to prevent such protests.

“The military will be deployed. Emergency Law will be enforced. Another Aragalaya will not be allowed. I won’t let Dinh Diem’s rule in this country. There is no room for Dinh Diems in this country,” he said.

The President further said that the public no longer supports the Aragalaya and public protests, and went on to note that the Aragalaya is being hyped by the media. He added that he will appoint a commission to investigate the alleged media involvement in the Aragalaya and what led to chaos in the country.

He also told the house that differences in opinion in the House should not lead to the deaths of MPs, such as that which took place during the recent unrest. He condemned the destruction of property of MPs during the unrest.

“These MPs did not fall from the sky. There are good and bad MPs, and 196 of them were elected by the people. They need to be protected. On July 9, the President was chased away, and they ransacked the President’s House. Then they occupied the President’s Office,” said the President.

He said that his own residence was torched because he refused to step down and questioned why he should when he commanded a majority in Parliament.

Commenting on the 21st Amendment to the Constitution and on calls for Basil Rajapaksa, a dual citizen, to be barred from parliament, the President questioned how the Frontline Socialist Party could be against dual citizenship when its own leader is himself a dual citizen in Sri Lanka and Australia.

He also said he will not dissolve Parliament until the economy is stabilized and not to allow another Aragalaya to change the country’s government. The President further said that he would deploy the military and use emergency powers if necessary.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, President Wickremesinghe said in order to solve the issues of the people; country’s economy should be strengthened.

“Sri Lanka is facing a massive economic crisis and therefore attention should be given to solve it. Country’s general public is not demanding an election but they are seeking relief.

People of this country have rejected politics and elections and are concerned about carrying out their day-to-day activities. Without making a system change, no politician will be able to win the confidence of the people.” the President stressed.

President Wickremesinghe further stressed that corruption will be rampant as long as the preferential voting system exists. So all opposition parties should work with the government and make the system change that the people have been demanding.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe added that he has no issues with working with any party, since he is only focused on providing the best for all the citizens of the country

The President alleged that the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) and its leader Kumar Gunaratnam were responsible for the attempt to capture parliament on July 13, 2022.”After doing so, they would have gone on to capture the Supreme Court,” he said.

 


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