Thursday May 02, 2024
Thursday May 02, 2024
Thursday, 2 May 2019 02:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Pushing aside requests by the Government to fast-track the Counter-Terrorism Act (CTA), Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said his supporters would not back the proposed legislation, as it included problematic clauses.
Rajapaksa claimed the Government was trying to use the prevailing situation to their benefit by fast-tracking the proposed Counter-Terrorism Act (CTA) through Parliament. He pointed out that the CTA would have negative repercussions for national security if the Bill is passed in the House.
“Passing of that Bill was delayed due to the objection of the Opposition. This act contains phrases which can end up feeding terrorism. If they try to go ahead with that, we will again raise our objections,” he stressed.
Rajapaksa said the country should only place its trust in local security forces as it ramps up the fight against a new type of terrorism, and argued against any international cooperation with other countries on expertise and intelligence sharing leading to foreign forces setting up in Sri Lanka.
Speaking at the joint May Day celebration of the Opposition, held at the Kotte Municipal Council Hall, Rajapaksa said the Government should only seek foreign assistance, and should never allow foreign armed forces to occupy the country’s land under any circumstance.
Due to the prevailing situation, the rally was only open for several trade union members and members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) members. “As we all aware, we have achieved a great victory by defeating one of the world’s most ruthless terrorist organisations after 30 years of war. During the war against the LTTE, we never sought the advice of foreign nations, we never let their foreign armed forces enter the country. Sri Lankan security forces had the capability to defeat the LTTE. Therefore I believe they can defeat this terror group as well.”
He charged the Government was only concerned about its own safety and well-being, but the safety of the citizens of the county was neglected. He noted the Government had not given enough attention to national security, which put lives of the entire country in danger.
Rajapaksa claimed prior warnings were given by intelligence, but the Government had ignored the potential threat. “Actions of the Government raise a lot of concerns as to why relevant authorities failed to take necessary action to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks.”
He pointed out the attacks had affected every layer of the economy, insisting this will lead to more economic challenges in the coming months. “All communities live in fear today, and employees who depended on daily wages had no income during the past week because of the terror attacks.”
Rajapaksa charged the Government was unable to provide essential services to its citizens, and lost credibility as a result. “The only thing this Government did accurately was impose power cuts and increase fuel price according to the fuel price formula.”
Commenting on the accusations that his 50-day Government should he held responsible for the Easter Sunday attack, as it was this rift that saw Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe prevented from sitting in on National Security Council meetings, Rajapaksa said they could have prevented attacks if they were allowed to continue in office.
“If we had stayed in power we would have called for an election, and formed a strong, new Government that would have been capable of handling situations like this,” he added. (NS)
