Pro-democracy public will have fresh battles in 2019: Dullas

• Rejects PM’s statements on media  
• Says they are contradictory to democratic fundaments 
• Questions civil society silence on statement made in Parliament 
• Believes UNP attempting to increase Cabinet members 
• Says democracy-loving public will have fresh battles in 2019

United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Dullas Alahapperuma yesterday rejected Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s remarks in Parliament over media reports and called for media freedom to be protected in Sri Lanka.

“Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s behaviour is something we cannot agree with or condone. His remarks contradict the fundamentals of democracy, the UNP and its leader claim to believe,” MP Alahapperuma said in a statement.

According to Alahapperuma, civil society activists had been silent over remarks made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament recently where he challenged several media reports that published names of MPs who were not included in the list sent to President Maithripala Sirisena for Cabinet portfolios. Alahapperuma also charged that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was trying to exceed the 30-member limit in Cabinet, which is a violation of the Constitution. “Nobody has spoken about Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s actions, which is sad,” he said in a statement.  

The recent statement made by the Prime Minister to media that 32 Cabinet members could be appointed according to his interpretation of the Constitution could not be accepted as a legitimate interpretation of the Constitution, noted Alahapperuma “It is sad that no one is questioning the Prime Minister’s statement about the number of members that can be appointed to Cabinet,” he said in the statement.

Alahapperuma also disagreed on the UNP’s views on forming a national Government by signing an agreement with Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), since only one MP was elected to Parliament on the SLMC ticket. According to Alahapperuma, in order to form a national government, two political parties which won the most number of seats in Parliament should have signed an agreement. However, UNP had not officially announced any plans to sign an agreement with SLMC.

He stated the year 2019 would be a challenging year for Sri Lankan politics, and that democracy-loving citizens would fight for democracy. “Intelligent people of this county will spearhead the movement to win democracy and I wish every citizen of the county will realise the truth in 2019,” he further stated.