Friday Forum calls for public discussion on role and responsibility of Parliamentary Opposition
Friday, 25 April 2014 02:25
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The Friday Forum has called for a public discussion on the role and responsibility of the Parliamentary Opposition.
“We would like to draw the attention of readers and promote public discussion on certain key issues with which the country is faced,” said a statement issued by Jayantha Dhanapala and Professor. Savitri Goonesekere on behalf of The Friday Forum.
“For the moment we raise the following, which we hope may assist citizens to focus on certain priorities amidst the fog of political debate and controversies over political personalities. 1. Do you feel that the opposition is effective and has organizational skill in addressing the current erosion of accountability, good governance, respect and adherence to the rule of law in our democratic institutions such as the legislature, judiciary and executive? 2. In instances when the opposition exercises its democratic responsibility through effective interventions, are these interventions given adequate publicity? If not, what do you think is the reason? 3. How can the public/civil society contribute to addressing any shortcomings of the parliamentary opposition and the media in responding to an environment where there is a serious erosion of accountable governance? The Friday Forum is an informal group of concerned citizens pledged to uphold norms of democracy, good governance, the rule of law, human rights, media freedom and tolerance in our pluralist society. We always aim to be constructive. At times we have felt it necessary to engage the Government and its officials, issuing public statements in Sinhala, Tamil and English. Formed in 2009, we are a non partisan, self-financed advocacy group with no affiliation to any political party or body.
