SJB says not joining national Govt.

SJB MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara and MP Harshana Rajakaruna

• Calls for fresh mandate people, to continue with protests countrywide on Thursday

 By Darshana Abayasingha

The Samagi Jana Belawegaya (SJB) said yesterday it will not accept any positions in a government under the current leadership, adding that the public had clearly asked for the Rajapaksa family to ‘go’ and a change in leadership.

Expressing their gratitude to the public for leading protests island-wide and calling on the Government to ‘go home’, the SJB called on people to join the party for protests on Thursday 7 April morning in townships and raise black flags at home to show support.

“The people have given a clear message to the Government, they have come out without fear and taken the initiative to ask this government to go home. The public has asked the President and the Rajapaksas to ‘go home’.”

“They don’t seem to be able to understand that and the same rogues who destroyed the country are being reappointed and are inviting us to take up ministerial posts,” SJB MP Harshana Rajakaruna, told journalists yesterday.

“We stand with the public, and the SJB states the President and the Rajapaksas must all leave their posts. They incite racial tension and dupe the public and want to continue in Government to clear up all the cases against them,» he added.

Rajakaruna also said that steps must be taken to recover the assets lost to the country due to corruption and called on the public to continue their agitation until their demands are met.

SJB General Secretary MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara said it was laughable that the cabinet resigned, only to have some of the same faces appointed to their posts.

Reiterating the party’s commitment that it would not join a national government under the current leadership, he added that many Members in Parliament from Government benches are ready to join the opposition given the current state of the country.

“We are calling for an election so that the people can decide on the future. We need to change the political culture of this country.”

“Every leader and Government since 1994 has contributed to this present predicament and corruption. Today, the whole country has united against this tide, and people who never took to the streets are here. The people went up to their homes and said please leave. The president responded with emergency regulations and a curfew. The president and the Government must step down,” Madduma Bandara said. 

This stance was further reinforced by MP Dr. Rajitha Senarathna, who said the party will only take up positions in a different regime formed with the blessings and mandate given by the people.

“We do not want any interim solutions”, he said, adding that the President and the Prime Minister should listen to the people and their demands without trying to hold on to power. Senarathna noted that the Sri Lankan public has driven a change in the country’s political culture with ongoing protests.