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| Saturday, 18 October 2003 |
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| PA protest in Colombo on October 24 by Uditha Kumarasinghe The People's Alliance (PA) yesterday said they will bring over one million people to Colombo on October 24 for a massive protest campaign against the Government named "Jana Senaa Protest Rally" organised by the SLFP in collaboration with all constituent parties of the PA. The JVP has also pledged their participation in the protest campaign following a request by the SLFP General Secretary from the JVP. Chief Opposition Whip Mangala Samaraweera told the PA weekly media briefing yesterday that six weeks ago, the PA started a round of protest campaigns against the Government which successfully commenced in Kandy. "A week ago over 15,000 people, the largest crowd ever gathered in Polonnaruwa in recent times participated in a protest campaign organised by the PA. A protest campaign will also be held in Badulla on October 19 and this round of campaigns will conclude in Matara town on October 20." After these protest campaigns are concluded, the PA will embark on the second and the most important protest campaign against the Government which will start in Colombo on October 24 where the PA hopes to attract over one million people from all directions into the City of Colombo. This crowd will converge at Town Hall in the afternoon, he said. "After the Jana Senaa Protest Rally on October 24, we will take this to every district under the leadership of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. The PA will have major meetings in every district giving its vision for this country for the next few years," he said. Samaraweera said PA hopes to have meetings in Ampara, Kandy, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Badulla, Galle and Anuradhapura. This will conclude with a mammoth rally which the PA hopes to organise at Galle Face Green on December 16, one day before the third reading of the budget which will taken up in Parliament on December 17. "This will be the beginning of this grand coalition which we have been talking about for a long time. All the constituent parties of the PA have already been invited for this rally," he said. The PA will invite all political parties which oppose the policies of the UNF Government specially the peace process, economic mismanagement and the deterioration of law and order to join this rally. These are the main areas which the PA protest will focus on, he said. He said: "We hope a significant section of the UNP will also join the President on December 16 in order to save the country from the destruction going on. This will be a very important and a defining moment of recent Sri Lankan history." The PA has requested the Government to ensure that this peaceful demonstration and procession are allowed to continue without any obstruction. "However, certain Ministers of the Government have already intervened to ensure that some of the areas we have asked for are not assigned to us. They have refused to give us the Chandra de Silva Stadium in Kotte which we have asked for October 24." The PA's request of the Galle Face Green on December 16 has also been turned down. Even at this stage, we would like to request the Prime Minister to ensure that this peaceful protest is allowed to go on. "If it is obstructed in any way, the people will not take it lying down. We also receive the cooperation of the Police and request the Police Officers not to become pawns of any politician," he said. |
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