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| Monday, 9 February 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| "Our aim is to safeguard rights of all ethnicities within one country" - D. M. Jayaratne by Ranil Wijayapala The dissolution of Parliament and the calling of a general election by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was to stop the sell out of the country by the UNF government in the name of peace and safeguard it for the younger generation enabling them to live, keeping their heads high, Posts and Communications Minister D.M. Jayaratne said yesterday. Addressing a ceremony to mark the opening of a ward complex at Dharmasiri Senanayake Memorial Ayurvedic Hospital in Kegalle the Minister said the people of this country will have to decide on April 2 either to keep this country safe for future generations or to offer a part of this country to a terrorist organisation in the name of peace. The Minister was representing President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who was scheduled to participate at this ceremony as the chief guest. However, the Minister said they had no intention to resort to war or to violate the rights of the other ethnicitites. "Our aim is to safeguard the rights of all ethnicities within one country. The President is committed to solve this problem under a unitary state", the Minister added. He said President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga took the decision to dissolve the Parliament after having lengthy discussions with the party members about the serious situation the country is now facing. The Minister said the UNF Government had sold out all the national assets of the country and the major income sources to private sector and international forces, during its two-year tenure. "People of this country are now in a situation where they are going to be deprived of the right to inherit the lands of this country, as the Government has made laws enabling foreigners to buy these lands as they wish", the Minister added. He said all the lands within the Galle Fort have already been sold to foreigners and the Government was planning to give away 50,000 acres of land in the North Central province to a foreign country. He also said the LTTE has strengthened its fighting force from 3,000 cadres to 18,000 under the name of peace. He said unless President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga took over the Defence portfolio, the LTTE would have set up bunkers even in Anuradhapura. "The government which cannot take any effective measures itself, tried to put the blame on the President for the stalled peace talks", he added. He recalled that President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga supported the peace process even though it was illegal since the constitutional powers to declare war and peace directly comes under the President's powers. Minister Jayaratne also said there were massive bribery and corruption charges against 17 Ministers of the Government. |
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