Sripathi condemns UNP MP's statement

Mahinda Rajapakse's Presidential Election Propaganda Co-ordinator office referring to an alleged statement made by UNP Parliamentarian Mano Wijeratne at a press conference held at the opposition leader's office on Monday to the effect that "Mr. Rajapakse in his haste to occupy the President's seat will even divide the country if Prabhakaran says so", said that the UNP leadership was making such false and degrading statements about the SLFP Presidential candidate because they were unable to bear the agony of the defeat facing UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at the hands of Mr. Rajapakse at the forthcoming election.

In a press release issued yesterday the Presidential election propaganda co-ordinator office said patriotic forces and parties including the JVP were rallying round the Prime Minister to unite the country and bring prosperity by giving it a proper leadership. As such the only alternative for the UNP was to please its exhausted followers by pulling forward false degrading and childish arguments.

People of this country were fully aware that Prime Minister Rajapakse was a respectable politician who had not approved anything that caused harm to the country throughout his 35-year mature political history.

All patriotic forces had accepted Mr. Rajapakse as a powerful leader who would destroy the plan to betray the nation formulated by the UNP led by Ranil Wickremesinghe. What the UNP including Mr. Wickremesinghe which hark on dividing the nation did was to remove more than 350 Army camps in the North and East and make the forces and police a group of cowards before the LTTE.

People know that it was the UNP led by Mr. Wickremesinghe which pushed the country to the verge of separation by giving various privileges to the LTTE including permission to import more than 11 shiploads of armaments, set up TV and Radio stations and IDD services with V-SAT facilities and releasing more than 30 boxes containing dismantled aircraft parts from the Airport.

As such the people are eagerly waiting for the opportunity to give the proper answer to these degrading and childish pronouncements made against Prime Minister Rajapakse in the near future, the release added.

Despite claims by UNP friendly media that nearly 600 lawyers attended a meeting called by Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at Waters Edge hotel recently the actual attendance was less than 450.

But the meeting called by Prime Minister Rajapakse was attended by over 3000 lawyers including eminent legal luminaries from all corners of the country including Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee and this itself proved Mr. Rajapakse's popularity among them.

Therefore, it is hoped that the UNP and its leader would at least now try to act as a responsible opposition by correcting their past mistakes, the release said.