Opposition Leader’s move, a shameless contemptible one - Media Minister

Lakshmi de Silva

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent visit abroad to tell other countries that there was no media freedom and democracy in the country was a shameful contemptible move.

As the leader of the opposition if he had any difference with government he should resolve it home, at this time when several other countries had expressed their support to eradicate terrorism and appreciated the humanitarian assistance being rendered to internally displaced Tamil people of the North, Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said recently.

The Government’s effort to protect civilians in the North while providing humanitarian assistance to them was appreciated by several countries after seeing the IDPs in welfare villages, but Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s attempt seem to be a disgraceful act, he said.

Even Indian Premier Manmohan Singh at a press conference in Chennai South India said India will not intervene in the Sri Lanka problem as it was an internal one and the LTTE was a proscribed terrorist organisation that India would not help in any way.

British Parliamentarian McCallum Bruce had said that the LTTE should be militarily defeated to bring a democratic political solution to the problem of the Tamil people. He also had said the government was treating the civilians humanely even while fighting a war with the terrorists, he said.

Russia, China, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam, Libya and they were supporting the efforts of the government to defeat terrorism, but it was unfortunate that the Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe taking an anti national step at this crucial juncture, Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena noted.