Adverse reactions due to reckless statement - President

Chaminda PERERA

An outrageous and irresponsible statement relating to the Security Forces has posed a number of problems to the country, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He said the entire country has to face the adverse impact of this type of misleading and reckless statement. “This type of erratic statement could bring problems not only to the Defence Secretary but to the country at large,” he said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa

The President was addressing Registered Medical Officers and Assistant Medical Officers at Temple Trees. These Medical Officers for the first time extended their fullest support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s candidature at the forthcoming Presidential Election.

He said the entire country has been betrayed by this statement. The Security Forces have been receiving training in foreign countries for years and this statement will deprive them of this opportunity to gain advanced training in such countries.

President Rajapaksa said he is committed to ensure and uphold the democratic norms and cannot allow despotism and militarism to take root in the country in any way.

He said Channel 4 Television is demanding us to accept that Security Forces were responsible for the shooting that was telecast in their video footage after this misleading statement.

Some elements are claiming that the Executive Presidency is all powerful. But the Executive President, Speaker of Parliament nor Chief Government Whip were aware when Ranil Wickremesinghe who was the then Prime Minister, handed over part of the country to terrorists by way of a Ceasefire Agreement.

He handed over a part of the country to terrorists officially, the President said.

The Executive President at that time could not do anything. She could not dissolve Parliament until it completed a year under the Constitution introduced in 1978. He stressed that the powers vested in the Executive Presidency were only used by the Government for the repealing of the Ceasefire Agreement which put the country’s sovereignty and unity into jeopardy.

“We used the powers vested in the Executive Presidency to ban the LTTE in the country and declare the Ceasefire Agreement entered into by Ranil Wickremesinghe and terrorists null and a void,” he said.