'Govt's objective to ensure people's safety'

Nadira GUNATILLAKE

The government's objective is to ensure the safety of all citizens while their freedom is guaranteed. Therefore, President Mahinda Rajapaksa lifted the Emergency regulations and is in the process of formulating a system to ensure the safety of the people, acting Media Minister and acting Cabinet spokesperson Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said. He was addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing held at the Government Information Department auditorium yesterday.

Minister Abeywardena said the government is now in the process of formulating a mechanism with the consent of all political party leaders to protect people from all forms of evil elements.

Relevant legal amendments will be brought through collective agreement after holding discussions with all political party leaders. According to the minister, the President and the government took the most democratic decision by handing over the authority to Parliament to formulate a legal system to ensure the safety of the people from evil elements such as hardcore terrorists, suspicious persons etc.

Minister Abeywardena pointed out that in the recent past some evil elements tried to provoke the public through suspicious persons but they stopped their crusade to a certain extent after the government started high level investigations. When evil elements failed to weaken the government at international level they made allegations with regard to suspicious persons. There is no connection whatsoever between international pressure and lifting emergency regulations, the minister added.

Sri Lanka has the right to introduce laws to ensure the safety of the people. The Emergency regulations were relaxed by the government time to time in the past long before lifting it completely, Minister Abeywardena added.