NGO conspiracy to create anarchy - Minister Sirisena
Nadira GUNATILLEKE
Health Minister and SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena
yesterday exposed a major conspiracy involving Non Governmental
Organisations to create anarchy in the country by launching a spate of
strikes in the public sector during the 19th session of the United
Nations Human Rights Council.
Minister Sirisena said that the government has received reliable
information that certain NGOs had directly funded trade union leaders to
organise the working massesto demonstrate against the government to show
the world that there is worker unrest in Sri Lanka.
He said that farmers have also been dragged into these machinations
against the country. The minister said that farmers are being forced by
NGOs to demand higher prices for a kilo of paddy from the government.
“Some farmers have been paid to stage protests against the country in
certain areas and all efforts were aimed at creating unrest in Sri
Lanka.
The NGOs had offered big amounts of funds to certain trade union
leaders to stage strikes, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said.
According to minister Sirisena,the health sector is the most
important sector to the people as any disruption in this sector affects
the ordinary masses the most.
This is why the NGOs targeted the health sector for their
'operation'.
But, members attached to any of those health trade unions did not
know the real situation and thought that the strikes were staged for
their benefit.
Minister Sirisena pointed out that one NGO had given funds to some
persons to act as ordinary paddy farmers and carry out demonstrations
demanding for an increase the price for paddy.But the representatives of
paddy farmers' organizations and ordinary paddy farmers did not fall for
this bait.
Instead they decided to participate in discussions held at the
Finance Ministry stressing that they never staged any demonstrations and
came to the ministry to discuss their issue. "The facts were discovered
after finding out who organized the demonstrations and strikes and why
they did it because all demands of all health sector had already been
granted (before they commenced the trade union actions). So there was no
reason for them to launch strikes",minister Sirisena said in Colombo
yesterday. |