Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

Allies in the government should work together

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Allies in the joint government should work together in overcoming obstacles it faces when delivering what it pledged to deliver, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesi­nghe said yesterday.

The Prime Minister said this in a special statement last morning.

“I thank all those who placed trust on us and on President Maithripal­a Sirisena on January 8 2015. We are committed to deliver what we pledged three years ago. “The allies of the government should get together in celebratin­g what we have achieved but to overcome the obstacle that lay before us when delivering what we promised to the people,” he said in the statement

Mr Wickremesi­nghe said the government is still committed to bring those who use violence to terrorize the media. “Over nine years have passed since the killing of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematu­nge and three years since the national government came into power. We pledged to bring those who use violence against media to book and we are still committed to it,” he added.

He recalled the editorial which Mr Wickrematu­nge wrote stating that he was writing it while knowing that death was at his doorstep. He recalled how the former regime handled the media. “He said People will get to know about the nature of the regime when his children lose their father,” the Prime Minister recalled.

Mr Wickremesi­nghe said there is much to achieve though this government has been able to take the executive from the clutches of one family. “We were battling to release the public servants who had become slaves for just one family and against the suppressin­g of media using killer squads,” he also said in the statement.

He said the government has been able to bring in Right to informatio­n Act to ensure the people’s right to know vital Informatio­n while ensuring the rights of victims who have been subjected to crime. “The government has managed to reactivate the 17th Amendment to the Constituti­on and to maintain the independen­ce of judiciary.” he also said.

I thank all those who placed trust on us and on President Maithripal­a Sirisena on January 8 2015. We are committed to deliver what we pledged three years ago

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