Mangala, Duminda requested President to permit Police to attack participants: SB

While thanking the Police, the STF and the Army for their uncompromising attitude to Joint Opposition protesters on Wednesday (5) former Minister and SLFP dissident group front liner S. B. Dissanayake yesterday charged that Ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Duminda Dissanayake had requested President Maithripala Sirisena to permit the law enforcement officers to attack participants of Janabalaya Kolambata protest.

He added that President Sirisena had flatly rejected the request and instructed Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera to maintain self-restraint to the full on protesters.

He told the media at the weekly news briefing of the 16 rebel SLFP members in Colombo that if this was not true, both Ministers could correct it.

The participants in the protest said one single slogan in unison which was ‘Apita Ona Anduwak – Mahindage Anduwak’ loosely translated as ‘We want a new government led by Mahinda’.

This is the mood not only among SLFPERS but among all voters in the country, Mr Dissanayake said.

He said the country was going down a precipice in all fronts.

“The prices of all essential commodities, utility services, the COL have gone up sharply. The law and order broken down and corruption, mismanagement, thefts and waste are on the rise. Therefore, the people want to replace this Government with a Government led by former President Rajapaksa,” he said.

Mr Dissanayake said Wednesday’s protest organized by the Joint

Ranil took over the Central Bank under his wings and appointed his buddy Arjuna Mahendran as the Governor ignoring the protests by President Sirisena and the entire SLFP group in the Government

Opposition was the biggest ever gathering in Colombo and JO supporters converged on the city from five highways and remained in Central Colombo until early Thursday morning.

Minister Dissanayake said ‘Yahapalana Government came into power pledging good governance, transparency and to restore law and order. But under the ‘Yahapalana Government’ the biggest ever financial scam, the Central Bank bond scandal took place under the nose of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“Ranil took over the Central Bank under his wings and appointed his buddy Arjuna Mahendran as the Governor ignoring the protests by President Sirisena and the entire SLFP group in the Government. He also trespassed the accepted procedure remained since independence whereas the Central Bank was under the Ministry of Finance.

“Therefore, Mr Wickremesinghe Pic by Samantha Perera

must take the blame for the financial crime and he cannot easily get away from the scandal until he brings Mahendran to face the court proceeding,” Minister Dissanayake pointed out.

He said he had information that Mr Wickremesinghe recently participated in the wedding ceremony of Mahendran’s daughter in London and played the father’s role despite the claim that he did not speak or meet Mahendran after he was charged in the court for misappropriation of public funds.

He added that Mr Wickremesinghe could correct him if the information was not true.

Explaining as to why the 16 SLFPERS quit the Government, Mr Dissanayake said President Sirisena asked Mr Wickremesinghe eight times to resign from the Prime Minister’s post.

Ultimately, after a number of requests made to by the SLFP group in the Government, a written request was made to Mr Wickremesinghe by Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva.

That request was also dismissed by Mr Wickremesinghe and after that, the 16 SLFPERS decided to come out of the Government as by then the SLFP had realized that remaining further in the ‘Yahapalana Government’ was detrimental to their personal interests as well of the party’s interests.