By Saman Indrajith
Ranil Wickremesinghe has to create security zones because he has no popular mandate to rule this country, says the JVP.JVP leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressing the media at the party headquarters yesterday, said that throughout history the rulers who had no popular mandate had been compelled to live in bunkers and barracks. “Ranil Wickremesinghe, too, has no mandate from the people. He was elected President by 134 MPs who have also lost their mandate. Now, the people have rejected him and are taking to the streets against him.”
Condemning Saturday’s police attack on the Socialist Youth Union’s protest march in Colombo, Dissanayake said that police had taken into custody 84 youth for agitating against the Ranil-Rajapaksa regime.
“None of those 84 youth deserves to be in remand or police custody.
They exercised their democratic right that has been given to them by the Constitution. Those who should be behind bars for their crimes are holding ministerial posts. Criminals identified by the Courts are among the ministers. Prasanna Ranatunge, convicted by the Courts, is a minister. None of the youth taken into custody have stolen public money.
The “Ranil-Rajapaksa government should realise that it cannot rule this country forever by hiding behind barricades and high security zones. If he could recall the plight of his predecessor, who ruled the country sitting behind four circles of Army and more than 15-feet high walls. He cannot prevent people’s uprising by drawing lines on maps and declaring high security zones. Already more than 100,000 have lost jobs. Businesses have collapsed. Police and public service workers are in debt and starving. Public servants complain that they cannot pay loan installments. Another popular uprising is only a matter of time.”