Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the first death anniversary of Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera was not the usual sort of commemoration of a worthy person but was also an indictment of the government and especially of its leaders by social conscious civil society activist groups who put in great effort to bring this government into power.
"What is happening at this commemoration is that we are being accused of unfulfilled pledges while we are in their very presence. That is why this differs from a normal commemoration event" the Prime Minister said in response to an address by Professor Sarath Wijesuriya, at the first death anniversary commemoration of the late Chief Incumbent of the Kotte Naga Vihara who engaged in a decisive social revolution to bring this government of good governance to power.
President Maithripala Sirisena, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge, Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and a large gathering of clergymen and laity attended the event.
Professor Wijesuriya directed outright criticism against the government in his address to the large gathering in the presence of the leaders of the government. He said that the leaders of this country should set aside their private political agendas and work on behalf of the country. He stressed the point that good governance had failed to implement the law in a fair manner and said it was implementing one law for the powerful and another for the ordinary man.
He added that the government must respond at this assembly to the request made to establish a Special Court to implement the law in relation to large scale corruption and fraud. He emphasized that " there is no point in sweet-talking the people. The public want action, now ! We must also say that the struggle we are engaged in with the government and our criticism is not a struggle against the government."
President Maithripala Sirisena then addressed the gathering emphasizing that new conspiracies are being played out in the country with the objective of destroying peace and reconciliation and that during these conspiracies the government needs to act in harness with civil society organizations which put in a great effort to bring the good governance government into power. The President said "we have to get together as a single entity, the government and you, and act together against these conspiracies."
The President added that the Special Court mooted by Professor Wijesuriya will be discussed with the Prime Minister and action will be taken to establish it in accordance with the Constitution.
