Opposition MPs and activists are persecuted and jailed as criminals -by Thissa Attanayake, General Secretary UNP
(Lanka-e-News-15.Oct.2013, 8.30AM) Exactly one month before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is scheduled to be held in Colombo and Sri Lanka will assume the chair of an organisation that seeks to promote democracy, freedom and human rights throughout its membership, the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is about to take a political prisoner.
Police are seeking the order for his arrest and the arrest of 10 others from the UNP after a relentless witch-hunt and propaganda campaign against Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, a UNP Member of Parliament and former Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, in which Government Ministers and State Media became willing accomplices.
Despite ample video evidence being made available of the clashes that took place between UNP supporters and a group of persons claiming to be members of the Party in Matara but are in fact backed by the Government, the police are seeing fit to arrest only those supporters of Mr. Samaraweera.
The UNP has no doubt that the build up to this arrest was part of a carefully orchestrated plan by the Government and sections of the private media, who have openly backed violent groups claiming to be Party members. These groups are engaged in a bitter struggle to factionalise and destroy the United National Party.
In the event Mr. Samaraweera is arrested, these groups and their media backers stand exposed. Their ability to move the state machinery in their own favour is no accident and speaks to the true conspiracy between these violent groups and the ruling regime that is intent on breaking the back of the United National Party for its own political ends.
We call the attention of the international community and most especially the Commonwealth to the series of unfortunate events unfolding in Sri Lanka, where political dissidents are silenced using the most brutal means and opposition activists are persecuted and jailed as criminals.
(Lanka-e-News-15.Oct.2013, 8.30AM) Exactly one month before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is scheduled to be held in Colombo and Sri Lanka will assume the chair of an organisation that seeks to promote democracy, freedom and human rights throughout its membership, the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is about to take a political prisoner. Police are seeking the order for his arrest and the arrest of 10 others from the UNP after a relentless witch-hunt and propaganda campaign against Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, a UNP Member of Parliament and former Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, in which Government Ministers and State Media became willing accomplices.
Despite ample video evidence being made available of the clashes that took place between UNP supporters and a group of persons claiming to be members of the Party in Matara but are in fact backed by the Government, the police are seeing fit to arrest only those supporters of Mr. Samaraweera.
The UNP has no doubt that the build up to this arrest was part of a carefully orchestrated plan by the Government and sections of the private media, who have openly backed violent groups claiming to be Party members. These groups are engaged in a bitter struggle to factionalise and destroy the United National Party.
In the event Mr. Samaraweera is arrested, these groups and their media backers stand exposed. Their ability to move the state machinery in their own favour is no accident and speaks to the true conspiracy between these violent groups and the ruling regime that is intent on breaking the back of the United National Party for its own political ends.
We call the attention of the international community and most especially the Commonwealth to the series of unfortunate events unfolding in Sri Lanka, where political dissidents are silenced using the most brutal means and opposition activists are persecuted and jailed as criminals.
