Despot MaRa turns desperate seeing mammoth opposition May day rally crowds : witch hunt begins- Azad Sally arrested by CID
Lanaka-e-News -03.May. 9.30PM) 2013Despotic MaRa who got the jitters has turned so desperate after seeing the mammoth opposition May day rallies that in his characteristic and brutal fashion has therefore started a witch hunt against the opposition politicians the following day itself.
Accordingly , Azad Sally the leader of the Jathika samagi Peramuna , which is a constituent party of the joint opposition had been taken into custody on the 2nd morning by the CID. Sally was taken into custody when he was in his house at Kolonnawa. Though the CID had stated there are a number of complaints against him , they had however not been disclosed.
On 27th April , the CID had arrived to arrest Sally , but as he was not at home , a message in writing had been left requesting him to call at the CID to record a statement.
National defense media spokesman Lakshman Hulugalla at a media briefing on 2nd evening said, Azad Sally was arrested for making announcements attacking the government and on account of his provocative statements that incite racial hatred and he also said Sally was arrested under PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act)
Today(03) evening reported Sally has been admitted to the Colombo General Hospital.
At the last Municipal Council elections , Sally supported the Rajapakse government , but later resigned from the government and joined the joint opposition led by the UNP. He was a UNP politico in the past.
Sally who built a reputation as a fearless and forthright opposition politico castigating the government for its egregious sins and evils became the target of government’s vicious vendetta lately.
Despotic and desperate MaRa who is now paranoid stemming from maniacal power greed had instructed his murderous brother Gota JaRa to do something to teach an unforgettable lesson to every opposition politico who criticizes the government . Nava Sihala Urumaya leader Sarath Manamendra was also arrested earlier on based on a divorce case in pursuance of this vindictive agenda of the parasitic Rajapakses who are at this juncture frantically concerned only with selfish and bestial power perpetuation having realized that their popularity is nose-diving at explosive speed.
Today UNP media division head MP Mangala Samaraweera strongly condemns the arbitrary and malicious arrest of fomer Colombo mayor Asad sali by the CID hiding the true intention of the Govt behind the prevention of terrorism Act.
Issuing a media statement, Mr.Samaraweera says that the true nature of Sri Lankan peace and democracy has now been revealed to the Commonwealth states.
The complete statement is as follows...
We were gravely disturbed to learn of the arrest of former Deputy mayor of Colombo and Muslim Tamil National Alliance leader Azath Salley by the CID on May 2nd 2013.
This is yet another blatant manifestation of the depths to which the rule of law has sunk in this country and further proof that even as the Government prepares to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in a few months, it is simultaneously taking steps to suppress dissent and victimise political opponents in a manner that runs directly contrary to the fundamental tenets of democracy.
Mr. Salley has been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, a draconian piece of legislation whose provisions to detain suspects without trial for 180 days, and has no place in a country that is no longer fighting terrorism. Mr. Salley's purported to be the incitement of communal hatred, for a newspaper interview in which he warned of the dire consequences of fanning the flames of ethnic and religious hatred.
It is strange that the PTA provisions permitting law enforcement to take into custody those who threaten strife between communities were never used to arrest the thugs who attacked a Muslim owned enterprise in Pepiliyana in March. Or that they were not used to arrest those extremist elements that forced the police to disperse a peaceful anti-hate vigil in April. It is baffling that these provisions are not being used to take action against the devastating reports of assaults on Muslim places of worship and women wearing the Muslim headdress.
There is no rationale in the authorities continuing to permit rallies filled with hate speech against the Muslim community and their way of life to take place in every major town in this country. Mr. Salley's arrest, ironically called for repeatedly by hate groups afforded significant state patronage, makes it clear that the Government deals its justice by two yardsticks, one for the majority community, which can spout invective against other religions and ethnic groups freely and another for minorities who dare to issue warnings about the dangerous turn Sri Lanka is taking. His arrest is another clear indication of where the regime truly stands when it comes to ending racism and hatred.
Mr. Salley, has in these recently troubled times, been a courageous voice against the majoritarian racist elements that are threatening the re-emergence of ethnic and religious conflict in our country. If it is the regime's answer to arrest Mr. Salley for warning against the dangers of this hate campaign, then perhaps each of us who also denounce the extremist campaigns of hate against Sri Lanka's Muslim community must all be arrested for believing in a pluralistic society in which every Sri Lankan, irrespective of race, religion or caste, must be treated as equal citizens. If opposing hate is a crime, then we are all criminals today.
Last week, following the end of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group meeting in London, Commonwealth Secretary General told reporters there that Sri Lanka's rule of law situation and its judicial reform would be taking a turn for the better within a matter of weeks, instead of months. He told journalists that he had received assurances of these changes by the highest echelons of the ruling Government in Colombo. It is deeply ironic that those remarks came on the same day that Sri Lanka witnessed the tragi-comic drama of the miraculous recovery of a murder suspect and Government Parliamentarian, who was supposedly so sick he could not attend court after spending over an year overseas receiving treatment, march out of hospital and straight to the Presidential Palace to be 'blessed', apparently in the pink of health.
The Secretary General's words seem more ironic still, in light of the fate that has befallen Mr. Salley.
The Government has shown its true face towards the minorities and its commitment to ending hate and strife in this country.
This is the justice Sri Lanka's ruling regime knows.
This is the democracy and reconciliation that the next CHOGM host seeks to showcase before the world come November.
We do indeed live in a land like no other.
Lanaka-e-News -03.May. 9.30PM) 2013Despotic MaRa who got the jitters has turned so desperate after seeing the mammoth opposition May day rallies that in his characteristic and brutal fashion has therefore started a witch hunt against the opposition politicians the following day itself. Accordingly , Azad Sally the leader of the Jathika samagi Peramuna , which is a constituent party of the joint opposition had been taken into custody on the 2nd morning by the CID. Sally was taken into custody when he was in his house at Kolonnawa. Though the CID had stated there are a number of complaints against him , they had however not been disclosed.
On 27th April , the CID had arrived to arrest Sally , but as he was not at home , a message in writing had been left requesting him to call at the CID to record a statement.
National defense media spokesman Lakshman Hulugalla at a media briefing on 2nd evening said, Azad Sally was arrested for making announcements attacking the government and on account of his provocative statements that incite racial hatred and he also said Sally was arrested under PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act)
Today(03) evening reported Sally has been admitted to the Colombo General Hospital.
At the last Municipal Council elections , Sally supported the Rajapakse government , but later resigned from the government and joined the joint opposition led by the UNP. He was a UNP politico in the past.
Sally who built a reputation as a fearless and forthright opposition politico castigating the government for its egregious sins and evils became the target of government’s vicious vendetta lately.
Despotic and desperate MaRa who is now paranoid stemming from maniacal power greed had instructed his murderous brother Gota JaRa to do something to teach an unforgettable lesson to every opposition politico who criticizes the government . Nava Sihala Urumaya leader Sarath Manamendra was also arrested earlier on based on a divorce case in pursuance of this vindictive agenda of the parasitic Rajapakses who are at this juncture frantically concerned only with selfish and bestial power perpetuation having realized that their popularity is nose-diving at explosive speed.
Today UNP media division head MP Mangala Samaraweera strongly condemns the arbitrary and malicious arrest of fomer Colombo mayor Asad sali by the CID hiding the true intention of the Govt behind the prevention of terrorism Act.
Issuing a media statement, Mr.Samaraweera says that the true nature of Sri Lankan peace and democracy has now been revealed to the Commonwealth states.
The complete statement is as follows...
We were gravely disturbed to learn of the arrest of former Deputy mayor of Colombo and Muslim Tamil National Alliance leader Azath Salley by the CID on May 2nd 2013.
This is yet another blatant manifestation of the depths to which the rule of law has sunk in this country and further proof that even as the Government prepares to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in a few months, it is simultaneously taking steps to suppress dissent and victimise political opponents in a manner that runs directly contrary to the fundamental tenets of democracy.
Mr. Salley has been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, a draconian piece of legislation whose provisions to detain suspects without trial for 180 days, and has no place in a country that is no longer fighting terrorism. Mr. Salley's purported to be the incitement of communal hatred, for a newspaper interview in which he warned of the dire consequences of fanning the flames of ethnic and religious hatred.
It is strange that the PTA provisions permitting law enforcement to take into custody those who threaten strife between communities were never used to arrest the thugs who attacked a Muslim owned enterprise in Pepiliyana in March. Or that they were not used to arrest those extremist elements that forced the police to disperse a peaceful anti-hate vigil in April. It is baffling that these provisions are not being used to take action against the devastating reports of assaults on Muslim places of worship and women wearing the Muslim headdress.
There is no rationale in the authorities continuing to permit rallies filled with hate speech against the Muslim community and their way of life to take place in every major town in this country. Mr. Salley's arrest, ironically called for repeatedly by hate groups afforded significant state patronage, makes it clear that the Government deals its justice by two yardsticks, one for the majority community, which can spout invective against other religions and ethnic groups freely and another for minorities who dare to issue warnings about the dangerous turn Sri Lanka is taking. His arrest is another clear indication of where the regime truly stands when it comes to ending racism and hatred.
Mr. Salley, has in these recently troubled times, been a courageous voice against the majoritarian racist elements that are threatening the re-emergence of ethnic and religious conflict in our country. If it is the regime's answer to arrest Mr. Salley for warning against the dangers of this hate campaign, then perhaps each of us who also denounce the extremist campaigns of hate against Sri Lanka's Muslim community must all be arrested for believing in a pluralistic society in which every Sri Lankan, irrespective of race, religion or caste, must be treated as equal citizens. If opposing hate is a crime, then we are all criminals today.
Last week, following the end of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group meeting in London, Commonwealth Secretary General told reporters there that Sri Lanka's rule of law situation and its judicial reform would be taking a turn for the better within a matter of weeks, instead of months. He told journalists that he had received assurances of these changes by the highest echelons of the ruling Government in Colombo. It is deeply ironic that those remarks came on the same day that Sri Lanka witnessed the tragi-comic drama of the miraculous recovery of a murder suspect and Government Parliamentarian, who was supposedly so sick he could not attend court after spending over an year overseas receiving treatment, march out of hospital and straight to the Presidential Palace to be 'blessed', apparently in the pink of health.
The Secretary General's words seem more ironic still, in light of the fate that has befallen Mr. Salley.
The Government has shown its true face towards the minorities and its commitment to ending hate and strife in this country.
This is the justice Sri Lanka's ruling regime knows.
This is the democracy and reconciliation that the next CHOGM host seeks to showcase before the world come November.
We do indeed live in a land like no other.
