Opposition fishing in troubled waters all the time

by Uditha KUMARASINGHE

Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that the problem with Sri Lanka’s Opposition is that it always attempts to fish in troubled waters.

Explaining the Opposition’s duty by the country in the context of the UNHRC’s decision, the Minister said that in an issue of national importance, the Opposition should stand by the Government irrespective of political differences.

This could be clearly seen in Indian politics. When the Kashmir issue came up, the Indian Opposition stood by the Government regardless of its political affiliations, the Minister told the Sunday Observer .

The Minister said in Sri Lanka’s political history, the Opposition has been unable to identify the country’s national agenda properly.

This has become a common feature for Sri Lanka’s Opposition. When the SLFP was in the Opposition, it too had the same drawback.

The present Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is a veteran politician with vast political experience.

He was the Prime Minister on two occasions. At the final week of the vote on the Geneva resolution, the Opposition Leader toured the North and made a statement in front of LTTE Leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran’s house that “The spring has not dawned on the North”.

Prior to the vote on the Geneva resolution, he made that statement deliberately in front of Prabhakaran’s house to mislead the international community. This was the worst statement made at the worst time, at the worst place, he said.

Minister Alahapperuma said there should be a social dialogue on this statement and it should be discussed by the UNP as well. The Opposition Leader should have made this statement in front of the Jaffna library which was burnt by UNP thugs.

The people themselves witnessed attempts by the main Opposition UNP to undermine the military operations launched to defeat terrorism.

The Opposition could not support the government during the tsunami, the worst natural catastrophe in our lifetime. This is the most unpleasant political culture that prevails in the country today. Therefore, we should not be surprised at the statements made by some Opposition politicians since they had made similar statements during the military operations against the terrorists, he said.

If there are shortcomings in the Government, the Opposition should point them out and make constructive criticism of government actions.

If some Government politicians behave like goons or misuse public funds, such conduct should be criticised. However, the country’s national issues are different and they should not be mixed with other issues, the Minister said.