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| Sunday, 7 March 2004 |
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President lost opportunity to work with UNF - John Sri Lanka is perhaps the only country in the world where parliamentary democracy is practiced, where the leader of the main opposition party is ruling the country contrary to the wish of the majority expressed at general elections, Minister of Christian Affairs John Amaratunga told political meetings in the Wattala electorate. He said that President who once vowed to abolish what she called the "Bahubootha Viyavasthawa" has used the same executive powers she described as obnoxious and dictatorial to destabilise and later dissolve the democratically elected United National Front Government. "This is the most shameful record by her", he said. Minister Amaratunga said: "The President had a golden opportunity after the defeat of the People's Alliance at the December 2001 General Elections to take a neutral stand and co-operate with the United Front Government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in carrying out the wish of the people as this was the first time that the Executive President and the Government were from two opposing parties. But the President though outwardly showing a willingness at co-habitation, has been secretly promoting the political agenda for her party to destabilise the elected government and come to power at any cost, as subsequent events have conclusively proved". Amaratunga asked how the President could on her own judge that the people wanted elections when they had already elected a government for six years. Minister Amaratunga went on to point out that the People's Alliance which has now joined hands with the JVP with the sole purpose of defeating the UNP has forgotten the fact that the mandate President Kumaratunga received at the 1999 Presidential Election has been eroded twice as the people have rejected the People's Alliance at the 2001 General Elections and the Local Government Elections held subsequently. Also, at the 1999 Presidential Elections, she came to power with the support of the CWC and SLMC which joined hands with the UNP to win the 2001 General Elections. As such, for the People's Alliance to say that the people wanted a General Election, is mere eyewash. |
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