NPP not afraid of government’s nefarious actions –Sunil Watagala

“We emphasize that the rights of those members cannot be suppressed by the government’s cowardly, mean and vile actions. We demand that these actions of the government should be stopped immediately. We emphasize that we do all our work within the framework of democracy and the framework of the law. We are not subject to the pressures of anyone outside of that,” says Sunil Watagala, lawyer of the National People’s Power’s Lawyers Organization, speaking at a press conference held at the JVP head office at Pelawatta on the 22nd.
He said, “The National People’s Power is moving forward with a significant victory for the people. A protest rally was held on the 18th after a protest march in our journey to get rid of the current rotten politics in the country and change this tyrannical governance system. The Ranil Rajapaksa government, which has no mandate from the people, is taking apolitical measures to undermine the progress of the National People’s Power. Sometimes, they are very vicious actions. The government is exerting force by using sections loyal to it. We would like to say one thing to these gentlemen. We took the issue of the interference of the National People’s Power on the retired tri-forces collective to the Supreme Court. However, actions are being verbally taken against our retired members of the armed forces, preventing them from entering camps, preventing them from participating in annual friendly meetings, and preventing them from getting medical facilities. Mr. Sampath Thuiyakontha, who is participating in this press conference, was verbally blacklisted in the Air Force. In this regard, we have filed a case in the Supreme Court. Sampath Thuiyakontha had been blacklisted based on a speech given at a meeting in Gampaha District organized by the National People’s Power. We made this whole story heard by the judges of the Supreme Court. We put before the Supreme Court the question of why Sampath Thuiyakonta does not have the right to do politics when Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sarath Fonseka, Sarath Weerasekera, Kamal Gunaratne have been allowed to do so. The lawyer of the Attorney General’s Department, who represented the Air Force, had to admit that her side had made a mistake. By the next court date on January 10, 2024, the relevant prohibitions will be removed, and the Supreme Court will be notified in writing. Mr. Sampath Thuiyakontha will be informed in writing. They are still exerting some force on our collective. We must remind them that the Supreme Court has ruled that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Cabinet, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Governor of the Central Bank and other officials are responsible for the economic murder of this country. Also, in the case related to the Easter attack, the Supreme Court convicted former President Maithripala Sirisena and several officials below him and ordered them to pay compensation.
In such a background, despite the respondents admitting that the fundamental rights of Mr. Sampath Thuiyakontha have been violated, they continue to exert pressure. The retired three armed forces collective of the National People’s Power is doing politics based on the right provided under the fundamental rights chapter 14 (1) of the constitution,. No one can legally challenge that right.
We remember how Ranil Wickramasinghe started by pointing his finger at the judiciary. Ranil Wickramasinghe said the judiciary cannot influence the parliament regarding EPF and ETF cases. Then, the speaker also repeated it. This journey they are taking, which threatened one of the three towers of democracy, will end in August next year. Scared of it, this government is trying to use its police to suppress the rising opposition. Various obstacles are being made to influence the families of the members of the collective of the retired armed services.
We emphasize that the National People’s Power will not be afraid of these nefarious actions of the government. The National People’s Power’s Lawyers Organization will represent the collective in any undue act committed against it and its members. This collective can be approached from any part of Sri Lanka. Our lawyers will appear from any place in the island. We emphasize that the rights of those members cannot be suppressed by the government’s cowardly, mean and vile actions. We demand that these actions of the government should be stopped immediately. We emphasize that we do all our work within the framework of democracy and the framework of the law, and we are not subject to the pressures of anyone outside of that.”