Johnston asks Sajith and the team to learn from other democracies

Chief Government Whip Highways Minister Johnston Fernando yesterday said that Opposition Leader and his group of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) should learn from the examples of their counterparts in other democracies to support the investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage rather than acting like a headless chicken.
Speaking to the media after attending a meeting to review the measures in place against Covid-19 in the Kurunegala District at Wilgoda SLPP office, the minister said that opposition parties in other countries have placed the national interests above their party agendas and politics. “That could be seen in all democracies. Take a look at our opposition, it looks only for opportunities to raise wild allegations against investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks. Their latest is describing the arrest of Rishad Bathiudeen as a media circus to please Cardinal Malcom Ranjith,” the minister said.
He asked people to recall how the same political leaders had been mocking the military operations during the times of war thinking that the LTTE was undefeatable. It is the very same people now demanding the release of Bathiudeen. The opposition leader and his men should be ashamed of their actions. The Easter Sunday carnage was their mistake. Now they try to derail the ongoing investigations by various means. Recently religious and civil organizations exposed one of their plots to drag Catholic people in their protests. Do not they have an idea of concerns of the national security of this country,” the Chief Whip said.
He said that in and out of parliament he had called numerous times on opposition to support the government at least in the Easter Sunday carnage investigations. We extended our hands in good faith, but there seems to be no way for the sanity to prevail,” the minister said.
“We have let the law take its own course. There would be more arrests. That is up to the law-enforcing agencies and investigators to decide whom to be arrested. Those guilty and responsible for the heinous crime will be punished. The government does not operate on the laws of Ranjan Ramanayake or Sajith Premadasa. We do not have the need of putting up a circus. Investigations were never been this fast. Except for Gotabaya Rajapaksa which president sent a presidential commission of inquiry report to parliament? What happened to the commission reports on killings of Lalith Athulathmudali and Denzil Kobbekaduwa,” the minister asked.
He said that the Yahapalana regime was a government which sacrificed the lives of people to maintain their electoral base. “It seems that our opposition leader is ready to the lives of all people in this country in exchange of the power to rule it,” Minister Fernando added.