In the wake of deploying military personnel in the vicinity of the University of Colombo on information received by intelligence agencies, Opposition Parliamentarian Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday (15) claimed that Colombo City has now become a military camp as a result of the Government’s campaign to control the public voice which is raised against the conduct of the Government.
Speaking at a press conference held yesterday, Prof. Peiris urged the Opposition to come together in good faith against this inhumane conduct of the Government while achieving the common goals of the Opposition to defeat the Government’s efforts to bring unconstitutional laws such as the Anti-Terrorism Bill and the Central Bank Bill.
“Every Opposition party has its own agenda. But, in matters which are directly affecting the people in this country, the Opposition should come forward and take the responsibility to speak on behalf of the people. As a joint Opposition, we have been doing it now for several months by working together with all the Opposition parties to defeat the efforts of the Government to end the freedom enjoyed by the people. The best example is the way how the Opposition behaved when the Anti-Terrorism Bill was taken to the Parliament. As a result of that, now, the people can enjoy the freedom that they have been given by the Constitution,” he said
Prof. Peiris also noted that the postponement of the Anti-Terrorism Bill can be considered as a major victory of the joint Opposition as now the Government has temporarily withdrawn it, even without a date to table it to the Parliament.
“By looking at Colombo City these days, the people should understand the danger that could have been created by the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill if it had been made a law because every repressive incident which is happening now is taking place even without such dangerous laws. In that sense, we must be very happy that all the Opposition parties said in one voice that this Bill should not be passed. It was a good example provided by us that the Opposition must work in order to prevent such dangerous laws being enacted,” he said.