INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that the nation must pay tribute to the members of the military, who safeguarded democracy by
protecting the Legislature from violent protestors who sought to suppress the Executive.The President made these remarks addressing the
military personnel during his first official visit to the Army Headquarters Complex Akuregoda in Pelawatta, Battaramulla, today (09).The
President further said that, if at that time violent groups entered the parliament and disrupted the Legislature, the country would have
lost its government, thereby plunging the nation into complete disorder.President Wickremesinghe also appreciated the members of the
security forces having taken measures to carry out the operation through peaceful means, and presented them with certificates of
appreciation.The President was received on arrival by the Army Commander, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, and was accorded a guard of
to all of you for protecting the Parliament
Many people do not know the importance of this
So, I specifically needed to mention a few aspects in this regard
If these institutions are not properly functioning, in this country, the rule of law will not prevail
A constitutional crisis takes place, there will be no democracy
of the President, was taken over
Therefore, the President had no official place to carry out his mandate
Since the former President was not in Colombo at the time and his whereabouts unknown, the violent demonstrators set fire to my house with
the hope that I would resign
Later that day, the situation worsened by violent attempts to surround the Parliament
If the Parliament was seized, the legislative processes cannot entirely fulfilled, and therefore the Legislature cannot exercise its powers,
A meeting of the party leaders was held on that day when the Speaker was informed that these groups were approaching, he concluded the
In order to protect the Parliament, the system of governance, at that time, I requested the Heads of the Security Council, specially,
Parliament, since the system of governance will collapse, the Ministry of Defence cannot function
That is the reason to entrust you to fulfill that responsibility
Accordingly, there was no need to shoot the people who came to take over the Parliament
I thank and praise all of you for such professionalism though; several of your men were injured
East, but a step taken by you to protect the democracy
The constitutional duty of protecting the parliament building and facilitating the convening of its Sessions, has been fulfilled
Your task is now completed
taking steps to bring new parliamentary reform proposals and form an all-party government
It is now being discussed, and all 225 members of the parliament should fulfill their duty
I request the Prime Minister and Speaker to please remind the Parliament about their responsibility
my gratitude on behalf of the country, the Parliament, and the Government
The cost of living has increased and travel is limited, for which we are seeking solutions
If we want to create stability in the country by next year, it has to be done through the Parliament
You have worked towards protecting the Parliament and allowed its functioning
Particularly, since all of you belong to the Air Mobile Brigade, because it is considered as a main unit in our country, I wish to say a few
At the same time, I went to London in October, and met General Sir Michael Rose
He was introduced to me by General Denzil Kobbekaduwa and General Ranatunga and General Attygalle were also there
He advised that Sri Lanka establishes such a Brigade
The then Army Commander General Waidyarathne was entrusted with that task and General Jerry Silva started the Brigade and continued this
We are especially pleased to continue with this initiative.-PMD
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
