Government warned against plans to enlist Gota – VIDEO

 
March 23, 2016
The Movement for Unity with Power Sharing (MUPS) in Sri Lanka today warned against moves to absorb former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa into the ruling coalition.

Addressing a media conference in Colombo, the leaders of the MUPS said any move to take on board the members of the deposed Rajapaksa clan would be a great betrayal for the people who have voted the change at the January 2015 election.

Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne said that the former strongman and his Sinhala Buddhist loyalists are in a conspiracy to overthrow the government “through whipping up fascism, racism and religious hatred” in the country with the help of the sections of the military.

“This is not the problem that can be resolved through dialogue. We have heard of plans to take a member of the Rajapaksa clan into the government in order to defuse the threat against the government. They think they can amicably resolve this by absorbing Gotabhaya into the government and give him a position,” he said.

“Any move to take on board Gotabhaya would spell a fatal blow to this government. It will be like the camel’s nose in the tent,” the left wing leader said.

Another leader of the MUPS and former Colombo Deputy Major Asad Sali said that the Gotabhaya has also offered to help the incumbent government of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe if the ongoing probes against the members of the Rajapaksa family are stopped.

“Is to accommodate these rogues that we worked hard to bring this regime change? Is to bring back these rogues that the people voted for President Sirisena and ousted Mahinda Rajapaksa,” he asked.

Coming hard on recently sworn-in Minister Sarath Fonseka, Asad Sali said that the former army chief should have come out with the details of the crimes committed by the deposed regime six years ago.

“Fonseka is revealing something on a daily basis. He is opening his mouth only after going to parliament. It would have been much better if he had come out with the crimes committed by Gotabhaya and Mahinda when he retired from the army. One doesn’t need power and portfolios to tell the truth,” he said.