Opposition campaign to deceive masses must be countered – President

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday said that attempts by the Opposition to mislead the people by making baseless allegations should not be allowed.

He said that Opposition has the freedom to make various allegations. But these allegations should be based on facts.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated that the campaign to mislead the people by making absurd allegations cannot be allowed and must be countered.

‘Recently, a statement made by an Opposition MP regarding the Easter Sunday attacks was circulated in the media. It is a statement that directly concerns national security. Therefore, the CID investigated the matter. The MP who made the allegation gave conflicting answers to the CID such as “I forgot, lost memory, I don’t know; The people should never be misled by making such baseless allegations,’ the President pointed out.

He added that the previous government co-sponsored the resolution brought against us by the UN Human Rights Council. Rejecting that position, the present government withdrew from co-sponsorship. Promises made to the people are being systematically fulfilled.“We have withdrawn from the agreements that were detrimental to the country, including the MCC Compact. Earlier, protestors were treated with tear gas and baton charges, now we have allotted a separate site for demonstrations. Steps were taken to protect our farmers by building an agro-based economy while giving priority to national and local interests. The economic policy that has enriched the foreign farming community so far has been changed and the environment has been created to uplift our farmers by cultivating what can be grown in the country. It is in this context, the President stated that this is the first time that he has seen the Human Rights Council submitting a report with the highest number of allegations of human rights violations against the government.

The President made these remarks on Saturday participating at the 14th “Discussion with the Village” programme held at the Janapada Junior School premises in Galagoda East Grama Niladhari Division in the Hikkaduwa Divisional Secretariat Division of the Galle District.

(Source: Daily News)