“Other parties are being asked to come back to rebuild the country that a family looted. Can they recover together a country torn apart by a family? This country cannot be rebuilt with those thieves. The only thing that can be done with that thieves is to plunder more public property. The JVP is not ready for that. We openly say that this country cannot be rebuilt with this gang. The collapsed economy cannot be recovered.
We assure the people that we are not ready to work together with such thieves. If the rulers had properly assessed this crisis, solutions could have been found in advance. They just ignored what we said saying, “We know how to build the country.” we have repeatedly said that by April 2022 there will be a massive economic abyss, a catastrophe.
They said ‘no need for anyone’s advice. We have executive power, two-thirds power.” They bragged that they had dollars. This corrupt family rule has further destabilized the country.” This was said by Comrade Vijitha Herath, the Information Secretary of the JVP.
He was speaking at a media briefing held at the JVP head office today (12th).
Comrade Vijitha Herath said, “The Prime Minister addressed the nation and made a special statement last night (11th). Hundreds of thousands of people in this country hoped that this speech would provide a proper solution to the severe economic and political crises facing the country today. However, there was no solution to these crises in the Prime Minister’s speech. He said he had 60 years of political experience. Sadly, he fell to the level of a member of the Pradeshiya Sabha.
The whole country saw his immaturity. There is no gas, no oil, no milk powder, there are electricity cuts, and no essentials needed for the festivities. Commodity prices have skyrocketed. There is a shortage of goods. At present, six lives have been lost in the fuel queues in our country. The country is in such a crisis.
While we are having this media briefing, people have closed the Colombo-Kandy road and taking to the streets demanding gas. There are such protests all over the country. On the other hand, there are no seeds to cultivate in the Yala season. No fertilizer. There is no fuel for the tractor to plough the fields. The fisherman has no fuel to go to the sea. Parents and grandparents wait in the queue until dawn to light the bottle lamp at home.
Meanwhile, the country’s youth are agitating day and night to release the pressure on their hearts despite the torrential rains. The Prime Minister has not recognized their heartbeat. The prime minister does not understand what even Sri Lankans across the country are saying with one voice. Either the Prime Minister has lost his senses with age. Or is deliberately trying to push the issue elsewhere. The Prime Minister’s speech was on war, corona, eighty–eight and eighty-nine.
It is now 13 years since the end of the war. The people hoped that this country would be economically strengthened after the end of the war. This is what the rulers said. But 13 years after the end of the war, there are issues today that did not exist during the war. Today there are queues that did not exist even during the war. This situation has arisen due to the short-sighted and foolish actions of these rulers. The President stopped importing fertilizer while corona battered our country. We had to import Rs. 12 billion worth of fertilizer from India.
Millions of dollars were paid for the garbage ship. Farmers took to the streets. The whole life of the vegetable farmer was pushed backwards. All the farmers in the country took to the streets due to the foolish decisions of the President. Gas cylinders in homes did not explode because of the corona. It was not because of the corona that the rice mafia was allowed to raise prices the way it wanted. It was not because of the corona that the prices of sugar, rice and dhal went up by the hour. The Prime Minister did not even see the real crisis. They also tried to send it in another direction.
Last week even the ministers of the ruling party went down talking about the old history. Parliament was not used to answer the real questions facing the people. They turned the national question of the country into Anura Dissanayake’s helmet. When there were burning economic issues and burning political crises in the country, the ruling party ministers used the Parliamentary week to insult others. That was the essence of the Prime Minister’s speech as well. People expected Mahinda Rajapaksa would at least repair President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s confidence that has been completely shattered. That belief was also shattered by the speech he made last night. What the Prime Minister did with his speech was to cover up the real issue and make an indirect threat to save the younger brother of the President. He created false bogeymen. They are trying to cover up the issue by making various allegations. We warn the government not to be ready to continue that game.
The young generation of this country does not get caught up in those old stories. People are smarter than that. People are practical. People are more aware of that. Therefore, the people of this country completely reject the bankrupt politics that are trying to cover up the real economic and political issues by talking about the war, the corona, and the eighty-eight. As a party, we condemn the immature bankrupt attempt of the Prime Minister.
Other parties are being asked to come back to rebuild the country that was looted by a family. Can they recover together a country torn apart by a family? This country cannot be rebuilt with those thieves. The only thing that can be done with that thieves is to plunder more public property. The JVP is not ready for that. We openly say that this country cannot be rebuilt together with this gang. The collapsed economy cannot be recovered.
We assure the people that we are not ready to work together with such thieves. If the rulers had properly assessed this crisis, solutions could have been found in advance. We have repeatedly said that by April 2022 there will be a massive economic abyss, a catastrophe. They just ignored what we said saying, “We know how to build the country.
The President, the Prime Minister, and Cabinet have plundered public property in the recent past. The Prime Minister says that he did not take loans for economic sovereignty. But the oil tanks in Trincomalee were betrayed to India and $ 500 million was taken. The whole economy was subjugated to China. Kerawalapitiya power plant was sold to the US. Other national resources were sold for meagre amounts. This government has taken the largest amount of loans in the three years since it came to power. By December 31, our debt will increase to $ 21 trillion. Of this, 8 trillion is taken under the Nandasena Gotabaya regime- a third of our total debt. The government of President Nandasena Rajapaksa together with his comrades trapped the country in a debt trap and sold national resources dirt cheap. These rulers stole dollars sent by Sri Lankans living abroad. They wasted it. Now, Sri Lankans living abroad do not send dollars to prevent these rulers from stealing. We and the people of this country have no faith that we can become partners in this corrupt regime and build the country that was brought down by this corrupt family together with their associates. Thousands of young people in this country are shouting ‘Gota Go Home’ day and night on the Galle Face green because the family can no longer rule the country. We say go immediately.
There are no temporary moves. The only way to find the answer is to get rid of this corrupt family rule. We invite all to unite and organize to change this regime, regardless of party affiliation. We will overthrow this corrupt regime and build a people’s economy based on production. Let us build an incorrupt regime. Rally for it. Other conspiratorial saboteurs are preparing to cover up the bankruptcy of the government. Do not fall prey to those conspiracies. These conspiracies were launched during the last parliamentary week. The Prime Minister’s statement is part of the same conspiracy. The essence of the story was that instead of answering the question, there was an attempt to escape by making various allegations. As a Prime Minister who has been in politics for 60 years, we cannot let him ignore these issues. Therefore, people have a responsibility to fight for freedom of breath and their right to life. We are with the people to carry forward that struggle correctly, very carefully and in an organized manner. The only way out of this economic and political crisis is to create a people’s government. There are no other solutions. The economic crisis cannot be resolved without an answer to the political crisis. We will recover the collapsed country. We invite the people to intervene. Let us overthrow the corrupt family rule and build a people’s government. We urge the people to be prepared for that.”