Commenting on the General Election result in Sri Lanka, British Conservative peer Lord Naseby, President and founder of the All Party British Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group in the UK said:
‘This is a truly remarkable result; yet again the ordinary people of Sri Lanka have turned out to vote at a level rarely seen anywhere in the World. This is true democracy at work. It would seem that the old order of the UNP and the SLFP have been consigned to history. In there place are the SLPP (Sri Lanka Podujana Peruma)- the party of the Rajapaksa brothers who now dominate Parliament, and, a new much smaller Opposition Party, headed by the young Sajith Premadasa, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.
This is a new dawn for Sri Lanka, a fresh era creating the opportunity for the country to come together and finally put to bed the idea of any Tamil Eelam independence movement.Now is the time for the West to understand the new mood in Sri Lanka; the desire on all sides for reconciliation to become realistic without any interference from the West or the UN Human Rights Council.
This is a sea change never before witnessed in Sri Lanka; I for one recognise it – so too should the UK Government and the factions of the diaspora in the UK and elsewhere.The old order since Independence has been cast aside. I congratulate Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Parliamentary colleagues on such an outstanding campaign and victory, without bloodshed, all in the midst of COVID-19, which they have handled so well.
Sri Lanka, a founder member of the Commonwealth, located at the crossroads of world trade, now at last has stable Government to allow the talents of its people the freedom to develop. I wish them all well and particularly the Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, all possible success.’
Picture by Suraj Palihawadana
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