Namal Rajapaksa alleges government critics face threats, mysterious deaths and repression, warning democracy is under serious danger.
Namal Rajapaksa has accused the government of using threats, repression, and fear to silence those who refuse to act according to its wishes.
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna National Organiser and Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa alleged that the current government has reached a dangerous stage where it does not hesitate to suppress those who oppose it in an organised and systematic manner, even if that means sacrificing lives.
MP Rajapaksa made these remarks while addressing a public gathering in the Hiriwala area of Kurunegala.
Referring to mysterious deaths currently being discussed in the country, the MP claimed that authorities were attempting to threaten witnesses and record statements in a manner that served the government’s political needs.
He alleged that those who refuse to fulfil the government’s wishes receive death threats, and that sworn affidavits containing evidence of such threats also exist.
Rajapaksa said that bending the law to suit political interests, suppressing dissenting voices, and making people pay with their lives is an extremely dangerous situation for any democratic country.
He further stressed that he and the opposition would not retreat in the face of what he described as the government’s repressive agenda.
“As a party, when we go from village to village, we don’t know when the next election is, or on which day the vote will be. But whether there is sunshine or rain, in every village and every division, people who love this country have gathered around us and around our party,” he said.
He claimed that, on one side, the current government was surviving on lies.
“Today, May 9th, is the day, Your Reverence, when four years ago, they brought a struggle, beat our supporters, set fire to houses, murdered MP Atukorale on the main road, and some tried to use the struggle to fulfil their political agenda,” Rajapaksa said.
He added that no one could deny that the current government came to power as a result of that struggle.
“That is how the current government came to power, Your Reverence. But honestly, this government came to power by blatantly lying to young people who genuinely went to the struggle grounds wanting to change the country’s system for future generations,” he said.
Rajapaksa also claimed that educated and intelligent academics had been deceived.
He said that even when a question is asked in Parliament, the government responds by saying, “Go read the policy statement again.”
“We are not the ones who need to read it first. Those 159 people need to read it. They still do not know anything in that policy statement,” he said.
Rajapaksa accused the government of endlessly taxing the people.
“If a young person in the IT field earns some income, they tax that too. If there is an egg farmer, they tax that too. If there is a paddy farmer, they destroy that farmer’s economy,” he said.
He criticised the government’s handling of fertiliser and agriculture, saying that when farmer organisations ask whether fertiliser is available, even the minister says there is no fertiliser.
“Why is a minister needed to say there is no fertiliser? What is the government’s plan to give farmers fertiliser for the next season?” he asked.
Rajapaksa said the government had no plan to buy paddy at a price that could strengthen the farmer’s economy.
He further alleged that the administration had developed a mindset where it did not matter if factories closed or entrepreneurs shut down, while tax after tax was imposed on the people.
He also accused the government of failing to respect religion and law.
“They are systematically attacking the venerable Sangha, destroying the Buddha Sasana, breaking religious faith, and the government is systematically working today to weaken Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, and Islamic religious beliefs,” he said.
Rajapaksa claimed that similar programmes had been seen in some countries in the region, and that the agendas of those who spent money to bring such governments to power were now being implemented.
He further alleged that repression was being used to cover up government fraud.
“We saw how 80 crore rupees were paid to a wrong account from the Ministry of Finance by the Finance Secretary,” he said.
Rajapaksa described the Finance Secretary as a political appointment of the current government.
“Someone who was on a political platform was brought into Parliament and made Finance Secretary. The President had so much confidence that he would do the job. He did it, not by building the country, but by transferring money from accounts and paying it to the wrong account,” he said.
The MP then returned to the issue of mysterious deaths.
“People are being murdered mysteriously. They enact laws, threaten people, and try to record statements to fulfil the government’s needs. If they don’t do the government’s bidding, they are threatened with death. They give sworn affidavits about this,” he said.
Rajapaksa claimed that the government had reached a stage where it could suppress those who oppose it in an organised and systematic way, even by taking lives.
He also addressed the Inspector General of Police directly.
“I also say to the Inspector General of Police: please, as the IGP, protect the honour of the police uniform. What you are tarnishing and destroying is the honour of the police uniform,” he said.
He warned that governments and officials eventually leave office, but institutional trust, once destroyed, is difficult to rebuild.
“You will retire on a pension, and you and the government will go. The trust in these institutions is being eroded,” he said.
Rajapaksa said trust in the temple, church, and kovil was being eroded, along with trust in the public service, District Secretary, District Governor, tri-forces, police, and intelligence services.
“That trust is not easily rebuilt,” he said.
He accused those aligned with the government of accepting positions and titles while destroying the state mechanism, the system, and the country.
“That is why people at the village level are aligning with us. They have trust in our camp. They have trust that our camp always stood on the side of the country,” Rajapaksa said.
He claimed that his side had implemented programmes to build the education of village children and strengthen the economy of mothers and fathers.
Through those efforts, he said, new entrepreneurs and businessmen were created, while opportunities were opened for younger generations to find employment.
“Today, factories are closing one by one,” he said.
Rajapaksa accused the government of believing it was cheaper and better to import eggs than to produce them locally.
He also said the government appeared to think it was better to import rice than to protect the paddy farmer, and better to import vegetables and fruits than to provide relief to farmers.
He claimed the government had become dependent on imports and was using that dependency to implement its political agenda while weakening the country’s food security.
“Therefore, we say to those in government: please stop lying, at least now. Stop threatening. We are not afraid of threats,” he said.
Rajapaksa said there may be others who fear threats, but he and his side were not afraid.
“So threatening us will not work. Please fulfil the promises you made,” he said.
He accused the government of coming to power by lying to and deceiving the young people who were involved in the struggle.
“You came to power by setting fire to hundreds of houses,” he said.
He then added that the government should not envy others.
“It is fine if you build big things for yourselves. But do not envy others. Do not envy the big houses that ministers and MPs build. Do not envy the big vehicles they now travel in. Do not envy what others have,” he said.
Rajapaksa urged the government not to try to fool the people of the country.
He called on his party supporters to remain strong and organised.
“Let us be strong as a party. Let us align as a party,” he said.
He thanked UK Sumith and referred to visits made from village to village in Minister Chaminda’s electorate, adding that Minister Johnny had invited them to Kurunegala.
“This is not just a meeting for this division in Kurunegala District,” he said.
He pointed to the crowd, saying mothers carrying children and young people had gathered there.
“We have not yet shown our power at this divisional meeting,” he said.
Rajapaksa said the government should work without “whimpering,” adding that it was now clear that people at village level were gathering against what he called the government’s destruction, waste, fraud, and corruption.
He urged the public to remain strong and unite.
“Let us begin the fight to give birth to a government that understands the reality of the ground on which we stand, that loves the animals, trees, and plants of this earth,” he said.
