Sri Lanka’s newly-appointed Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Wednesday mentioned the federal government is able to take heed to the calls for of democratic public protesters, however denounced acts of terrorism, calling it the “greatest threat to democracy.”
Gunawardena, 73, an ally of the Rajapaksas and a faculty pal of the newly-elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe, was sworn in because the Sri Lankan Prime Minister final week amid an unprecedented financial and political disaster.
Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, Gunawardena mentioned the Sri Lankan authorities is able to take heed to the democratic public protests, however they might not settle for acts of terrorism.
“Terrorism was the greatest threat to democracy, and the Parliament which upholds democracy would not support such acts of terrorism,” the Daily Mirror newspaper quoted him as telling the lawmakers.
“There could be different political ideologies but the Parliament should work in unison to address the issues faced by the people,” he added.
Dinesh Gunawardena appointed because the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
He took oath as the brand new Prime Minister on the Prime Minister’s Office on Flower Road, Colombo at this time.
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— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2022
Sri Lanka’s safety forces forcibly evicted anti-government protesters camped exterior the presidential workplace in Colombo in a pre-dawn raid on Friday on the order of President Wickremesinghe that left greater than 50 folks injured.
The assault on the protesters evoked widespread criticism, together with from overseas envoys stationed in Colombo. At least 9 individuals had been arrested within the incident at Galle Face protest website the place a number of key authorities places of work are positioned.
On July 9, anti-government protesters occupied the residences of former President Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe after storming into their premises and setting fireplace to one of many buildings protesting the federal government’s dealing with of the unprecedented financial disaster.
Wickremesinghe mentioned he respects the rights of the protesters to peacefully undertake their demonstrations, however he asserted that he is not going to enable one other authorities constructing just like the Presidential Palace or the Prime Minister’s non-public residence to be occupied.
Protesters had been tenting exterior the presidential workplace for months, demanding the resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the nation on July 13, and Wickremesinghe, a key Rajapaksa ally.
