The Joint Opposition (JO), a coalition of political groups and parties supporting former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Thursday launched its five-day-long “March to Colombo” programme near Kandy.
Led by Mr. Rajapaksa, members of the JO started their march near Getambe temple in Peradeniya on the outskirts of the Kandy town. On the inaugural day, they covered a distance of about 23 km out of a total of around 120 km. They are expected to reach here on August 1 when they will hold a rally.
Vasudeva Nanayakkara, chief of the Democratic Left Front, which is a constituent of the Joint Opposition, told The Hindu that Mr. Rajpaksa, who took part in the inauguration of the march, would not walk through the entire distance. He would join the march at different places briefly in the next four days.
Reasons for the protest
Explaining a host of reasons for the protest, Mr. Nanayakkara said the JO was against any move to include in the proposed Constitution features of the Geneva resolution, adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council last year on accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. He contended that the resolution was meant to “erode sovereignty” of Sri Lanka by proposing a judicial mechanism that would include foreign judges.
The postponement of elections to local government bodies, “increased” levy of taxes on the common man and the government’s plan to permit “surreptitiously” foreign professionals by signing with India the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), were among the issues being highlighted by the JO.
After Sirisena’s clarification
On Wednesday, addressing a government function in Kandy, President Maithripala Sirisena asserted that not a single clause that would divide the country or endanger the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country would be included in the new Constitution.
Clarifying that the objective behind the process of drafting a new Constitution was to solve the existing problems of the country and not to create fresh ones, Mr. Sirisena reiterated the government’s commitment to formulating a new Constitution that would not only be suitable to the country but also “fair” to all communities. He added that nothing would be done to disturb the special place accorded to Buddhism under the existing Constitution.
