Parliament debate on JVP’s no-confidence motion commences

The debate on the motion of no confidence presented by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the government commenced in parliament, a short while ago.

The debate commenced with JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s address to the House.

The United National Party (UNP) has stated that they would work to defeat the no-confidence motion.

The motion was brought by JVP MPs Anura Dissanayaka, Vijitha Herath, Nihal Galappaththi, Sunil Handunnetti, Bimal Rathnayake, Dr. Nalinda Jayathissa calling for a Vote of No Confidence in the Prime Minister, Cabinet and Government.

It states that they had failed to take proper action despite the fact that proper information had been made available regarding suicide terrorist attacks that occurred in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa areas on Easter Sunday which fell on 21st April 2019.

It said the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the government, whose action amount to criminal negligence or omission by the commission or omission of acts as specified below as a result of which over 250 persons including Sri Lankan citizens have been killed, nearly 500 more have been wounded and properties have been damaged:

(a) Failure to take any action despite the knowledge that certain sections of Sri Lankans had maintained various relationships with the international Islamic extremist organization ISIS and had been engaged in various activities since 2014 as has been stated by the Prime Minister on 08.05.2019 in Parliament; 

(b) Failure to take action although the Muslim community itself had informed the government and relevant institutions responsible that various Islamic religious extremist organizations are functioning within the Muslim society; 

(c) Failure to apprehend or properly enforce the law against Saharan Hashim who killed himself by exploding a bomb on the 21st April 2019 in relation to threats and attacks unleashed on the people living in Kaththankudy area at various instances and A. L. M. Niyaz who killed himself by exploding a bomb in Saindamarudu on 26th April 2019, despite warrants being issued against them by the court while the perpetrators were engaging in various activities in Kaththankudy area in public; 

(d) Despite the Sri Lanka Muslim Council informing the National Intelligence wing on the 28th December 2018 that a group led by Saharan Hashim was involved in damaging Buddha statues in Mawanella on the 24th of December 2018 and despite a few people having being taken into custody in suspicion of this attack a Minister of the Government himself has stated that there were interventions obstructing the continuation of those investigations; 

(e) Failure to take legal and security measures in relation to various activities of Islamic extremist organizations well before these attacks took place and particularly about the involvement of a significant number of Sri Lankans with the ISIS organization and doing various activities with it;

(f)The neglect of the fundamental responsibilities the Hon. Prime Minister is expected to fulfil to the people of the country, by the Hon. Prime Minister who is a member of the Security Council, not participating at the sessions of the Security Council; 

(g) Notwithstanding specific information provided by foreign intelligence services that suicide bomb attacks would be carried out in Sri Lanka including the persons involved, their telephone numbers and National Identity Card numbers, targeting Catholic churches and hotels, neglecting to act upon such information; Moreover, neglecting to act, despite specific warnings regarding these attacks made again by foreign intelligence services prior to such attacks on 21.04.2019; 

(h) Failing to act upon, notwithstanding prior information being provided to; 

• Director/ Ministerial Security Division 
• Director/ Judicial Security Division 
• Director/ Former Presidents’ Security Division 
• Acting Director/ Diplomatic Security Division (iv) 
• Acting Director/ Former Presidents’ Security Division (v) 

through letter No. DIG/SPR/126/4.19 titled “Information of an alleged plan attack” dated 11.04.2019 by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Priyalal Dassanayake in charge of Special Protection Range stating that planned suicide attacks would be launched targeting specific locations i.e. “Drawing special attention to matters included in the report provided by the State Intelligence Service as regards information to the effect that a suicide attack had been planned in the country by Mohammead Zahran, the leader of the National Thowheeth Jamath”; 

and whereas, as per the aforesaid matters, the terrorist attack carried out on 21.04.2019 targeting civilians could have essentially been prevented or damage could have been minimized; 

(i) Whereas the Prime Minister and the Ministers have acted in such a way to create confusion and insecurity in relation to ordinary public life and public security subsequent to the series of attacks carried out on 21.04.2019 by not accepting the responsibility for the said series of attacks but trying to put the blame on other parties, with the Ministers of the government making irresponsible, contradictory and false statements; 

(j) Whereas certain Ministers of the government have acted to obstruct the investigation process regarding the suspects arrested in relation to the Easter Sunday attack on 21.04.2019 and to obstruct or prevent law enforcement in relation to the said crimes;

(k) Whereas the government has omitted to fulfill its duties and obligations to the people by failing to act with due vigilance and responsibility and by failing to follow the proper procedure to suppress such incidents to prevent the extremist violent actions, such as homicides, damages to property and conflicts among people that occurred in Gampaha and the North Western Province on 13.05.2019 despite the possession of comprehensive set of laws to suppress the recurrence of a similar series of attacks or perpetration of crimes of any other form subsequent to the series of terrorist attacks that took place on 21.04.2019 and failed to prevent such attacks despite the unrest among different communities and the tendency to carry out attacks that prevailed in the country subsequent to the series of attacks on 21.04.2019; 

(l) Whereas it has been unable to restore the normal economic processes of the country even after the lapse of a period of one month since the Easter Sunday attack, and it has failed to bring the school and university systems in the country back to normalcy, and it has failed to restore the functioning of public and private sectors, and where as it has neglected its duties and responsibilities as a government towards the citizens of this country; and

Whereas it has acted creating room for foreign countries to interfere in internal affairs of the country on the grounds of the anarchic situation that has been created in the country consequent to its failure to prevent the serial attacks on 21.04.2019 and due to its failure to restore the security situation and the civil life of the country back normalcy; 

The motion proposes that the Parliament resolves that it has further lost confidence in Prime Minister, Cabinet and Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.