Govt. has realized many promises - Eran | Sunday Observer

Govt. has realized many promises - Eran

14 July, 2019

State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne reiterated that the Government has seen through many of its promises despite claims that it had failed, mainly owing to the Easter Sunday attacks which according to him, used by other elements in Parliament to discredit the government does not have any standing.

Speaking in Parliament the Minister said the circumstances which led to the Easter Sunday attacks were inspired by global terrorism.

While apologizing for the failure of the Government to prevent what happened he highlighted that the violence against Muslim families and businesses in Minuwangoda and other areas were driven by those who cannot politically survive in a free and inclusive society.

“These politicians have been looking for a new scapegoat and their political careers thrive on hatred and they used the Easter Sunday attacks to create suspicion in the hearts of the people,” he said.

Speaking during the debate on the JVP sponsored No Confidence Motion against the Government on Thursday (11) Minister Wickramaratne elaborated on the questions, “Why we need to have confidence in our Government? What has this Government done since coming to power in 2015?

We have focused on policies of unity and built key principles.

We have tried hard to build an inclusive Sri Lanka.

Naming some landmarks achieved by the Government such as establishing the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation and a National Reconciliation Policy, was adopted in 2017, he said,

“We established the Office of the Missing Persons in 2017 to help bring justice to families who lost their loved ones in the conflict. We also passed the Office for Reparations Bill in 2018 and established the Office for Reparations to provide compensation for those who were victimized during this period.”

A focus on reconciliation through economic development includes avenues for debt relief for communities in the Northern and Eastern Provinces injecting cash into the Government to run reconciliation programs. In terms of individual freedom, we have achieved much during this period, he said.

Minister Wickramaratne said the Government through passing major legislations has institutionalized the adoption of law and upheld individual freedom.

We started this by passing the 19th Amendment which has come for much discussion recently. We established the Constitutional Council and curtailed the powers of the Executive President.

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