The Hon. Mahinda Jayasinghe - Deputy Minister of Labour

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, 55 years after the 1971 uprising, and five days later, on 10 April, we are holding a special debate on the Batalanda Commission Report. Opposition members have not cited even a word from the Report; instead, much irrelevance has been discussed.

¶ 02 Before the debate, let me note: many public servants challenged us about salaries; I asked the Opposition to wait until 10 April. Today, pay-sheets comparing last December and this April show increases; public servants are satisfied, and the Opposition is now like dogs barking at a rock.

¶ 03 They also said community policing was replaced by politicized Public Security Committees. I urge them to read the Batalanda Report to see how Ranil Wickremesinghe and UNP leaders politicized the Police. Chapter 11 explains how Douglas Peiris was illegally promoted, failing exams thrice, yet elevated by a Cabinet Paper of 6 February 1990 under President R. Premadasa. They ignore these, and instead talk about burning transformers and buses. Our President Anura Dissanayake has already expressed regret for wrongs done within a civil-war environment—there is nothing to hide, but we must not cherry-pick.

¶ 04 A female MP, present since morning, said she speaks from the middle ground, yet all day fired at the JVP, citing five instances to escape, ignoring the first—how their fathers banned three parties, chiefly the JVP, violating its democratic rights. Rohana Wijeweera wrote to the President and Chief Justice seeking redress, but no opportunity was given. History is being distorted.

¶ 05 They claim the JVP’s turn to violence in ’88 justified Batalanda. But the Report records brutal murders there, and the disappearance of two IPs—Ajith Jayasinghe and Rohitha Priyadarshana—whose bodies tied to a tree later vanished. Why? Because under those regimes, even just officers were treated as enemies. One Member read the bottom of page 161 but omitted the top, which states:

¶ 06 “Whatever the circumstances, a responsible government must respond in accordance with the Rule of Law.”

¶ 07 And further:

¶ 08 “Governance must conform to accepted norms and prevailing standards. Law enforcement must be according to relevant laws.”

¶ 09 I ask the Opposition: what lawful actions were taken within Batalanda? None. The Sapugaskanda attack was by Gonawala Sunil and his relatives; a brother-in-law planted the bomb. That is how the then Opposition created unlawful situations.

¶ 10 After the uprising, President Premadasa appointed the Youth Unrest Commission and, based on its findings, offered jobs fairly—seen even recently in Hambantota appointments by his son. They hit at these but do not see how it rebounds on them.

¶ 11 Where do we go now? The NPP Government is about the future—a better life for all without ethnic divisions. We need reconciliation. That is why someone some call a ‘political orphan,’ the son of Nandana Gunathilake—our colleague Harshana Nanayakkara—is a Minister today. Those once clashing with us now join hands, realizing cursing history is futile. My teacher in Biyagama, trembling with memories, sought permission from his mother and came to my meeting; we must move on. Those responsible for Batalanda must be punished, including leaders if required, but we will empower institutions to enforce the law; we will not take the law into our own hands as their leaders did.

¶ 12 We need reconciliation—North and South. As a modern political movement, we will use these as lessons and move forward.

¶ 13 Thank you.