The Hon. Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law - Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, the debate has raised a point we agreed upon with Hon. Nihal Galappaththi over three decades ago. Ours is a government just three months old, yet the Opposition is keen to bring this up even at Adjournment; we appreciate that.

¶ 02 For over thirty years, the Executive Presidency captured both the legislature and the judiciary in its pocket. We know J. R. Jayewardene kept MPs’ resignation letters in his pocket. Every President thereafter interfered with the Supreme Court; even a Chief Justice was removed for not being pliant. Presidents 1 through 8 governed not with Cabinets or Parliament, but with cliques: each had a coterie. For the first time, we are now governing with a Cabinet, with a President accountable to Parliament—the ninth President.

¶ 03 Previously, the tentacles of the Executive Presidency even extended into the underworld. Today, the President is accountable to the people. There is no interference with the legislature or the judiciary. We saw the Court of Appeal deliver a remarkable order: for the first time, action has been taken against an Inspector General of Police, directing his immediate arrest and production before court—against Deshabandu Tennakoon. In earlier times, the Executive would have crushed the judiciary under its iron boot. The Court of Appeal has now affirmed the Magistrate’s order, dismissing the police chief’s petition and directing immediate arrest. This is real independence.

¶ 04 We will act according to our pledges, but not on the Opposition’s timelines. They had three decades; now they are in a hurry. We will proceed on our timetable, clearly and transparently, and fulfill every commitment in our policy statement. For the first time, a President who does not pressure the legislature or judiciary has been elected—the President of the National People’s Power. I note that and conclude.