The Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe invited Opposition MPs to join; I have a suggestion and ask him to remain in the Chamber.

¶ 02 Today, we were given orange bands for “Orange the World” against violence against women. The UN’s 2019 report notes that one in four Sri Lankan women over 15 years has faced sexual or physical violence — a tragic reality. The Prime Minister and women MPs are in orange; we too wear the band. Not just today, but every day, we must stand against gender-based violence — especially we men.

¶ 03 I thank the 81,479 voters of Colombo District who elected me. I accept this victory with humility and responsibility, to work beyond petty politics for the country. Our friend of 15 years, Anura Dissanayake, is now President — my congratulations. We worked previously with Bharani Amarasuriya in the last Parliament; best wishes to her as well. Colleagues Bimal Rathnayake, Wasantha Samarasinghe, Sunil Handunnetti, Lal Kantha, Nalinda Jayatissa have rejoined us with a heavy responsibility — I wish them well.