The Hon. M.K.M. Aslam

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, a brief reminder to my colleague: today we debate amendments to the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007. We debated Easter Sunday on the 9th. This Bill includes a phrase on “financing of terrorism,” which opened that discussion again today.

¶ 02 Foreign forces exploited our country. After Independence, two parties of the same class alternated in power; we know their governance. Some laws must be updated from time to time to fix deficiencies; today’s Bill is one we promised to amend during our term.

¶ 03 There are thieves who rob by force, and others who exploit loopholes in the law. Some companies keep shares in the names of employees or relatives to evade tax. This Bill will minimize such opportunities by mandating disclosure of beneficial owners.

¶ 04 I also wish to recall that today, 23 July, marks the 1983 pogrom. As L. Piyadasa’s 1984 book “Sri Lanka: The Holocaust and After” chronicles, and as Victor Ivan later referenced in “The Hidden Smoke of July,” powerful actors deflected public anger against the Government onto the Tamil people. Colombo’s then-UNP Mayor K. Ganeshalingam reportedly told Victor Ivan that the 23 July riots were used to divert protests; similarly, the Easter attacks were allowed to divert public anger onto Muslims. Senior journalist Dharmasiri Kariyawasam wrote that nearly 4,000 Tamils were killed, and soon after, three parties that spoke of people’s rights—the Communist Party, Nava Sama Samaja Party, and JVP—were banned.

¶ 05 To our Tamil brothers and sisters: you are assets of this nation; we must love the country as Sri Lankans, not divided as Sinhalese, Tamils, or Muslims. Many Sinhalese protected Tamils during Black July, including our leader A.T. Sumanadasa in Kurunegala, who sheltered families and sent them to safety. We now govern with blessings from North, East, South and West. Developed nations advance as Indians, Australians, etc., not by ethnic labels. We pledge we will not unleash racism; the NPP Government will be your protector. Thank you.