The Hon. Nishantha Perera

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity to speak on the proposal presented by Hon. Dharmapriya Wijesinghe to eradicate organized crime and drugs from this country.

¶ 02 The Blessed Buddha taught that there is only one family—the human family; only one race—the human race. Our ideological teacher Karl Marx also said the same. Yet the Sri Lankan family and nation have been dragged towards depravity.

¶ 03 Therefore, we want the present Government led by the Hon. President to lead the country back towards humanity. Economically, we were broken. The “pearl of the Indian Ocean” and “granary of the East” has been reduced to a place living on alms from India. Worse, we were turned into a drug paradise, underworld haven, and a society sheltering rapists.

¶ 04 These grew in the 1980s and 1990s. In our school days we had not heard of the underworld—perhaps a few village thugs. After 1977, a system to make money “by any means” was introduced. After 1977, not only the socio-economy but the entire society was subjugated. As of 2024 (Jan–June), 43,714 individuals were arrested; 10,052 were youth aged 20–29 addicted to drugs. In terms of man-hours, 80,416 labor hours are being spent in prisons—this is the disaster we face.

¶ 05 We thought the Opposition meant only the SJB. Now, everyone has joined—UNP, SLFP, the Front led by a media executive, all together. When we bring a proposal to save the Sri Lankan mother—our entire nation—they all turn up in black. That is expected; historically, it is black politics that brought us here—some wore white but did black politics underneath.

¶ 06 Like bark to a tree, politics is bound to the underworld and drugs; without politics, it cannot thrive. The South has been the epicenter of the underworld in Sri Lanka. Names like the Amaras of Julampitiya, Chandi Malli, Kajjā of Middeniya, Manamperis, Manoj Mendis, and Vini Kariyawasam grew under the Rajapaksa era. Earlier there were Soththi Upali, Gonawala Sunil, Baddagane Sanjeewa. Today the South is the hub of underworld and drugs. I recall that during our term in the Provincial Council, an underworld leader had been placed as a member of the Hikkaduwa Pradeshiya Sabha. U.D.J.G. Ariyatilaka, a respected SLFP leader in Galle, was asked why. He said there was nothing to be done as he was placed there by their leader—Mahinda Rajapaksa. Manoj Mendis is a rapist, an underworld leader and drug dealer. Every list—UNP, SLFP and others—had an underworld figure, a killer, a criminal. They nurtured them, and after breaking this country, now pretend to be saintly.

¶ 07 I will not take more time. The Sri Lankan family—Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Malay and Burgher—must unite to rescue our motherland. We invite all citizens who love this country to join the final battle to end drugs. Thank you for the time, Hon. Presiding Member.