Former Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa has warned that the recent unrest in prisons could be only one of many such incidents to come, claiming that the public is closely watching developments in the country.
Rajapaksa said attempts to imprison and silence political opponents in order to conceal the government’s failures were a sign of a weak administration.
He claimed that the public had waited patiently for nearly two years for the government to deliver the relief measures and promises made before coming to power, but that public patience was now running out.
He said the opposition was prepared to take to the streets in an organised manner if the government continued to fail to fulfil those promises.
“The government came to power not only promising relief but also making every possible false claim that could mislead the people. For two years, people waited, expecting those promises to be fulfilled one by one. I think the limit of their patience has now been reached,” Rajapaksa said.
“We are waiting for them to do what they promised. If they do not, we are already prepared, as the opposition, to organise ourselves and take the necessary action.”
He also accused the government of attempting to suppress its critics through imprisonment.
“When they cannot get the job done, they try to put those who oppose them in prison and silence them. That is a characteristic of a weak government. But there is a limit to how far they can go with that as well,” he said.
Referring to the recent unrest in several prisons, Rajapaksa warned that further incidents could follow.
“The prison incident is only one incident. There could be many more incidents ahead. More than us, the people of this country are now watching all of this very closely,” he said.
