A newly formed organization calling itself as the ‘New Freedom Struggle’ (NFS) yesterday urged parliamentarians of the opposition and government to prevent a major catastrophe by electing a President acceptable to all Sri Lankans living in and out of the country.

The NFS charged that buying MPs by dishing out as much as 300 million rupees had already started and as such if a politician detested, rejected and hated by the entire nation was elected as the President to run the country no one would be able to prevent the country plunging into a major inferno.

Addressing the media yesterday at the ‘Western Province Aesthetic Art Center’ in Colombo, convener of the NFS, Prof. Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa said it was ethically, socially and democratically wrong to elect a failed politician who obtained less than 25,000 votes at the last Parliamentary polls contesting from the second oldest and biggest political party in the country.

“In the 1977 General Election, the UNP said no one elected from Attanagalle should be elected to run the country targetting Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. What has the UNP has to say now about electing a politician who destroyed the grand old party, the UNP and failed to elect to Parliament from Colombo where majority of voters are from the elite class,” Prof. Piyadasa asked.

“We can’t forget the era of killing and abduction of youth at Batalanda torture chamber and shooting of students who protested against the White Paper. The world powers are keen to have a permanent footprint in Sri Lanka for its a strategically important location in the Indian Ocean. If a person who worships neo liberalism as his religion was elected to run the country, Sri Lanka would be a battleground for world powers before long,” he lamented.

Therefore, it was a national duty of all MPs not to fall prey to financial inducements and vote according to their conscious to fulfill the aspirations of over 22 million Sri Lankans who campaigned for more than three months demanding the eviction of two top leaders who they claimed brought the country to the present level of poverty, destruction and anarachy, Prof. Piyadasa stressed.

Dr. Chamath Liyanage, executive member of the NFS said today, imperialism was in operation in a different form.

The neo liberalism and imperialism are in full gear by agents of world powers in lesser powerful countries and Sri Lanka was one of them.

“We have information that certain diplomats in Colombo have visited residences of political leaders of Sri Lanka. We don’t know why,” he added.

Dr. Liyanage noted that only the MPs of the opposition and government ranks could prevent an imminent disaster by electing the most suitable presidential candidate who is accepted to the Aragalists and all other Sri Lankans living in and out of the country.

Responding to a journalist as to why the NFS targets only Ranil Wickremsinghe against his election as the President, Dr. Edirisinghe said he was the most dangerous and unpredictable person among the lot.

“What we say is that the opposition and the government must come to a consensus and elect a politician who is acceptable to all Sri Lankans unanimously. That is the only way to prevent the country plunging into a volcano,” he stressed.

Dr. Lakshman Edirisinghe, President of the Government Medical Professionals Association and Dr. Chandima Wijegunawardana also spoke. (Sandun A Jayasekera)