22 March 2020 08:01 am
Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has requested the government leaders to convene an All Party Conference to consider the views and reach collective decisions in the national effort to overcome the present catastrophe.
The full statement
As the number of reported patients infected with COVID-19 virus increase on a daily basis, the vulnerability of the country and the citizens aggravates further. In this hour of need the selfless services rendered by brave officers in healthcare, defence police, and other essential services sectors deserve the respect, gratitude and the support of the whole nation.
It is an indubitable responsibility of all to contribute and collaborate fully to the efforts taken by the government to manage the situation. Further, a proper and practical mechanism has to be considered to provide benefits to those vulnerable people who lose their daily wages and incomes due to measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
A feature of responsible governance is to bring unite the whole citizenry to achieve one zeal in overcoming national calamities such as this. As already pointed out by the former Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, other political party leaders, chambers of commerce, and various civil society leaders, I request, as the Speaker of the previous Parliament, from the President, the Prime Minister and the Government to convene an All Party Conference to consider the views and reach collective decisions in the national effort to overcome the present catastrophe. (In such a gathering, standard healthcare measures should adopted to prevent and potential threat of spreading the virus).
I hope that this request will be considered as a contribution made with good faith, for the benefit of the country and its citizens, and also taking into account some of the encouraging examples from around the world where the government and the opposition come together to face the present pandemic.