United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said today no party members were involved in the clash at Matara. He accused the Government of manipulating the clash with the intention of destroying the main opposition party.

At a Sirikotha ceremony where appointment letters were handed over to the newly elected members of the Central and North-Western Provinces, Mr. Wickremesinghe said the government was trying to divide the UNP to cover up its own crisis.

He said a group people who were chased out of the UNP had been used by the Government in its operation to divide and destroy the UNP.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is caught up in a crisis of its own where even the Prime Minister is participating in a protest against the UPFA leadership.

“We have never seen a Prime Minister acting against an executive president in this country before,” he said adding that this crisis is similar to the 1956 SLFP crisis which ended up with the assassination of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

Mr. Wickremsinghe assured the members that the trouble times of the party will end soon and pleaded with the party members to work for the betterment of the party.

He told the newly elected provincial councillors to attend council sessions and group meetings without fail.

“You are elected by the people to work for them and don’t forget that you are duty bound to fulfill the aspirations of the people you represent,” he said. (Yohan Perera) (Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana)