Samaraweera invites Kumaratunga to join SLFP(M)

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 June 2007, 13:43 GMT]
Mangala Samaraweera, former Foreign Minister Wednesday speaking in parliament said the policy statement of his new party Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Peoples Wing) would be released next week. He declared that the country has become a police state with increased disappearances, abductions and human rights violations, parliamentary sources said.

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse sacked Mr.Samaraweera and another dissident Mr.Sripathi Sooriyarachchi from his cabinet following differences of opinion with them several months ago, sources said.

Mr.Samaraweera made an appeal to Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, former executive president and a daughter of late Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike, founder of the SLFP to join hands with the new party to usher a new era in Sri Lanka.

He added the present SLFP has no internal democracy and has become a puppet in the hands of a group of people with executive and other powers.

He stated that he would be consulting representatives of other political parties before issuing the policy statement.