COLOMBO: Leader of the opposition in Sri Lanka’s parliament Sirimavo Bandaranaike suggested that donor countries should send a team to study “large scale violation of fundamental and human rights” before granting aid to the island nation.
Addressing a luncheon meeting of the foreign correspondents association, the former prime minister said donor nations should put some conditions to stop violation of human nights by the government sponsored agencies in the name of combating the Sinhala extremists of the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna.
“If the country has to survive, the killings must stop,” Bandaranaike leader of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) said. Reiterating her charge about a conspiracy to wipe out democratic opposition Bandaranaike said the prevailing situation in the country was the culmination of “misrule” by the ruling united national party (UNP) and added “the quest for a one party state goes on,” Bandaranaike said a “very large number of youths” have been killed by alleged death squads of the anti IVP vigilante groups and despite foreign minister Ranjan Wijeratne’s assertion that “the match is over” killings were continuing unabated.
Kidnappings, killings, burning of bodies on the roads and floating of bodies on the rivers goes on unabated,” she said.
Saying that she was hopeful of a favorable verdict from the Supreme Court on her petition challenging the election of President Premadasa, Bandaranaike alleged that at least seven witnesses in the case have been killed.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 26, 1990
