The General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Sagara Kariyawasam, has said that even the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) “did not enter offices to assassinate their opponents,” warning that the current state of law and order in Sri Lanka is “more terrifying than during the time of the conflict.”
Speaking to reporters following the Weligama shooting, in which local council chairman Lasantha Wickramasekara was gunned down inside his office, Kariyawasam described the incident as “extremely alarming.” He noted that Wickramasekara had previously written to authorities requesting protection, but his appeal had gone unheeded.
“For thirty years, this country endured conflict,” Kariyawasam said. “Yet, even during that time, the LTTE never dared to enter offices and kill their enemies in cold blood. But under the present Sri Lankan government’s rule, such a situation has arisen.”
The SLPP General Secretary went on to claim that there was growing public suspicion that the government was using criminal gangs as cover to pursue its own agendas, plunging the country into a state of lawlessness.
He warned that the Sri Lankan public could no longer tolerate a situation where people were “gunned down like dogs and cats.” Kariyawasam also expressed concern that the government’s ongoing anti-underworld operations were, in reality, strengthening the very criminal networks they were meant to dismantle.
Earlier this year Kariyawasam claimed, “We have gone beyond the dark days of LTTE terrorism and are now heading towards conditions similar to the 1988–89 JVP insurrection”.
His remarks come amid rising tensions following a series of high-profile shootings and growing criticism of the National People’s Power (NPP) administration’s failure to maintain security. The killing of the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha chairman has drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum, with opposition figures accusing the government of allowing the country to descend into violence and impunity.
