PRESIDENT AWAITING PRIME MINISTER’S REPLY TO IMPLEMENT HER DECISION OF TAKING OVER THE DEVELOPMENT LOTTERIES BOARD
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
May 17. 05.40 AM:People’s Alliance spokesman Dr. Sarath Amunugama said President Chandrika Kumaratunga was awaiting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s reply to President’s letter stating that no re-consideration was necessary to her decision to take over the Development Lotteries Board since it was done under expert legal opinion.
The Prime Minister while acknowledging the President’s letter had promised a reply soon, Amunugama said.
The PA spokesman said according to expert legal opinion her step of taking over the lucrative board of lotteries from the right hand man of the Prime Minister, Minister Milinda Moragoda was an absolutely correct step under the constitution of Sri Lanka. As soon as the President put her signature to the regulations of taking over, it became law and no publication of the order in the government gazette was necessary to complete the process, Dr. Amunugama said.
Describing the history of the publication of regulations and orders in the government gazette about 150 years ago in Sri Lanka to inform the public, Sarath Amunugama said it was so done at that time since there were no newspapers in the country to publicize such matters. Though the tradition was continued over the years it was not a necessity of the law to publish such orders in the government gazette today and the law did not stipulate so, he further pointed out.
Asked why the President could not get a simple thing like the publication of a gazette done by herself he said all measures were taken to publish the gazette until government Ministers led UNP thugs to attack the very machinery set to print the gazette at the Government Press. Amunugama said this must be the first occasion in the history that a government organized mob attacks against an institution of their own. Earlier Amunugama charged that Ministers John Amaratunga, Ravi Karunanayaka, and Lokuge sent thugs to the premises of the Government Press to damage machinery of printing. Others said they saw Amaratunga directing the mobs as well as the Police at the Government Press since he was also the Minister in charge of the Police.
Dr. Amunugama further said regardless of the of the sabotage of the printing presses by UNP thugs the President would go ahead and implement her decision.
The PA spokesman further said what the President took was an administrative step allowed by the Constitution of Sri Lanka , under the powers of the President and she was not rushing anything.
