Arson attack on PM’s House: Karu wants any hidden forces probed

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on Tuesday said that it was important to investigate whether there were hidden forces behind the arson attack on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s house last Saturday.

Jayasuriya said that he condemned the attack on journalists who were covering the protests by a group of STF personnel.

He also condemned the burning of Premier Wickremesinghe’s private residence.

“When a country is going through a crisis, members of the general public must be informed. Media plays a critical role in this and we must condemn any attack on journalists,” he said.

Jayasuriya added the burning of the Prime Minister’s house was deplorable. In democratic politics, respecting dissenting voices is important, he said.

“A society that can’t tolerate diverse views is heading for disaster. We must ensure that we learn lessons from the past. We need to stabilize the situation and get things back on track. For this, we must also determine if an unseen force was operating when Wickremesinghe’s house was set on fire,” he said.

On Monday (11) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that the torching of his house had caused the destruction of valuable books and paintings. He added that the attack on his house was the result of misunderstanding about his stance regarding his resignation.

Wickremesinghe said that when party leaders met on 09 July to discuss the future developments, he said that he would resign when a new all-party government is established as there was a need for someone to be in charge to ensure a smooth transition.

“However, MP Rauff Hakeem tweeted that I had had disagreed with the decision taken by party leaders that the President and Prime Minister must resign. This was given a lot of publicity by Sirasa. They claim some of their journalists were attacked near my house. I saw one journalist falling but I didn’t see anyone being attacked. However, if a journalist was attacked I condemn it,” he said.