Eran compares present govt. with Hitler’s rule

By Saman Indrajith

The main opposition SJB on Monday claimed that the country was sliding fast towards authoritarianism.

SJB MP Eran Wickremeratne told Parliament that the government resorted to excessive control of the people through gazette rule. “This is a sign of authoritarianism. Rule by gazette was the principal tool used by Hitler to set up a dictatorship in Germany. Hitler lost his parliamentary majority in 1933, and thereafter he resorted to full scale gazette rule. Those are the lessons that we should learn from history. In 1933 Adolf Hitler passed the laws to legitimise his rule by gazettes. Thereafter, he bypassed Parliament and became a law unto himself,” MP Wickremeratne said while participating in the debate on Presidential proclamation on emergency.

MP Wickremaratne demanded to know the link between emergency and food shortages. He said if there were hidden stocks as claimed by the government there were provisions in the Consumer Affairs Authority itself to use. The Disaster Management Act No 13 of 2005 could also be used.

“No President should be given more powers than are needed to execute his responsibilities,” he said.

“What is the necessity for the President to proclaim a State of Emergency under the Public Security Ordinance to further consolidate his power? What purpose is he trying to accomplish? Through these emergency proclamations the President has the power to suspend civil liberties, arrest and detain any citizen without a court order, suspend laws of the country, enter any premises without a court order and seize privately owned property,” the SJB MP said.