The ARAGALAYA’s Demands in English

Courtesy of my Aloysian Friend KK De Silva …………with a PIX from his schoolboy days at St Aloysius, Galle

Transcript of the Programme spelt out in Sinhala: viz https://fb.watch/eaarPjDUCc/?fs=e&s=cl

Yesterday we took part in the aragalaya. It was good. Now there is talk about a caretaker government. This is something new to the people & us.

First I must say that we got together irrespective of ethnic differences. Sinhalese, Muslims, Tamils were together as Sri Lankans. In future no one can act differently. I am saying this to those actors. They should listen carefully. There is a set of actors, like the yellow group. There is another set called artistes (kalaakaruwo). There is a fellow wearing a sheet (?) There are others like Bhatiya & Santush. Are they not ashamed? Where were they yesterday. Then there is Iraj. Dont come wearing a cloth. Don’t come this way for shows. You all have been rejected,

Actually, I have to thank Vishvalanka. They raised our morale. Also Peshala aiya. Also Sudath Thilakasiri. Sudath Aiyya also boosted our morale.

From now on don’t come to play roles. Don’t come with talk about sterile food, sterile shorts. We don’t want any of you. Now Raja from Jaffna, Mohamed from Colombo & Siripala from South are together, hand in hand. After this there is no need to worry that a church/mosque/Buddha statue will be attacked.

There is also Padeniya & his set of doctors. Don’t come with your foolish ideas. We will not give you a chance. We will come to your doorstep. You must have seen. Definitely we will come.

Now they talk about a caretaker govt. Don’t try to reshuffle the old pack of cards. I must refer to Wimal, Gammanpila, Vasu, Dinesh, S.B. You have been Ministers in every govt. In future you will not be able to do that. I must tell one more thing. If you are travelling in a car or jeep, do so with the people. Not with guards. You are no longer VIP’s. Road will be cleared only the ambulance.

Now there is a set of 225 people. Sajith came with a group to Colombo. None of you took notice. Anura Kumara came next with another set to  Nugegoda. None of you took notice. We only said that we are going to rise up. When it was posted in the Facebook, all of you got scared, even before we organised. In future those in the 225 group will not be able to get the people to dance to your tune. You will have to dance to the tune of the people. Remember we are all together.

About the concept of the caretaker govt, look further into it. It is only for the purpose of solving the pressing problems for a short period. Don’t get together with the old set & harrass the people. We are not in the group that believes in the concept that all 225 are rogues. There are good people among them. There is a handful of good people among the 225. With that set we can uplift the country. The opportunity is still there.

Other thing is about the police & armed services, people in uniform. During the civil war we donated our blood, we held bodhi poojas. However, what you did that day was very bad. There is a human being within you. It may be that you were complying with your orders. That you were doing your job. But we expected something more from you. We are very sad about it.  We gave you the medicine for your ugly behaviour.

We are thankful to the Bar Association for coming to our aid,  day or night. We bow our heads to them for their assistance. Thank you very much.

Now we are one nation. However, we have not yet been victorious. There is a little more to do. We have to wipe the slate clean. Some have resigned. But it is not yet time for kiribath. Don’t rejoice now. First the President must resign. Then the Cabinet must resign. We have to see. Still the PM has not gone. The old mynah is still there. Nande is still there. The entire set must go. It is after that we can take a decision. We will win the aragalaya. But it is not over.

Nande is still there. The entire set must go.

For 74 years we never had a leader who humiliated  himself so much. There was Maithripala Sirisena. We attacked him too, much more than this man. But he did not demean himself so much. He (GR) brought the emergency regulation. He introduced a curfew. He then issued a gazette where a person could not go to a public toilet. Even after doing so, did he stop the peoples uprising?. We did rise up.

Now there are people who will try to fish in troubled waters. Now there is a group wearing tie & coat ready to grab the Presidential chair. They will not be allowed to succeed.

What we must understand is that we cannot have an election at the present time. An election will cost several millions of rupees. With that money we can provide the people with fuel, gas, food etc.

There has to be a caretaker govt. But such a govt will consist of people from the present set. It can be the Sajith Premadasa group., Maithripala group etc. However, those within these groups who acted foolishly should not be taken. Out of this set, we have to pick the good people, even reluctantly. People must be ready to decide who should go.

We cannot say how long it will take to sort out the problems, find dollars. It is after that that an election can be held. So, we have to wait.

I am a Muslim youth. Sinhala people, Tamil people have all got together. If you pierce the skin of all these people, blood will be the same.

However, I can definitely say that in the future there will be stories about sterile food, sterile shorts, damage to Buddha statues, mosques, churches & all types of attempts to create trouble. They will find a set like our Zahran from somewhere & attempt to create divisions among the people. They will spread stories through social media. But in future we must remain united.

This is the time that our nation is raising itself. We have to send a message to the world that we have turned over a new leaf. Other countries, IMF will come to our aid when they see the transformation. The rupee will gain in strength.

The youth must know that we cannot depend on foreign imports for ever. Find innovative solutions. Start enterprises. There are solutions to fuel problems, gas problems, There are videos on how to deal with our problems. The Moratuwa university , other universities can come up with solutions to any problem. Whether it is tourism or hotel operations there are new concepts on how to manage. The sea is all around the country. We have to go to places like Thailand & learn from them about underwater activities to promote tourism. We have to improve our traffic system. The sea is all around us. Why cant we use ships for transport? This will reduce fuel imports. There are any number of ideas, which we can develop further. The private sector, the govt sector can play a part. We can tackle the problems we are faced with by doing some of these small things.As a youth my message is to get together. We have already done so. We have to continue on this path. Let people from other countries appreciate & visit our country. Let us take pride in Mother Lanka. Thank you.

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A NOTE from KK de Silva:

Prof. Michael, Further to my email, the report of a media conference on 10th july can be accessed here

https://ceylontoday.lk/2022/07/11/mass-protest-a-warning-to-corrupt-leaders-gunratnam/

Regards,  KK

ALSO NOTE  …. Rohan Pethiyagoda’s revealing review on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDdWcc4ImQ