Former Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday (29) declined the request made by Samagi Jana Balawegaya to return to active politics.
At a press brief held by Samagi Jana Balawegaya on Wednesday (29), SJB Working Committee member Rehan Jayawickreme invited former Minister Mangala Samaraweera to rejoin active politics through the SJB.
Responding to the invitation, in a post in his official Facebook page, Samaraweera noted that Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna and Samagi Jana Balawegaya are two sides of the same coin.Samaraweera also noted that the country is desperate for “a total u-turn in its policy direction.”
Samaraweera observed, “I decided to come into active politics in 1988 from the SLFP, which I felt was the most ‘liberal’ political party at the time (despite some of its dubious past policies especially in 1956 and 1970)- in the face of extra-judicial killings carried out by killer squads in the south from both ends of the divide. In 1994, the country elected Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the most liberal minded President so far and in 2005, I actively participated in Mahinda Rajapaksa’s campaign believing that he would continue with the earlier policies.”
Samaraweera further noted,