Do not betray the unborn generation-Ensure the dignity of Parliament

No future to the country without Parliamentary democracy

Come forward for national-religious and political unity

Do not violate the supremacy of Parliament

President of the National Movement for a Just Society, Deshabandu Karu Jayasuriya, emphasized that all Members of Parliament should work to establish racial, religious and political unity by ensuring Parliamentary democracy without resorting to the sin of betraying the unborn future generation.

Deshabandu Karu Jayasuriya expressed his views at a press conference, organized by the National Movement for a Just Society in Colombo on Tuesday (07) where he further stated.

We are deeply shocked to witness some of the activities that have taken place and are taking place in Parliament in recent times.  We highlight these incidents with great sorrow.

Members of Parliament are addressed as Honorable Members since they should be respected. Their daily routine should be in honor of that position. They should represent the dignity of the country. Therefore, Members of Parliament should behave in a manner that does not insult the people of the country.

The dignity and the reputation of the Parliament got damaged due to some incidents that took place in the Parliament in the past too. We see such things happening again and again today. This situation is not only very sad but also a dangerous trend. There have been reports of insults to women in Parliament recently. That situation is extremely sad.

The civilized society does not approve the use of obscene language and character assassination to accuse one another in Parliament. Today, this situation has escalated to the point of publicly threatening and attacking Opposition MPs. If these incidents take place as organized and planned instead of incidents of coincidence, such a country does need a Parliament. It was reported that a group of Opposition MPs would not come to Parliament until their security is assured due to threats. That atmosphere is a deadly blow to democracy.

We earnestly hope that an impartial inquiry into this incident will be conducted soon and this issue will be resolved. The unfortunate and violent incident that took place on 28th October, 2018 got immediately exposed to the world as it is today.

 The whole democratic world condemned the incident and the 52 days government was not recognized by any democratic country and the country suffered a great disgrace. These remarks were made, albeit painfully with the noble intention of preserving the dignity of our Parliament. We declared a set of ethics in 2018 on behalf of the peoples’ Representative to protect the dignity of the Parliament and its Members.  We reached that with the consent of every Member of the Parliament. The important factors reached therein were.

01. Every Member of Parliament must abide by the law relating to fundamental rights.

02. Every Member of Parliament should work for the betterment of the nation.

03. Every Member of Parliament should consider public relations.

04. Government appointments, contracts, awards and recommending beneficiaries should be based totally on merits.

The rules of the code of conduct included the following. Every Member of Parliament must abide by the following rules of Parliament.

A. Acting in accordance with conscience.

B. Respect for human rights and the inherent dignity of the people.

C. To act in a manner befitting the trust and respect of the people.

D. Enforcement of the concepts of constitutional binding and the principle of devolution of power and the rule of law in a democratic government.

E. Be responsible for one's own behavior and role.

F. To use the privileges which you are entitled to enjoy under any law and to carry out the duties related to your official position with due diligence and dignity.

G. Every Member of Parliament is personally responsible for contributing to the effective and efficient functioning of Parliament.

H. Every Member of Parliament must respect the role, independence, rights and responsibilities of the staff of Parliament.

I. Every Member of Parliament is responsible for ensuring that the Executive is accountable to Parliament in safeguarding parliamentary democracy.

J. No Member of Parliament shall undertake any action which may be detrimental to the reputation and integrity of Parliament or its Members or the country.

In addition, the rules outline the use of public properties and motivation, attendance, the conduct and the dress code for courtesy have been mentioned.  I would like to draw the attention of all Hon. Members to the following rules among the present crisis situation.

* Members of Parliament must be polite and use appropriate language in political speeches and especially in parliamentary debates.

* No Member of Parliament shall assault, harass or threaten anyone.

* Every Member of Parliament must treat his Members of Parliament, the staff of Parliament and the general public with dignity, courtesy and without compromising the dignity of Parliament.

The Parliament which is the supreme place of the country, should be an exemplary place. Honorable Members of Parliament should be humble enough to respect each other's views and recognize that right. The problems of the country should be resolved through Parliament. When thousands of lives are lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic and at a time when the lives of the people are in turmoil due to the lack of foreign exchange, what should happen is solve those issues through Parliament in a united manner.

At the same time, if there is no national religious and political unity in the country, further deterioration of the country will be inevitable. If so, that situation would be a betrayal of our unborn future generations. May this appeal be brought to the kind attention of all Hon. Members of Parliament..!