News
UNP pledges to resist foreign interference
View(s):By Chandani Kirinde
At its 70th annual convention yesterday, the ruling United National Party passed several resolutions including a pledge not to allow any foreign force to threaten the country’s independence or undermine, ridicule or exert pressure on the people’s sovereignty.
Prime Minister and Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe submitted the resolution titled “Our Ideology” to the large number of UNP members who gathered at Campbell Park and it was endorsed unanimously.
Later in his speech, Mr. Wickremesinghe asked party members to move away from old ideologies and embrace a new ideology suited to modern times. “Let us move away from Jurassic ideologies and embrace a new ideology,” he said. He also asked the UNP members to learn to work with others for the betterment of the country’s future generations and work towards reconciliation among all Lankans to build a Sri Lankan identity.
The resolutions passed include giving the foremost place to Buddhism which has for the past 2,500 years made the country the inheritors of a proud history and a centre of Theravada Buddhism while upholding the rights of the Hindus, the Muslims, the Christians and others to practice their faiths.
Unprecedented: Among those who came for the UNP convention were President Maithripala Sirisena and former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Pic by Indika Handuwala
The resolutions also pledge to uphold the independence of the judiciary, the rights of citizens to hold their views and the right to express their opinions. They also pledge to give the rightful place to the deserving persons and involved people from the lowest level in the decision-making process.
The other matters highlighted include bringing economic independence to the people, improving the economic conditions of the Northern people who had suffered as a result of the 30-year-old war, gender parity with particular emphasis on addressing problems faced by girls and women in society and ensuring thirteen years of mandatory school education for all children.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who made the unprecedented move of taking part in the UNP convention, pledged that the two major parties would continue the consensus outlined in the last Presidential Election manifesto. He said those who were allegedly involved in large-scale corruption would not be allowed to undermine the new development strategy.