Democratic Left Front leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara M. P. said that the progressive forces in the country should rally around the government to safeguard the country from designs of the international forces of imperialism and their agents in the country. In a statement, he said that these imperialist forces want to prevent a country like Sri Lanka from adopting an independent path for peace and development without following their neo-liberal policies of open economy.

The DLF leader recalled that the capitalist and imperialist forces had launched similar campaigns against the government of Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike who has adopted a socialist fiscal policy under the guidance of the then Finance Minister Dr N M Perera. As a result of the actions of those forces, the country had faced a severe foreign exchange crisis, he pointed out.

“The pro-Western, right-wing capitalists and imperialist forces are joining hands against the progressive government headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa and it is essential to defeat such forces by mobilising the masses including the working class by providing them with concessions and increasing national resources and preserving foreign exchange reserves,” Mr Nanayakkara stated. He added that the government should also get closer to the people by abandoning the policies that could lead to divisions among the masses and create confrontations between the government and the people.

Mr Nanayakkara said that the government should further strengthen the ties with friendly nations like India, Russia, China, and others who fearlessly stood on the side of Sri Lanka in the United nations Security Council and the UNHRC. He added that relations with the nonaligned nations and socialist states like Cuba, Vietnam and Laos should also be further strengthened.

“Steps must be taken to strengthen peace and democracy as well as human rights reforms and urge the progressive and democratic forces all over the world to rally around Sri Lanka,” DLF leader said.