The
immature demise of a sweet friend and co- minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle has
shattered me, said EPDP Secretary General and Minister Douglas Devananda in his
condolence message over the cowardly assassination of Jeyaraj Fernandopulle,
Minister of High Ways and Road Construction.
The sudden demise of
Minister Fernandopulle is an irreparable loss to the country and its people,
whose grief I share with them.
Hw was forthright in
expressing his views and was a good debater in the Parliament.
The LTTE infuriated over
the defeats in the battlefield engage in this type of assassinations to paralyze
the government’s effort to eradicate terrorism from the country and especially
to paralyze the development activities in the north and east.
The assassination of such
a committed democrat once again shows the total contempt of the LTTE to the
democratic process and its unquestioned commitment to violence and terror to
achieve it narrow objectives that are far removed from the Tamil people of this
country.
It is also significant
that in carrying this repeated act of terrorist brutality the LTTE has chosen as
its target a leader who played an important role in bringing about greater
understanding among the different communities of our country.
EPDP vehemently denounce
this type of assassinations in the guise of liberation for our country. The LTTE
could never achieve freedom from for Tamils by killing political leaders like
Fernandopulle.
We share the bereavement
of Fernandopulle’s kith and kin, his party members, Gampaha people who elected
him to represent them in Parliament, he said further.