Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka, in a special statement issued a short while ago, dubbed the Joint Opposition protest march as a "political gimmick" organised by a bunch of crooks. 

The Law and Order Minister also said that the government would provide maximum security to whom he termed as the 'misguided protesters. 

The full statement issued by Ratnayaka is as follows,

The planned march from Kandy to Colombo will do nothing to break the historic partnership between the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena respectively.  If at all it is an effort to destroy the marriage that took place on January 8th 2015 between the people of this country and the idea of democracy.

As far as we are concerned this is nothing more than a political gimmick organized by a bunch of crooks.  Their followers will realize soon enough that it is not about the nation or the people but an act of desperation on the part of a few individuals who are being prosecuted for multiple infringements of the law including financial crimes and murder.

However, in line with the promises we have made to the people of this country, we will continue to uphold the principles of democracy; in this case the right to protest.  In fact the Government will do its best to provide the maximum security possible to those who take part in this protest, meaningless though it is and misled though the protesters are.

Unlike during the previous regime, there won't be hooligans and thugs disrupting this march.  There won't be baton-charging and there won't be water-cannons.  There won't be tear gas.

Having said that, we would like to remind the organizers of this protest that a healthy democracy also includes the Rule of Law.  No protest, however justifiable, warrants the breaking of the law.  Just as much as we are mandated to uphold the principles of democracy, so too are we obliged to ensure that the Rule of Law is not compromised.