National People’s Party (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake says donations cannot make up for crimes of the past, in reference to opposition leader Sajith Premadasa’s latest program to provide buses to schools across the country. Addressing the party electoral organising meeting in Kalawewa this week, Dissanayake recalled relatives and friends that were brutally killed by past regimes, particularly that of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Acknowledging the many known faces in the crowd from his hometown of nearby Tambuttegama, Dissanayake said many who should be seated among them were robbed of their lives. “Every time I visit Tambuttegama my heart feels heavy. My brother was taken away from us due to his involvement in politics,” he said, recalling the names of many other friends he had lost at the time. “Many of them were forced to leave us after being subjected to the torture meted out by Premadasa in 1988 - 1989. Therefore certain leaders must keep in mind that donations cannot make up for past crimes. Material items cannot make up for that past. People who could have lived, breathed and worked along with us today were taken away by these regimes,” he said.

Recalling how he managed to save his own life, Dissanayake said the burden of obtaining justice for those who were lost now rests upon their shoulders. “We can only deliver justice to my relatives, all the brothers and sisters of our party who were taken away from us by building the nation they wish for in Sri Lanka. Therefore, we possess a conscience that will not submit to any kind of insults or threats. It cannot be valued and neither can it be bought. I assure you we will continue moving forward till we build a just and fair rule in Sri Lanka,” the NPP leader said.