SL Parliament votes to extend Emergency Regulations

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 12:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Parliament voted to extend the Emergency Regulations by one month during a sitting Wedesday morning after a debate presided by Speaker of the House, M. Locubanda, parliamentary sources in Colombo said. The motion to extend passed with a 105 majority, with 123 MPs voting for, and 18 MPs voting against.

Opposition United National Party (UNP), and extremist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) supported the extension joining with Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

Mano Ganesan, Western Province Peoples Front (WPPF) parliamentarian joined the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs in voting against the extension.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, during the debate, appealed to the parliamentarians to support the extension, citing the urgent need to contain the activities of the Liberation Tigers that is posing danger to Sri Lanka's national security.

He submitted a report to the parliament on the violence incidents between 1 January and 5 February, parliamentary sources said.

The State of Emergency was reimposed on 13th August 2005, a day after the assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar, former Foreign Minister in his residence in Colombo.

Chronology: