Maithri Gunaratne-Led Group Withdraws From 22A Protest

COLOMBO (Newsfirst) - Former Governor Maithri Gunaratne-led Free Action Center For The Protection of Democracy has decided to withdraw from the protest planned for tomorrow by a group including the Opposition Leader against the 22nd Constitutional Amendment, which contains proposals including the extension of the retirement age of Supreme Court judges.

The Free Action Center For The Protection of Democracy, in a statement, said that it has consistently stood for democracy, the rule of law, judicial independence, and the protection of the fundamental rights of citizens since its inception.

The statement noted that, with those objectives in mind, September 24 had been set aside to organize a joint public protest with the participation of all citizens who value democracy.

It further stated that the primary objective was to build a broad, peaceful, and powerful public movement against any threat to democratic rights and institutional independence, transcending the narrow political interests of any particular party or group.

However, the organization said that various opinions, statements, and actions that subsequently emerged in relation to the planned event had created challenges to moving forward with the broad and unified public campaign that had originally been envisaged with the participation of all stakeholders. As a result, the Free Action Center For The Protection of Democracy has decided to withdraw its official participation from the joint programme scheduled for tomorrow.