Sri Lanka, Oct. 28 -- The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and Opposition parliamentarians state that the refusal to debate a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) brought by the Opposition against Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne constitutes a severe blow to the rights of the Opposition within a democracy.

The SJB says that it will not be a party to any government scheme to amend or withdraw the serious allegations against the Speaker to suit the government's own agenda and maintains that the Speaker should either resign from his post or face the 50 charges brought against him without fear by allowing a debate on the No-Confidence Motion against him to proceed. The motion has been signed by 44 Opposition Members of Parliament including Opposition Lead...