Sajith Premadasa calls for mass protest against 22nd Amendment

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has called for a large-scale peaceful protest in Colombo on September 24 to oppose the proposed 22nd Amendment to the constitution. Speaking at a meeting with United People's Power local government members, Premadasa accused the government led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake of undermining democracy, judicial independence, and the rule of law.

Premadasa stated that the amendment is an attempt to establish a partisan rule and centralize power, which would infringe upon the rights of the citizenry. He emphasized that the opposition aims to mobilize significant public support to defeat the amendment and prevent what he described as a move toward authoritarianism.

Separately, the 39th anniversary of the death of Thiyaga Deepam Thileepan, a former political official for the LTTE, is being observed. Thileepan, a former medical student, began a hunger strike in 1987 to demand the cessation of new Sinhalese settlements in the North and East, the release of Tamil political prisoners, the repeal of the Emergency Regulations, the disarmament of the Home Guards, and a halt to the opening of new police stations in Tamil areas.