All those who supported this Government should apologise to the people. Artistes should be with people because they believe in us
– Dhananjaya Siriwardana

Many of the artistes expressed their disappointment towards the incumbent regime

Many artistes endorsed the incumbent Government during the 2019 Presidential Elections. These included amateur as well as senior artistes who participated in everything from theme songs to social media campaigns. However, many of them joined a mass protest in front of the Presidential Secretariat on April 4 (Monday), standing in solidarity with the people. Many of them expressed their disappointment towards the incumbent regime while requesting artistes who endorsed this government to come forward and accept that they made a mistake and to apologise to the public.  

Artistes should stand with people

“We came here because of the people. They are struggling to live at the moment. As an artiste I came for them. I never supported this Government. I have my way of thinking. But people accepted this Government and now they have rejected them all. Finally they recognised the true nature of the Government. Artistes should stand with the people, or else people will reject us as well,” said Chillie Thilanka.

“April 4 is a special day for both of us as it is our eighth wedding anniversary. We should be celebrating somewhere, but how can we do that? People are in pain and they have been cheated for many years. We have a baby, but we don’t see any future for our children. They keep cheating on us. We came here because they cheated on us. This is the last chance we had, but now we don’t have a chance. Why did they do this for humanity? We came here to support the public. All 225 politicians should go home. Kindly step down or find a solution. I’m not one of those artistes who supported this government. Even though my brother is a candidate we have our own opinions on politics. I wasn’t there on any stage endorsing him or any other politician. It’s true that I voted for this government, but that is my fundamental right. But I haven’t received any support from the Government. I’m a freelancer and more than anything I’m an artiste in this country. I don’t like those who go behind politicians. We don’t need a political party because we should be with the people. All those who supported this Government should apologise to the people. Artistes should be with people because they believe in us. We don’t have any option now. We are helpless with this useless Government. If they have a little shame please step down and respect the people’s voice,” said Dhananjaya Siriwardana.