Dingiri Banda Wijetunga

"Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide in the strife of Truth and Falsehood, for the good and evil side."

"Wijetunga was quickly and unanimously chosen by a stunned Parliament to take over from Premadasa as acting President for the remaining 18 months of his term of office. Press and trade union freedoms, curtailed by the authoritarian Premadasa under a state of emergency, were restored, if only temporarily. Sri Lanka seemed to breathe easier now that the combative Premadasa was no longer in power."