The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) expresses its strong protest at the imposition of a purported police curfew within parts of the Western Province by the inspector General of Police. BASL call upon the Inspector General of Police to immediately withdraw his illegal order.
The Police Ordinance does not have a provision for the imposition of such curfew. Such curfew is blatantly illegal and a violation of the fundamental rights of the people of our country who are protesting against President Gotabhaya Rajapakse and his Government over its failure to protect their basic rights.
The BASL wishes to ask the inspector General of Police under what authority he has declared such curfew.
The declaration of curfew is clearly intended to stifle the freedom of expression and dissent and is totally unacceptable and undemocratic and will gravely harm Sri Lanka’s economy and its social and political stability. It will affect Sri Lanka’s international standing.
We call upon the people of Sri Lanka to take all necessary steps to safeguard their democratic rights and to use every peaceful means at their disposal to protect such rights. We call upon the Inspector General of Police to immediately withdraw his illegal order. Failure to withdraw the purported curfew order will have severe consequences for the country.
