Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) requests government to solve Kotelawala Defence University Bill issue and the teacher-principal issue. Also they requests government to stop the witch-hunt against Dr. Mahim Mendis and 15 other activists who participated recent peaceful protest walk.
“If the government continues to stifle the constitutionally enshrined right of the people to dissent, the days of this government are numbered and its political future will be in serious jeopardy”
FUTA joined to a protest walk and rally on August 3 and the police is now attempting to characterize that democratic protest as a highly dangerous terrorist-like activity and the police force, which is currently behaving like a mercenary paramilitary force employed by the government, is making a mockery of law enforcement by invoking quarantine regulations and laws pertaining to the damage of public property against these activists.
In the face of this repression we appeal to the Sri Lankan public to stand up and demand that the police force which is behaving like a private mercenary force of the government be immediately reformed to perform its constitutionally enshrined duty of safeguarding the rights and liberties of the people of this country.
Full Press Release.
A public appeal to the people of Sri Lanka to intervene to tame the Sri Lankan police force which is acting like a paramilitary force at the behest of the ruling cabal. Stop hunting Mahim Mendis and other activists ! If government suppress the rights of the people, the days of the government are numbered – FUTA
The Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) expresses its deep appreciation towards the multiple interventions by school teachers, university academics and students who have come forward to perform their civic duty amidst the government’s hasty and ill-thought out attempts to bring legislation that threatens the future of free education and the stability of the university system in this country.
There is no better example of the muddled policymaking of this government than the attempts to push through such legislation in the middle of possibly the worst health crisis to confront our society in living memory. It is evident now that the government is attempting to stifle and repress activists performing their civic duty by protesting against the KNDU Bill and intervening in the ongoing teacher-principal struggle for professional dignity. We observe that there is a growing wave of popular sentiment against the government’s bungling of the education sector and the government unable to contend with this movement is exploiting and prostituting the police force of this country. The police force has a bounden duty to safeguard the rights of the citizenry but instead we observe that at the moment it is being used as a mechanism to stifle democratic dissent.
The best example that illustrates the government’s repressive approach is the protest walk and rally organized on 03rd August with the participation of academics representing FUTA. This protest walk and rally was organized with the involvement of a large number of civil society groups and trade unions. The police is now engaged in a witch-hunt against Dr. Mahim Mendis and 15 other activists who participated in this peaceful protest walk and rally which culminated with the symbolic burning of a coffin and the pushing down of a few barriers. The police is attempting to characterize this democratic protest as a highly dangerous terrorist-like activity and the police force, which is currently behaving like a mercenary paramilitary force employed by the government, is making a mockery of law enforcement by invoking quarantine regulations and laws pertaining to the damage of public property against these activists. We condemn the police force which turns a blind eye to political events in which hundreds of people are jam-packed together or to the abysmal conditions in public transport where people are forced to huddle together because they are compelled to report to work. But the same police are ever present with a yard-stick to measure social distancing at public protests about critical issues faced by society. We also reject with disgust the attempts to characterize the pushing down of a few mobile barriers and the slight melting of the tarmac as a major vandalization of public property when for years the people responsible for the bond-scam and many other instances of defrauding public finances are running scott-free.
In the face of this repression we appeal to the Sri Lankan public – particularly to the legal community, networks of civil society and activist organizations and to those committed to the protection of human rights – to stand up and demand that the police force which is behaving like a private mercenary force of the government be immediately reformed to perform its constitutionally enshrined duty of safeguarding the rights and liberties of the people of this country. This is a critical national need of the moment.
We would also like to warn the government that instead of attempting to resolve the crisis created by the KNDU Bill and instead of meaningfully intervening to resolve the teacher-principal issue, if the government continues to stifle the constitutionally enshrined right of the people to dissent, the days of this government are numbered and its political future will be in serious jeopardy.
Rohan Laksiri / General Secretary / Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA).
