Media Releases

The hartal that took place in the North and East earlier in the week was barely noticed in the rest of the country even though it led to the shutdown of public and commercial life in that part of the country. The hartal was called by a collective of political parties and civil society groups to protest against both the proposed Anti-Terrorism legislation (ATA) and religious and cultural discrimination that is taking place in the North and East. The ATA has met with strong criticism and condemnation from a wide cross section of national level political parties and organisations, including trade unions and the Bar Association. The protest in the North and East is evidence of the nationwide rejection of the government’s proposed legislation. It is indicative of the commonality of the underlying concerns of the people irrespective of region, ethnicity or religion.

Four years have passed since the fateful Easter in 2019 which plunged the entire country into shock and terror. The synchronized attack by a team of 10 suicide bombers took the lives of 272 persons and injured another 500 or more in a total of six simultaneous attacks- on three churches and three luxury hotels. The victims included entire families, parents with their children and also foreign citizens who had come to spend their Easter in Sri Lanka. The country virtually shut down for two months during which time people were living on rumours and afraid to venture into crowded areas. There was no logic in the attack in which one minority religious group targeted another minority religious group with whom there had been no prior local history of conflict.

The government has decided to delay presenting its proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) to parliament. The National Peace Council welcomes this decision and urges the government to reconsider its presentation as it would impact negatively on the democratic space and rights available to political parties, trade unions and civic activists. In any legal reform, the fundamental rights and protection of citizens need to be guaranteed. After all, the power of the people is shared with the government for their benefit as per the constitution. The ATA fails to achieve both these objectives. The draft ATA presented by the government has several features that are worse than the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) it is intended to replace.

There have been media reports of a ministerial delegation visiting South Africa to undertake a study of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the reconciliation process that took place in that country over two decades ago. The South African reconciliation process, and its Truth and Reconciliation Commission in particular, have gained worldwide recognition for being a pioneer in dealing with human rights violations and war crimes that took place in the course of the struggle against Apartheid.

Uncertainty over the postponement of local government elections continues to grow. Recent statements by government leaders and debates in parliament show them openly expressing the view that elections at this time would not be conducive to either economic growth or advantageous to them, and so ought not to be held. This follows the postponement of local government elections scheduled for March 9 due to the failure of the government treasury to release the required funds for the elections. It is important that government departments should cooperate with the Election Commission when it has declared elections as mandated by the Constitution.

Government leaders have taken the consistent position that the country requires stability if there is to be economic recovery. In his Independence Day speech and during the course of his presidential address to parliament, President Ranil Wickremesinghe gave special attention to the need to strengthen the national reconciliation process to resolve the country’s national problem. The president has reaffirmed this commitment both in the north of the country and before national and international audiences. He has taken public stands on these issues and spelt out his position in a manner other national political leaders are yet to do clearly and without ambiguity on the matter of the 13th Amendment with an understanding and level of courage that is exemplary.

The importance of accountability in governance has become manifest both nationally and internationally in the Supreme Court decision with regard to the Easter bombing and the Canadian government’s sanctions for human rights violations respectively. The Supreme Court has determined that former president Maithripala Sirisena and four senior members of the security hierarchy are liable for negligence in their responsibilities which led to loss of life and limb to more than five hundred innocent persons. This is a landmark decision in a context in which impunity and lack of accountability has been marked in the public life of the country.

The restoration of the Constitutional Council has been the most positive feature of the 21st Amendment to the constitution which repealed the 20th Amendment that over-concentrated power in the executive presidency. The constitutional council is meant to be a politically bipartisan institution that has members of the government and opposition together with politically non-partisan members of civil society. The positive expectation is that the constitutional council will contribute to the strengthening of the state and its agencies to act in the best interests of the country.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been stressing the importance of political stability to achieve the common dream of economic restoration. His recent statement that the security forces will be used to negate any unauthorized protest is a sign that the government expects the conditions of economic hardship to escalate.  The president also stated that there will no early general elections.  Stability in a polity can be ensured either through legitimacy or through force. Political stability cannot be created in a vacuum.  Politicians are needed to express provincial and local level issues as well as national level issues in parliament.

The release of eight long term LTTE prisoners held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act by the government through a presidential pardon is a goodwill gesture that can contribute to the national reconciliation process.  This presidential pardon needs to be commended as some of the prisoners have spent more than two decades in imprisonment. At least four previous governments have balked from doing this despite protests and pleadings from their families and national and international human rights organisations even from Geneva.

Once again Sri Lanka has received unfavourable exposure internationally when the UN Human Rights Council voted by 20 votes to 7 to pass resolution No 51/1 titled “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka,” against the wishes of the government. Many of the countries that spearheaded and supported the resolution are those on whom we depend on to extricate us from the current financial and economic crisis the country has fallen into. Countries that voted for the resolution and those who abstained, such as India and Japan, essentially have the welfare of all Sri Lankans and the country to live up to its inherent resilience. We can only hope that the confrontational attitude taken by the government in Geneva will not affect their continued support for Sri Lanka.

The declaration of High Security Zones in Colombo and the requirement that police should be given prior notice of public protests are indicators that the government is giving priority to quelling public protests.  These decisions bolster steps already taken to restrict the protest movement by targeted arrests of its leaders even by the Prevention of Terrorism Act, by seemingly arbitrary arrests of random participants in the protest movement and by strengthening laws that further restrict the right to protest.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s inaugural address to parliament set forth a vision of good governance and civility that would stand among the most outstanding in the world. His speech comes at a time when several leaders of the protest movement, and youth activists, have been arrested for having violated the law during the public protests that led to the resignations of the former president prime minister and cabinet of ministers of the country.

Sri Lanka has witnessed a political upheaval of a kind rarely seen in the world. An unarmed protest movement of the people, for the people and by the people forced the resignation of a president, prime minister and cabinet of ministers. This protest movement captured the imagination of the international community due to its size, effectiveness and non-violent nature. The success of the protest movement was due to its spontaneous and peaceful nature.

The swearing in of the new cabinet of ministers by the new president took place in the midst of chaos earlier in the day. Shortly past midnight the protest site that was instrumental in forcing a change of government and was peaceful at the dead of night was forcefully cleared by the military and police perhaps for that event. By this action the new government has risked alienating itself from significant sections of the local and international communities. The past 104 days in which the protest site was in existence saw tens of thousands of people visit it from all parts of the country and all walks of life to demonstrate their solidarity and take part in direct protest as and when they felt it warranted.

The focus of attention at the present time is the presidential election to take place in parliament following the confirmed resignation from office of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. This election is not a routine process but is an outcome of an unprecedented public uprising known as the Aragalaya which forced the resignations of the president, prime minister and cabinet of ministers and effectively nullified the electoral mandates obtained by them three years ago. After all it is the power of the people that is vested to the government by the constitution (Article 4).