Category: Breaking News

The International Federation for Human Rights in a new report detailing the relentless repression of a peaceful protest movement noted that the Sri Lankan authorities systematically violated international human rights law and standards with complete impunity in their crackdown on the Aragalaya.

The protest movement, called aragalaya [“struggle” in Sinhala], was triggered by the government’s protracted economic mismanagement and the growing public discontent over corruption and nepotism.

The protests, which initially started in the country’s capital, Colombo, quickly spread across all nine provinces of Sri Lanka. Some protests continued in Colombo in 2023.

FIDH Secretary-General Adilur Rahman Khan said that President Wickremesinghe’s recent pledge to use the military and emergency powers to prevent the resurgence of a protest movement should sound alarm bells.

He added that it is imperative the international community remains vigilant and presses the government to respect and protect the rights of protesters.

The 62-page report, titled, Anatomy of a crackdown – The repression of Sri Lanka’s aragalaya protest movement,” provides a comprehensive record of the serious and systematic human rights violations committed by the military, police, and pro-government elements against the overwhelmingly peaceful protesters.

Authorities also targeted protest observers, including journalists, lawyers, and bystanders.

On Journalists it noted that on 9th July 2022, during a protest in front of then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private residence, eight reporters from the privately-owned national TV channel News First were attacked by police.

The report said that all four reporters wore recognizable News First t-shirts and were carrying journalist accreditation cards on them when the attack took place, and that four other News First journalists who attempted to aid their injured colleagues were also assaulted by the police.

The most disturbing pattern of violations of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly was the authorities’ frequent use of unnecessary and/or disproportionate force – including live ammunition, tear gas, and water cannons – to disperse peaceful assemblies.

In addition, police routinely and arbitrarily arrested aragalaya protest organizers and participants and subjected many of them to a systematic campaign of harassment, including judicial harassment, intimidation, and surveillance.

Authorities also imposed unnecessary and disproportionate restrictions on assemblies through the use of emergency powers and the abuse of laws, including the draconian
Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Amid these violations, members of law enforcement agencies have not been held accountable for abuses they committed against aragalaya protesters.

The report is released ahead of Sri Lanka’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which will take place on 1 February 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court is expected to deliver its ruling on bail for Wasantha Mudalige, the convener of the Inter-University Student’s Federation.

Wasantha Mudalige, the convener of the Inter-University Student’s Federation, was escorted to the Colombo Chief Magistrate’ Court on Tuesday (31) morning.

Mudalige was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Terorrism Act, and remains in remand custody pending advice from the Attorney General.

Activists from the Inter-University Student’s Federation engaged in a silent protest opposite the Colombo Chief Magistrate’ Court when IUSF Convener Wasantha Mudalige was escorted to the court.

The Keselwatte Police had sought an order from court to prevent the silent protest from continuing, citing that it inconvenienced the public.

However, Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis rejected the request and advised the police to act as per the powers vested with Sri Lanka Police if the protest was in fact an inconvenience to the public. The Colombo Chief Magistrate pointed out that court orders were not necessary for it.

Sri Lanka was found to be more corrupt in 2022 than it was in the year 2021, according to the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Transparency International saw Sri Lanka’s rankings drop by 1 point in 2022 from the year 2021.

The CPI has ranked Sri Lanka at 101 among 180 countries with a score of 36.

The Corruption Perceptions Index is the most widely used global corruption ranking in the world. It measures how corrupt each country’s public sector is perceived to be, according to experts and businesspeople.

Transparency International noted that while anti-government protests were not uncommon in Sri Lanka before 2022, they gathered significant momentum last year because of the country’s ever-worsening economic situation.

Sri Lanka took out massive international loans to finance its economic growth for decades, including infrastructure development projects.

“This worked at first, but mismanagement and rampant corruption, combined with a sharp decline in tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finally sent the country’s economy into a complete meltdown,” Transparency International said.

With inflation skyrocketing, the island nation has been unable to import sufficient food, fuel or medicine for its 22 million citizens, plunging them into the worst crisis the country has seen in decades. Recognising the link between their situation and the pervasive corruption among the country’s leadership, protesters demanded reforms and refused to leave the streets despite brutal police crackdowns.

Transparency International in Sri Lanka, together with other civil society organizations, kept up the pressure on the Government to heed the call of the people and enact genuine anti-corruption reforms.

Seeking accountability from those responsible for state bankruptcy, Transparency International Sri Lanka also filed a petition with the Supreme Court and obtained a travel ban against the former President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Central Bank Governor and two others.

Transparency International said that while the country remains in crisis with no resolution of the widespread unrest in 2022, civil society and activists continue working to demand better legislative frameworks, governance standards, transparency and accountability for the people of Sri Lanka.

United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe will contest the next Presidential election, the UNP said today.

UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara said that Wickremesinghe will contest the polls scheduled for 2024.

Palitha Range Bandara said that he was confident that Wickremesinghe will win the 2024 elections and continue as President till 2030.

The UNP General Secretary expressed these views during an interview late this evening on a private television channel.

Asked if Wickremesinghe will contest from the UNP or a coalition, Range Bandara said that the President will contest with the support of his alliance partners.

He said that Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) members will also support Wickremesinghe at the election.

Wickremesinghe is currently serving the remainder of the Presidential term of Gotabaya Rajapaksa who had resigned last year.

Independent election monitoring organisation, ️ People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has written to IGP C.D Wickramaratne calling on the Police Chief to expedite investigations into the threats received by members of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka.

In the letter dated January 30, PAFFREL while thanking the IGP for providing the necessary security to members who recently received death threats, they also expressed their disappointment in the failure of the Police to make any arrests in connection to the incident.

“It (the failure) is now being ridiculed by the person who issued the threat. Though the person who issued the threat is doing it from abroad it is clear he is receiving some support from Sri Lanka,” it said. The organisation noted that someone had taken images of the vehicles and homes of certain commissioners and forwarded them through a messaging application.

“It is noted this has occurred on several instances. Investigating how the phone connection was paid for may also reveal some information,” it said.

PAFFREL said the delay to apprehend those responsible is a continuing threat to the members of the EC and would hamper them from carrying out their duties. The election monitors said the delay in conducting investigations would lead to a breakdown of public confidence while also harming the reputation of the Sri Lanka Police. The organisation therefore called on the IGP to look into the matter and order for the investigations to be expedited.

The notice to commence Local Government election process was handed over to the Government Printers today by the returning officers of relevant districts to be published in a gazette notification.

The election commission Secretary said this through a communiqué responding to a statement issued by the Director General of the Government Information Department yesterday saying that the notice with the signatures of the election commission Chairman and other members to commence the Local Government Election process has not still been sent to the Government Printers for publication.

The statement issued by the Elections Commission said according to the Local Government elections Ordinance, the notice to commence Local Government election process should be published by the District Returning officers and that notice does not require the signatures of the Chairman or the members of the Elections Commission and that Director General of Government Information Department was unaware of the basic law.