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Teachers’ union leader receives death threats

02 Aug 2021

  • Mahinda Jayasinghe complains to CID about Korean call
BY Buddhika Samaraweera Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union (CTSU) General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe yesterday (2) lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) requesting an inquiry into three death threats he had received via telephone calls. Speaking to the media after the complaint was lodged, Jayasinghe said that he had received one call from a Sri Lankan living in South Korea and two from local telephone numbers. “Accordingly, we request the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to conduct a formal investigation and to take legal action against the suspects involved,” he added. Speaking further, he claimed that the main reason for such threats was the fact that he was among the leading members behind the trade union actions launched by several teachers’ and principals’ trade unions, demanding solutions to their issues including the teacher-principal salary anomaly issue. However, he noted that he is not ready to call off any of the trade union actions until a concrete solution to their demands is received. “We have seen what happened to the investigations into complaints filed by victims of these kinds of threats in the past, so we are not sure if there will be a proper investigation into this incident. However, we did what should have been done legally. It is the responsibility of the CID officials to do the rest of the work,” he explained. He added that all the information related to the phone calls he received was handed over to the CID. Jayasinghe was instrumental in initiating the ongoing teachers’ and principals’ trade union action, demanding solutions to their issues including the salary anomaly matter. The trade union action was launched on 12 July, and continued for the 22nd day yesterday.


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