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Expeditious justice or political witch hunt? 

03 Aug 2022

Many supporters of the Galle Face protests had high hopes about a better Sri Lanka, and in this context, of better political and economic conditions, following former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation. However, it is now evident that the deposing of the former President alone is not sufficient to achieve this dream, and many believe that the protests should continue until the expected changes come about. However, protestors claim that they now fear for their lives, as a flurry of both lawful and unlawful actions were taken targeting protestors and those who supported them, immediately after the Parliamentary election of Ranil Wickremesinghe as President. Quoting Attorney-at-Law Nuwan Bopage, The Morning yesterday (2) reported that over 100 protesters at the “RanilGoGama” protest site have been arrested by the Police. Among them, the arrests of social media personalities including Rathidu Senarathna alias “Ratta” and members of prominent groups that support the protests, such as the Inter-University Students’ Federation, attracted controversy. In addition, the country is keeping an eye on what is happening with regard to the attempts to arrest Catholic priest Fr. Amila Jeewantha Peiris, who, according to media reports, filed a Fundamental Rights petition in the Supreme Court seeking an order preventing his possible arrest. Protestors claim that various other forms of intimidation of protestors are being carried out by law enforcement authorities, and that various unidentified groups are at the same time indirectly monitoring and threatening protestors and those who have been a part of the protests. These arrests came after several incidents that had already weakened the Galle Face protests known as the “aragalaya” (the struggle). During the past few weeks, the Galle Face protestors faced numerous challenges that have now resulted in the shrinking of their movement, both in terms of the number of protestors and various forms of support that it received. It started with the Police and the military, in a violent move, removing the protestors from the vicinity of the Presidential Secretariat. Then came a court order banning people from protesting within a 50 m radius of the former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s statue at Galle Face.  Despite being highly controversial and questionable, the said arrests of, restrictions to, and intimidation of the protestors have been justified and defended by the Government and top law enforcement and Defense Forces personnel. While vandalism, trespassing on State property, and the failure to adhere to court orders are the most common allegations levelled against these protesters, based on what has been stated by members of the Government, speculation is rife that more protestors may be arrested or questioned soon for being a part of a massive alleged conspiracy.  Even though the Government and the law enforcement authorities have justifiable charges to carry out these arrests – which, according to the law, are applicable and can be proven in court – both domestic and international actors largely see these legal actions as harassment. They are not entirely in the wrong here, because the Government and the law enforcement authorities, who at present seem extremely keen on arresting people for petty offenses while failing to show the same enthusiasm with regard to investigating more egregious offenses, such as the 9 May attacks on the “GotaGoGama”, or the corruption allegations levelled through the Pandora Papers, among a long list of others.  Sri Lanka has seen many instances where the powerful were treated by the law in a lenient manner, while those who do not have the same privileges were treated unreasonably. These incidents have, for a long time, been the foundation of the question as to whether the law is treating everyone equally, and the general public asks this question every day. That question is quite prevalent in the current context, especially when it comes to the harsh legal action being taken against protestors. Not only Sri Lanka, but the international community too is concerned about these developments. During the past few weeks, especially after the forcible removal of protestors from in front of the Presidential Secretariat, a number of international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, international human rights actors such as the Human Rights Watch, and also several foreign countries such as India, have expressed concerns about Sri Lanka’s situation. Overall, they are not happy about how the new Government is dealing with the protests and the protestors, and this has a high likelihood of affecting any future foreign support Sri Lanka is expecting. While most of the allegations levelled against the arrested, detained, and questioned protestors technically constitute offences, the overall heavy-handed manner in which the Government and the law enforcement authorities have dealt with the protestors has attracted disapproval. Their behaviour is considered a witch-hunt rather than enforcement of the law, and it has already tarnished the image of the country and of the President who came to power thanks to the very events set in motion by these protests. Oppressing protestors will not bring any tangible benefit to the Government; the only thing it will result in is damage to the country’s reputation and the violation of the people’s Constitutional rights.


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