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Medical professionals demand lifting of state of emergency

01 Aug 2022

Issuing a statement on 30 July, a group of senior medical professionals demanded that the Government withdraw the state of emergency imposed islandwide.  “We demand, as a matter of extreme urgency, that the rulers immediately withdraw the state of emergency and apply the normal laws of the country, which are quite adequate to deal with any alleged offences. We dread to think of the repercussions including mass protests that could be triggered with possible bloodshed if the Government does not change the current path of confrontation with malicious action. As responsible citizens, we shall not watch idly if Sri Lanka is pushed into turmoil by State-sponsored violence,” the statement read. Whilst stating that their request to MPs to refrain from voting for the emergency law went unheeded, the medical professionals also said that the state of emergency and the suppression of public discontent will have severe repercussions among the international communities whose assistance is required by Sri Lanka.  “We wish to bring to the notice of the short-sighted rulers that their declaration of a state of emergency and abusing the same to suppress the peaceful expression of public discontent is already having severe adverse repercussions in the international community whose co-operation we are eagerly seeking to help us out of the dire economic situation affecting the people. We note with much concern that the Fitch rating agency has stated already that despite the superficially apparent strength in the Parliament, the Government has no stability or credibility among the people.” The professionals reiterated that the uprising, which appeared to be concentrated in the Galle Face, was in fact the culmination of the widespread discontent of all sectors of the population throughout the country against the economic difficulties brought on mainly by the “corrupt political system pervading Sri Lankan society”. “Aragalaya activists are the genuine apolitical representatives of the oppressed people suffering various hardships in their day-to-day life, transcending all racial, religious, and other barriers, which the self-serving politicians have been gleefully exploiting for their own sustenance over the years. A few politically aligned groups may have joined in later, but their questionable activities should not be an excuse to devalue the genuine intentions of the large numbers who initiated the protests or the millions who converged on Colombo or gathered elsewhere in the country to show their discontent.” “We, the senior medical professionals, join with all other organisations, civil society groups, and peace-loving general public in vehemently condemning the current campaign of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and harassment of the activists conducted by a President with no moral legitimacy and backed by a Parliament that has long lost the people’s mandate to govern,” the statement further read. Dr. Nilmini Abeygynawardhana (Consultant in Restorative Dentistry), Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare (Emeritus Professor of Surgery), and Dr. Deshan Adhihetty (Consultant Paediatric Intensivist) were among those who issued the statement.  


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