ATTACKS ON POLITICAL OPPOSITION IN SRI LANKA
ATTACKS ON POLITICAL OPPOSITION IN SRI LANKA
Mahinda Rajapakse is Culpable
The Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), an affiliate of Campaign for a Workers’ International (CWI) writes to protest the state sponsored attempt to assassinate or unleash terror on Siritunga Jaysuriya (Siri), the Presidential candidate of the United Socialist Party, and other activists of the United People’s Movement (UPM)
We are aware that the name of Siritunga ( Siri) is on the death list along with 21 others issued by communal forces sponsored by the government.
It is not a secret that the government of Mahinda Rajapakse goes around with murderous armed thugs to attack the oppositions.
The media, including international media organizations like BBC, were awash with the report of how Minister Marvyn Silva led an armed mob on January 9, 2007 to disrupt a peaceful rally organised by the UPM, inflict severe bodily injury on the participants including journalists and willfully vandalise property of the residents around the venue of the rally. Siri who was given a hot chase by the thugs narrowly escaped being killed.
The UPM, an alliance of some radical political parties and forces across all the ethnic and religious divides, had organized the rally to campaign against separatist war, repressive laws and hunger, under the slogans of “No to the brutal (civil) war!” and “Against repression and poverty”. The rally was to be addressed by prominent opposition politicians and activists from Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese.
Why they do not support the terror tactics of the LTTE, the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Tamil Ealam, the UPM campaign for the social and democratic rights of Tamil speaking people.
The government and its repressive apparatus have been trying to present UPM as supporters of terrorism as an excuse for the state violence.
This is nothing but a failed attempt at calling dog a bad name in order to hang it. The activities of UPM do not suggest even an iota of support for the method of terrorism. The alliance adopts a method of mass appeal to mobilize public support for its opposition against anti-poor, repressive policies of the government.
In fact, one of the groups in the alliance, the United Socialist Party (USP) openly mobilizes for the struggle on the class issues in order to end the divisions between the communities. It offers a platform for a united struggle of all working class and poor people in Sri Lanka, including all communities – Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese. It was on the basis of appeal for working class unity along with clear-cut anti neo-liberal, socialist programme. The USP contested the last presidential election and Siri came third.
We call on the government to leash its mad dogs. We shall hold the government responsible for assassination of, or attacks on, Siritunga Jaysuriya (Siri) and other members of the United People’s Movement (UPM). Here in Nigeria, we have resolved to embark on consistent campaign against the repressive laws and actions of the government and its henchmen and against poverty inflected upon the poor people of Sri Lanka, at the same with call for working class unity across all the ethnic and religious divides and the end to the civil war.