Ranil Wickremesinghe is sworn in as new president of Sri Lanka by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the parliament, amid the country’s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka July 21, 2022 (Reuters)
A group comprising academics, human rights activists and clergy issuing a statement has condemned the brutal military attack on peaceful protesters on July 22. The following is the statement.
The Presidential election held in parliament on July 20 placed Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe in the office as the 8th Executive President of Sri Lanka. The Media publicised the idea that this was the fulfillment of a personal dream of a politician with a Parliamentary career spanning 45 years. Surprisingly, his first official visit after taking oaths on July 21 was to meet the Armed Forces Chiefs at Defence Headquarters; which created a reasonable fear of use of force in the exercise of political power. And what happened in the early hours of 22nd July?
Citizens watched in stunned disbelief as they witnessed the brutal military attack on protestors including media and lawyers in GotaGoGama. The protestors had made it clear by their words and actions that they were going to clear the site. We join others in condemning this obviously well-planned attack which is not only a blatant violation of the right to peaceful assembly and association of the protestors, but also of the democratic rights of all the people of Sri Lanka. We hold the administration of President Wickramasinghe- who had just been sworn into office, and the military authorities- responsible for this violation of the Constitutional rights of the people and international human rights commitments of Sri Lanka. We demand disciplinary inquiries and appropriate measures against those responsible for these incidents. We call upon the President to pledge in an address to the nation, that an incident of this nature will not repeat, and that there will be no further interference with the People exercising their rights of peaceful political protest.
A powerful peoples’ protest resulted in the elimination of the Rajapaksa family from leadership in government, amidst serious allegations of corruption and misuse of power. This encouraged the public expectation that Parliament would elect a person as President who was not connected to this family to fill the vacancy left by Gotabaya Rajapaksa. They believed that the new President would lead an all party interim government for a brief period till a General Election is held; as this is the general public demand. However, 134 MPs voted to confirm Mr. Wickremesinghe as President on July 20, and also to protect their seats in Parliament. The voting has confirmed the view of the People that these MPs are concerned only with their petty personal and political agendas and have no intention of heeding the voice of the People for a change in both leadership and accountability in governance.
Wickremesinghe’s own election as President is unique in a system of Parliamentary democracy. He is a person who lost his long-term constituency due to serious allegations of involvement in the Central Bank bond scam and poor leadership. Although his (Wickremesinghe’s) election was procedurally valid and constitutional, it reinforced public perceptions that a dysfunctional Parliament was continuing in office. Rhetoric on the preservation of Parliamentary democracy, Constitutionalism and the national interest has not removed the lack of public trust in the government. Worse, there are grave allegations of bribery and corruption in voting, resulting in the 113 votes pledged for the consensus opposition candidate not being cast for him. It is clear to the public that ugly political deals were made during this election.
President Wickremesinghe’s “new Cabinet” was sworn in on July 22. It was the very day on which there was a shocking military attack on protestors.
A hallow promise
The new President’s call for unity in responding to our devastating national predicament and for a systemic institutional change seems a hollow promise in light of the political realities of this government.
Therefore we demand from the President that he addresses immediately the following immediate public concerns:
1. The need for a General Election within the next six months. It is unthinkable to initiate an economic recovery without political stability and a government recognised by the People. We must find the resources to fulfill this important public need and explore all options available.
2. The urgency of abolishing the Executive Presidency. The shocking incidents of July 22 demonstrate once again the urgent need to do away with the Executive Presidency. The President has the right to refer an issue of national importance for the views of the People at a Referendum under Article 86 of the Constitution. President Wickremesinghe has endorsed this change many times in his political career, including in 2018-2019. He must therefore call for a Referendum on this issue and lead the current government in obtaining a 2/3 majority to realise the result of such a Referendum.
3. The critical importance of upholding fundamental rights of the People as the foundation for democratic governance. Limitations on such rights must be strictly within the law and Article 15 of the Constitution and the President cannot act outside those limitations. As Commander in Chief he cannot permit or authorize abuse of power by the armed forces or law enforcement agencies on the grounds of national security or threat of anarchy. The negative international publicity for the events of the 22nd July demonstrate that the violation of the Peoples’ rights will destroy our international image and prospects of getting broad based international support for economic recovery.
The President and the government must realise that the People will no longer accept meaningless rhetoric on a national consensus and unity in resolving the political and economic crisis of this time. National unity is critical if we are to cope with the challenges of an economic recovery but it will not come through governance based on illegal use of force and suppression of protest and through the usual political lies and broken promises made to the People. We wish to remind the President, Cabinet, and Members of Parliament that they are only repositories of our sovereign powers and are duty bound to serve us diligently, efficiently and by fulfilling the public trust placed in them.
