Biting the Aragalaya hand that fed him

In a hard-hitting speech in Parliament, President Wickremesinghe said he will not give space for movements such as “Aragalaya”, the island-wide protests movement that ousted his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa. “There are plans to initiate another Aragalaya to change the Government. But I won’t give space for that. I will get the military and the forces, and I will impose State of Emergency,” Wickremesinghe told the Parliament this week. 

“Anyone has the freedom to protest. But, go to the Police and take the permission and then walk on the roads, shout I am a dictator or I am like Hitler, but just take permission and don’t obstruct traffic,” he added. 

President Wickremesinghe’s administration has cracked down on protests that ironically brought him to power. This is a deviation from the principles Wickremesinghe himself professed when out of office, claiming in May this year that he will not continue any dealings with the then administration if protesters at the ‘GotaGoGama’ in Colombo were harmed in any way. Now that he has obtained power, abled through parliamentary machinations rather than through a people’s mandate, Wickremesinghe seems determined to quell the very forces that enabled him to ascend to the highest office in the land.

Suggesting that protesters obtain police approval for protest is a ludicrous notion just as former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa designating “protest zones” near his office. Acts of civil disobedience involving the premeditated breaking of a domestic law for reasons of conscience is not a criminal act according to all established norms of justice and international law. Having to obtain “permission” from the very entities against whom the people are protesting is an obscene proposition.

Civil disobedience including protests in times such as these are effective ways to raise awareness, express social or political dissent or to bring about change. 

Amnesty International notes that such acts of civil disobedience can include a range of activities such as rallies, demonstrations, media stunts, sit-ins and other tactics that may break a domestic law with the intention of bringing about change using methods of disruption through direct and non-violent means. The Government of President Wickremesinghe rather than responding to such acts of civil disobedience in a calm and democratic way has weaponised the law to intimidate and silence the people.

Such actions curtail basic rights of the citizens and will only alienate the masses from the Government. As a Government that desperately needs popular legitimacy, this is a fundamental mistake to make at this juncture. President Wickremesinghe cannot afford to talk of Hitler, unleashing the military, and imposing emergency to curtail protests or any other form of democratic expression of the people. He is a leader who has been rejected soundly by the electorate having faced a devastating defeat at the last general election. His party did not win a single seat in parliament and secured only one national list seat which was promptly grabbed by Wickremesinghe. Such a leader threatening the people of “Hitler-like” reprisals is not only dangerous but delusional regarding the public legitimacy of the regime.

The international repercussions of curtailing people’s freedoms are also significant. At a time when Sri Lanka requires international assistance from many quarters to recover from the economic crisis, the last thing any foreign government or partner agency would want is to have an administration that does not respect the basic rights of its people. There are no good outcomes for the current administration nor President Wickremesinghe by threatening the masses and curtailing legitimate protests. It is in its own interest to desist from doing so. If these warnings are not heeded, the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration will suffer the same outcome of its predecessor.