Academic collective Shudesha calls on public to vote against corruption

A collective of university academic staff this week called on the public to use their vote at the upcoming local government elections against the forces behind the alleged bond scam.

From left: Senior Lecturer Chaminda Abeysinghe, Kelaniya University Department of Microbiology Senior Lecturer Mahendra Gunawardane, Kelaniya University Former Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sunanda Madduma Bandara, Open University of Sri Lanka Law Senior Lecturer Raja Gunaratne, former UGC Chairperson Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama and Visual and Performing Arts University Lecture Ravindra Samarawickrama 

– Pic by Ruwan Walpola

The organisation, known as Shudesha, comprises several senior lecturers from a number of local universities who last week in their first media conference waxed eloquent on the losses incurred by the State due to the Treasury bond scam.

Shudesha representatives also called on the Elections Commissioner to bring in foreign election monitors in the weeks leading up to the polls to ensure a free and fair election.

The organisation had the appearance of a hurriedly set up, politically motivated initiative, though it denied being affiliated to any political party.

Among the allegations levelled at the Government by the speakers was a charge that some candidates running for the polls are being bought over with money and promises of employment and other favours to family members.

“As academics who have benefited through state education funded by the people of this country, it is our duty to see whether this country is headed in the wrong direction and what the public must do to correct its course,” said Senior Lecturer at the Open University Raja Goonaratne.

Goonaratne claimed that the objective of Shudesha was to encourage constructive intellectual discourse on matters pertaining to economic, political, social, cultural and legal areas.

“There is no goodness nor is there governance today and the country is directionless,” he charged.

Harshly critical of the Government for the bond scam, Goonaratne and his colleagues urged the public to vote against those who allowed it to happen. The academic collective also expressed their disapproval of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and fellow academics who they said had enabled the status quo.