International academics call on Sri Lanka president to protect right to protest and other freedoms

Concerned by the continuing repression of the protest movement in Sri Lanka, over 150 academics from all over the world have endorsed a statement condemning recent violent attacks against peaceful protestors in Sri Lanka calling on the country’s Government to guarantee people’s freedom of expression and the right to protest.

The scholars, from world leading universities in the US, UK, Europe, Asia and Australia, expressed outrage at the manner in which the night-time assaults were conducted by military personnel, including on reports that protestors were abducted, tortured and arbitrarily arrested.

“That such a brutal attack against non-violent protestors was ordered by the country’s new President Ranil Wickremasinghe, less than 24 hours after taking office, is shocking and sends distressing signals of his method of governance,” the statement read.

“Wickremasinghe was elected by parliament to take on the presidency, which was vacated due to the non-violent pro-democracy movement against authoritarianism and failed governance. His decision to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors is deeply alarming and does not offer the prospect of Sri Lanka progressing beyond the current crisis it is in,” it added.

The statement criticised Wickremasinghe’s reference to the protestors as “fascist” arguing that it was “totally inaccurate, inappropriate and damaging” and weaponised the term to provide an excuse for the use of extreme force.

It called on the president and Government to immediately desist in the use of any force against protestors, reduce the current extreme military presence around the protest site in Colombo and around the country including the north and east, investigate the use of extreme force and torture and hold accountable those found guilty of committing these crimes and respect the right of all Sri Lankans to protest and protect protest spaces.

Please see the full statement in English, Sinhalese and Tamil and the full list of signatories here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS-sWHBflzSRDVayxu90rAhPBrR9i8l5ETE8ySglcVqvI5zgvx8X2QvvFDK36RHk0NhW0Yp5VTrgGXG/pub?urp=gmail_link