Court investigation on FTZ workers’ attack to be completed in a month

By S.S. Selvanayagam

When the rights petitions of the aggrieved workers of the Katunayake Free Trade Zone (FTZ) complaining of impugned police assault came up before the Supreme Court, the Solicitor General told Court that the investigation is pending and assured that it would be completed within a month.

Solicitor General Palitha Fernando informed Court the Confidential Interim Report has been filed with the Registrar of the Court and it would not be released until the investigation is complete

He also told Court that some medical reports from DMOs have not been received and the Bench comprising Chief Justice Shirani A. Bandaranayake, Justices P. A. Ratnayake and Suresh Chandra fixed the matter to be mentioned on 19 January to ascertain whether the medical reports have been filed. The Court had already directed the Registrar of the Court to call for the Medico Legal Reports, treatment sheets, bed tickets and any other documents or report pertaining to the Petitioners within one month.

A number of workers of the FTZ have filed 13 fundamental rights petitions through Attorney-at-Law Gowry Shangary Thavarasha against the impugned police assault on the peaceful demonstrators within the FTZ on 30 May. They cited Police OICs of Katunayake and Seeduwa as well as Negombo DIG, former IGP Mahinda Balasooriya, Board of Investment, Army Commander Lt. Gen.Jagath Jayasooriya and the Attorney General as Respondents.

Some of the Petitioners have taken part in the protest while others did not. Some of them have been detained too, but all have been injured and admitted to hospital. In their petitions, they state that Katunayake FTZ is situated in the Gampaha District consisting of 190 hectares of land where there are about 50,000 workers and 84 factories. cThey state that on 30 May of 2011, about 600 persons gathered there protesting against the Employees’ Pension Benefits Fund Bill within the FTZ where hundreds of police officers were present in the area.

They allege that at around 12.03 p.m., the police officers present, suddenly without any warning, used tear gas on the unarmed and peaceful protest in an attempt to quell it.They also allege that hundreds of police officers armed with firearms and iron poles charged the FTZ workers and some police officers allegedly threw stones and other unidentified objects at those attempting to flee. They allege they were critically injured and warded at several hospitals.  They complain the conduct of the police officers are in violation  of the legitimate expression of their dissent, depriving their right to  freedom of expression, freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly as well as their rights to freedom from torture and arbitrary arrest.

J. C. Weliamuna, M. A. Sumanthiran, Uditha Egalahewa, Saliya Peiris, Viran Corea, Eraj de Silva, Pulasthi Amarasinghe, Shantha Jayawardane and A. Ankatell appeared for the Petitioners. Solicitor General Palitha Fernando appeared for the Attorney General.