The lawyers of the NPP strongly condemn Ranil Wickramasinghe’s continued repressive statements he makes as the 8th President, and also his threatening the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission.
This was emphasized in a press conference held by the lawyers of the NPP in Battaramulla yesterday (25th). Attorneys at Law Sunil Watagala, Harshana Nanayakkara, Janaka Adhikari and Anuradha Kandanhena took part.
Attorney at Law Sunil Watagala said, “Ranil Wickramasinghe has made a serious statement in Parliament on the 24th that the people of the country should get a license to travel on the road. According to Section 74 of the Police Ordinance Act, it is stated that the nearest police station should be notified in case of a demonstration. But in two cases held in the Supreme Court, the notification has been interpreted. The Supreme Court, which interpreted the notification in the case of Attorney General and Jana Ghosha against Vivian Gunawardena, has clearly mentioned the notification to the nearest police station in writing or verbally. But Ranil Wickramasinghe has made a serious statement in Parliament that a person should get a license to go on the road. Sand mining and the sale of alcohol are cases where a license is required. Without a license, such activities are illegal. The Supreme Court has interpreted in the judgments that the notification is sufficient for a peaceful protest in the democratic sense.
Ranil Wickramasinghe has made a threatening statement against the Human Rights Commission, an independent commission. We condemn his threatening statement, “Don’t touch everything.” The President of the country threatens the members of the commission who are supposed to protect the people’s fundamental rights. This is a threat to the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission and other law and order institutions.
Under the current law, the President can be made a party to a fundamental human rights case. The Attorney General can be named as a respondent and the President as a party. We are attaching the Hansard report of Ranil Wickramasinghe’s statement in the Parliament on basic human rights cases. If Ranil Wickramasinghe’s intention is to suppress fundamental rights outside the law, the Hansard report will be attached and submitted to the Supreme Court. He himself declares that he is like Hitler and Din Diem. Hitler had to shoot himself dead with his own pistol when the Red Army surrounded him. Dinh Diem was assassinated in a conspiracy. We will not be responsible if the president who violates the Constitution does something to himself.
Through these two statements, Ranil Wickramasinghe is saying to let the police do what they want. The Human Rights Commission has decided to investigate the complaint related to the blocking of the women marching from Panadura by the police. Now according to Ranil’s threat, should it be stopped?
Should the same be done about the complaints made by the Socialist Youth Union to the Human Rights Commission? Ranil Wickramasinghe made a statement against the Constitution under the guise of parliamentary privileges. It is emphasized that the lawyers of the NPP will continue to advocate for the fair protests of the country’s people.
Even if you don’t much care about the various statements made by elderly people, you cannot ignore the statements made by the president of the country though he makes them due to his old age. Struggling, protesting, and if necessary, hooting at the rulers is a part of the freedom of speech that we have. These were not given to us by Ranil Wickramasinghe, but the people fought for them. The constitution is not there for the country’s rulers to hide behind.
People need not be afraid of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s statements he makes in a bid to scare the people. If we are going to walk in Ranil Wickramasinghe’s tea garden or coconut garden, we have to get permission from him. But we don’t have to go to him to protect the rights of our country. And the police are not obliged to act illegally.
If Ranil Wickramasinghe reads a lot of books, we insists that he reads about the fate of Hitler and Dinh Diem in history. People are not struggling for nothing. If the rulers do not solve the unbearable issues, we will always stand on behalf of the struggling people. Ranil Wickramasinghe’s power lies between the pages of the constitution and not from the people.
According to the seventh article of our constitution, this kind of power is given to the president because he is elected by popular vote. But Ranil is the president who was appointed by Pohottu party. By organizing the people, we fight justly. And the rulers who do not have a mandate are driven out. We call upon the people to organize against corruption and struggle to end the corrupt system and protect their rights.
The first citizen of our country, who is the president, has no right to make outrageous, maddened statements. It is not the president who gives rights to the people. The constitution exists to protect the rights of the people, but a constitution is not made to attack the people, make them afraid, and implement the ideas in one’s head.
If you have to get permission from Ranil Wickramasinghe to walk on the street, there is a doubt whether, in another day, you will have to get permission from him to answer a call of nature. People’s rights cannot be removed by showing a dictator like Hitler. When Ranil Wickramasinghe is unable to solve the problems of the people, protect the public property and win the love of the people, he thinks he can bypass all that by using the constraint of the executive presidential system.
Democracy is something broader than what is in the book. There is only some guiding idea in the constitution. If not, would Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Gongalegoda Banda be guilty? The first thing that Gongalegoda Banda did was to protest against the collection of taxes from Kandy Kachcheri.
What Ranil Wickramasinghe is doing today is leving unbearable taxes. The people have the right to struggle against Ranil Wickramasinghe, who collects taxes, against the exploitation of the people’s property, and against the sale of the people’s property, just as the Gongalegoda Banda took to the streets against the British that day. The basis of law is equity and justice. And there is no law where it is not fulfilled.
The ‘Aragalaya’ started with the people who took to the streets due to the economic crisis. The people who had never taken to the streets and protested joined the ‘Aragalaya’. The situation became serious when the candidate nominated by Pohottu became the president with the people’s vote and did not answer the people’s questions. The current president should have a vision and plan to free the people from this situation. Examples should be given. Without any of that, various cowardly statements are made in the parliament against democracy, basic rights and the constitution. We see in this nothing but the last-minute behavior of a cowardly and impotent person. Because of this, as lawyers of the National People’s Power, we continue to advocate for the peaceful, democratic people who are struggling for the rights of the people.
