JVP says there is no evidence against Aragalaya activists

By R.A.A Premathilake

Action taken by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to please the Rajapaksa family would have disastrous consequences for the country, former Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said.He said that the JVP condemned the government for labelling protesters as terrorists. The party had also called for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and the release of Aragalaya activists, detained under the PTA.

Three student activists, including the Convener of the Inter-University Students Federation, Wasantha Mudalige, had been detained under the PTA, and they have not been produced in court as there was no evidence against them, he said.

Anti-government protesters, taken into custody on earlier occasions, had been released by court as there was no evidence against them. The police knew that the three activists, too, would get bail if they were produced before the courts as there was no evidence against them, he said.

“President Wickremesinghe must admit that he became President because of the protests against former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. President Wickremesinghe is using the PTA to detain youth activists for 90 days. A large number of local and international organisations have criticised this. The critics include the UN, However, the government has ignored these pleas and sent activists to jail. These are done to keep the Rajapaksas happy,” Jayatissa said.

The former JVP MP said that there was an opportunity to establish an all-party government, a few months back. After President Rajapaksa resigned, the Speaker could have been made the interim President and an MP, who had the support of most MPs, and acceptable to the people, could have been appointed PM.

“Then we could have had a real all-party government. However, the Rajapaksas used the numbers they have in Parliament to make Wickremesinghe the President, and Dinesh Gunawardane the Prime Minister. No one really believes that these people have the support of the people”, Dr. Jayatissa said.The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe administration comprised the worst elements in Parliament, he added.