Suppression of dissent won’t help reach consensus on all-party govt. – SJB

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The SJB alleges that President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government is bent on suppressing political dissent in a bid to prevent a large-scale public protest campaign similar to the one that forced his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to flee the country, last month.

SJB MP Mujibur Rahuman said yesterday the entire Opposition was opposed to the continuing crackdown on the protest movement, especially the use of the dreaded Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) against suspected individuals.

The top SJB spokesperson said so in response to The Island queries pertaining to what he called an all-out crackdown amidst President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s efforts to reach a consensus on the formation of an all-party government.

Lawmaker Rahuman asked whether President Wickremesinghe, in spite of being the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and the Defence Minister, was not in overall control of the government’s response to the public protest campaign. Having elected Wickremesinghe, to complete the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s five-year term, the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) seemed to be flexing its muscles, MP Rahuman said.

 Referring to the recent meeting US Ambassador Julie Chung had with Public Security Minister, Tiran Alles, at the latter’s office, where the envoy focused on the clampdown, MP Rahuman found fault with the government for relentlessly pursuing activists.

Asked whether the SJB acknowledged the responsibility, on the part of law enforcement authorities to apprehend those who had been suspected of torching residences of incumbent members of Parliament and President Wickremesinghe, in the second week of May, MP Rahuman said there couldn’t be any issue over that.

“Of course, nobody will find fault with the government for taking into custody those responsible for attacks on the houses of MPs. They should be arrested and appropriately dealt with in terms of the relevant laws,” lawmaker Rahuman said.

 Media Minister Bandula Gunawardena recently said that the so-called protest movement destroyed houses and properties of 72 lawmakers in a matter of 24 hours.

 MP Rahuman alleged that the government seemed far more interested in apprehending those who took selfies inside the President’s House. The police should be ashamed for arresting those who sat on the President’s chair, MP Rahuman said.

He suggested that, perhaps the government should go after those who wrongly advised the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, leading to the unprecedented economic fallout.

Lawmaker Rahuman said that if President Wickremesinghe was genuinely interested in forming an all-party government, he should reach a consensus with the SLPP over ongoing police action against the protest movement.

Responding to another query, lawmaker Rahuman said that the detention of Wasantha Mudalige, convenor of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) affiliated to the Front line Socialist Party (FSP), was meant to scare those who led the protest campaign. The MP said that the government was making an attempt to depict Mudalige, now detained in terms of the PTA for a period of 90 days, as a person who may have been involved, or allegedly planning a terrorist attack.

Lawmaker Rahuman defended the protest movement as having received heavy public support as they were fed up with the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration. The MP warned that public anger couldn’t be suppressed by intimidating political parties and civil society.

Commenting on the May 09 violence that actually set the stage for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster, exactly two months later, lawmaker Rahuman said that the police owed an explanation regarding the investigations into the indiscriminate attack carried out by UPFA goons, at Galle Face, on May 09. The public have a right to know how law enforcement authorities handled the investigation as no less than the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had been asked to surrender his passport.

The MP said that two members of Parliament, arrested in connection with the May 09 attacks, were granted bail, pending investigations.

Calling it a mystery, SJB lawmaker Rahuman said they would like to know the current status of the investigation. The government hadn’t so far taken action against security chiefs who allowed the UPFA goons to go on the rampage and then turned a blind eye to well organized attacks on the properties of MPs, he said.