Over the last few weeks the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) has issued a number of statements and held press conferences to vehemently oppose the wave of repression unleashed by the illegitimate Wickramasinghe-Pohottowa government. yesterday, Mangala Maddumage, an activist of the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) was abducted in broad daylight and it was only several hours later that he was located at a police station. This abduction came on the heels of the arbitrary arrest of veteran trade unionist Joseph Stalin along with many other youths from the aragalaya, whose only ‘crime’ appears to have been part of a historic people’s struggle for citizens’ rights.
This government, which is increasingly beginning to resemble a lumbering and deformed beast – formed of an unholy alliance between a so-called ‘liberal’ leader and a parliamentary majority from a party that plunged Sri Lanka in to a historic crisis – has no legitimacy. The aragalaya, which was a national movement and lasted many months and spread throughout Sri Lanka’s body politic, delegitimized the mandate received by former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the SLPP. It is because he lost the people’s mandate that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had to resign from his position, with a full two and a half years of his term remaining and flee the country – this was a historic first in Sri Lanka’s political history. FUTA, therefore, holds the position that this illegitimate government has no authority to scrutinize, punish or take any action to delegitimize the historic uprising of the people. We ask Mr. Wickremasinghe, who prides himself on his knowledge of history, to show us one instance where a government rejected by the people in the aftermath of a popular uprising then proceeds to prosecute the very people that rejected it?
Mr. Wickremasinghe, and the so-called tragedy of a government he has cobbled together with backroom dealing, has no moral authority or legitimacy to govern. It also appears blind to the realities of this country which cannot even source sufficient foreign exchange to pay for a single fuel shipment but is making grand plans about long term economic recovery. Mr. Wickremasinghe seems to have forgotten that he has no popular mandate, no legitimacy and indeed even any political power in parliament. He is captive to the whims and fancies of a corrupt and rejected political cabal but is behaving as if he is a historic savior of the nation, majestically stepping into save the country from oblivion.
As FUTA we demand an end to this tragicomedy. The people of this country have faced enough deprivation – both of their economic as well as political rights. We demand an immediate halt to the repression and prosecution of aragayala activists. We call upon the government and all responsible groups in society – civil society organizations, professional groups, trade unions and others – to immediately recognize the aragalaya for what it was – the most inspiring and uplifting people’s movement that this country has witnessed in its postcolonial history. Based on this understanding, we call upon the government to stop this witch hunt and attend to the actual priorities of the people. FUTA reiterates its commitment to the democratic ideals of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and affirms it continued and unreserved support to the spirit and intent of the aragalya. We have and will always stand for the democratic rights of the people.
