FUTA condemns violent suppression of student activists

The Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) yesterday condemned the suppression of student activists in recent times including the violent suppression by the police on the peaceful protest at Lipton Circle, followed by the arrest of 13 students showing the brutality of State actions against university students.

FUTA Secretary Prof. Arjuna Parakrama said in a statement that as witnessed by several academics that were presented at Lipton Circle during this incident, the ‘occupation’ by the medical students of the Lipton Circle was peaceful and it was not disturbing anyone.

“Yet, the police arrived with a court order, accompanied by the riot police and water cannons and ordered the students to leave within 15 minutes. When they did not do so, they were chased away by baton-wielding police and pelted with water. We also note that there were several people not in police uniform who arrived with the police to participate in the demolition work,” he said.

He said that this incident had demonstrated the fact that this government is unable to tolerate dissent – even peaceful protest and the utter contempt for democratic values, freedom of speech and the rights to protest – all values that it had claimed to uphold after it came to power.

“This government has now lost any legitimacy it may have had of being the government of ‘good governance’. The government seems to be using the law to block dissent and to detain student leaders. The attempted arrest of Ryan Jayalath, Convenor of the Medical Students Action Committees, is another instance where the response and behaviour of law enforcement officials was entirely out of proportion,” he said.

The FUTA demanded the government to uphold the right of dissent and protest of all, and that it immediately ceases the suppression of student activists.

“We call upon the government to heed the strength of public resistance to its policy on the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) and to engage in a meaningful and honest effort to resolve the crisis brought about as a result of SAITM”.

We call upon the government to engage in a meaningful and honest effort to resolve the crisis brought about as a result of SAITM