Sri Lanka urged to respect people’s right to protest

Sri Lanka

The excessive use of force by security forces is alarming and must be probed, says CIVICUS

A global civil society alliance has expressed serious concern over Sri Lanka’s clampdown on civic space and urged the government to release those detained arbitrarily and investigate and punish abuses by security forces.

“We urge the government to refrain from deploying violence against protesters and instead respect and protect people’s rights to peaceful protest,” said Josef Benedict, Asia Pacific researcher of CIVICUS, in a statement on April 5.

He called the restrictions on access to the internet and social media platforms and the arrest of Thisara Anuruddha Bandara, a youth activist, for promoting the #GoHomeGota social media campaign against the president “a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression and information guaranteed by the constitution and under international human rights law.”

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Benedict urged authorities to drop all charges against Bandara immediately.

“CIVICUS has documented how the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration has led an assault on civic space and fundamental freedoms since the president assumed power more than two years ago,” the statement said.

In March, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet had similarly reported to the Human Rights Council that “the government’s response to criticism has constricted democratic and civic space.”

The protests and escalating economic crisis have led to the resignations of 26 ministers in the current cabinet, leaving only the president and his brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the prime minister, to manage affairs

As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Sri Lankan government has the duty to respect, protect and fulfill fundamental freedoms enshrined under the treaty. This includes the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Any use of force must only be the minimum amount necessary, targeted at specific individuals and proportionate to the threat posed, the CIVICUS statement added.

The protests and escalating economic crisis have led to the resignations of 26 ministers in the current cabinet, leaving only the president and his brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the prime minister, to manage affairs.

Anti-government protests erupted in early March as Sri Lanka suffers its worst economic crisis in decades. Demonstrators accuse the government of mismanaging the economy and creating a foreign exchange crisis that has led to shortages of essentials such as fuel, cooking gas, milk powder and medicine.

Hundreds of protesters marched outside the president’s private residence on March 31. The peaceful protests turned violent when security forces deployed tear gas and water cannons, leaving at least 50 injured. Dozens of protesters were arrested and some were ill-treated. Eight journalists who were covering the protests were allegedly assaulted by security forces.

On April 1, a state of emergency was declared by the president in an effort to quell the protests. It allows authorities to arrest and detain suspects without warrants, severely restricting fundamental rights such as the freedoms of expression and assembly.

Under the state of emergency, the authorities imposed a nationwide 36-hour curfew. Despite this, thousands of protesters, including students, continued to take to the streets. According to reports, at least 600 protesters were arbitrarily arrested on April 2-3.

Sri Lankan authorities are known for preventing and disrupting protests. This included imposing a ban on all protests under the pretext of Covid-19, arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters and activists using the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) as well as criminalizing dissenters in the recent past, CIVICUS said.  

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