Sri Lanka's Civil Rights Movement (CRM) said recent attacks on peaceful anti-government protestors by government supporters indicated an 'alarming slide' towards curbs on democracy.
It said in a statement attempts to stifle peaceful forms of dissent could result in violent reactions in the future as has happened in the past in the island which has been wracked by three insurgencies that retarded economic growth.
The CRM statement was in response to attacks on February 10 on demonstrators protesting against the detention of Sarath Fonseka, a former army chief and joint opposition candidate in last month's presidential poll.
Fonseka was defeated by incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January poll but has asked courts to release him and is also contesting in forthcoming parliamentary polls.
"Demonstrators were physically attacked by government supporters who to all appearances were well prepared with clubs and large stones," the CRM said.
"Several persons including policemen were reportedly injured, and the police used teargas."
The CRM said it sees the attack "as an alarming slide towards further curtailment of democratic norms, particularly in view of the imminent general election, and because it has such a compelling significance for the long-term as well."
Parliamentary elections are to be held next month with the ruling coalition seeking to extend its mandate by riding on a wave of popularity that rose after it crushed a 30-year Tamil separatist insurgency in May 2009.
he CRM said previous attempt to violently suppress peaceful protest had given rise to violent rebellions. The Tamil Tiger separatist insurgency began in the late 1970s and gathered momentum after riots by Sinhalese mobs against minority Tamils in July 1983, seen as a watershed in the conflict.
The insurgency was crushed only in May 2009.
The island had also suffered two violent uprisings by youth of the majority Sinhalese community, first in 1971 and again in the late 1980s, both of which were brutally crushed.
The CRM recalled how in 1956 Tamil political leaders engaged in a peaceful protest opposite the then-parliament in the capital Colombo were attacked by thugs while the police and members of parliament looked on.
"The tolerance of opposing views, not merely by governments and politicians, but by all the diverse elements that make up our society, including each and every individual, is vital for us all," the CRM statement said.
“… stifling the peaceful expression of legitimate dissent today can only result, inexorably, in the catastrophic explosion of violence some other day,” the statement said, quoting a comment by the late Justice Mark Fernando.
"We have seen this happen in our past; let us even at this stage try to secure a future where justice and dignity prevail," the CRM said.
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It said in a statement attempts to stifle peaceful forms of dissent could result in violent reactions in the future as has happened in the past in the island which has been wracked by three insurgencies that retarded economic growth.
The CRM statement was in response to attacks on February 10 on demonstrators protesting against the detention of Sarath Fonseka, a former army chief and joint opposition candidate in last month's presidential poll.
Fonseka was defeated by incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January poll but has asked courts to release him and is also contesting in forthcoming parliamentary polls.
"Demonstrators were physically attacked by government supporters who to all appearances were well prepared with clubs and large stones," the CRM said.
"Several persons including policemen were reportedly injured, and the police used teargas."
The CRM said it sees the attack "as an alarming slide towards further curtailment of democratic norms, particularly in view of the imminent general election, and because it has such a compelling significance for the long-term as well."
Parliamentary elections are to be held next month with the ruling coalition seeking to extend its mandate by riding on a wave of popularity that rose after it crushed a 30-year Tamil separatist insurgency in May 2009.
he CRM said previous attempt to violently suppress peaceful protest had given rise to violent rebellions. The Tamil Tiger separatist insurgency began in the late 1970s and gathered momentum after riots by Sinhalese mobs against minority Tamils in July 1983, seen as a watershed in the conflict.
The insurgency was crushed only in May 2009.
The island had also suffered two violent uprisings by youth of the majority Sinhalese community, first in 1971 and again in the late 1980s, both of which were brutally crushed.
The CRM recalled how in 1956 Tamil political leaders engaged in a peaceful protest opposite the then-parliament in the capital Colombo were attacked by thugs while the police and members of parliament looked on.
"The tolerance of opposing views, not merely by governments and politicians, but by all the diverse elements that make up our society, including each and every individual, is vital for us all," the CRM statement said.
“… stifling the peaceful expression of legitimate dissent today can only result, inexorably, in the catastrophic explosion of violence some other day,” the statement said, quoting a comment by the late Justice Mark Fernando.
"We have seen this happen in our past; let us even at this stage try to secure a future where justice and dignity prevail," the CRM said.
LBO
