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The responsibilities of protestors and Government

05 Apr 2022

Islandwide protests have now spread to almost all areas of the country, and they are growing at an uncontrollable speed. While the spread of these protests shows the great enthusiasm coming from the general public in light of the exacerbating economic crisis, which is admirable when we look at how the general public has been complacent regarding the actions of Governments in the past, the protests seem to be getting out of hand, with a number of violent and unlawful acts having been reported during protests. These incidents include destroying and trying to enter various properties, especially those owned by members of the Government, and blocking public roads. In this regard, several parties expressed concerns, with warnings that even though lawful and peaceful protests would be permissible, protests that can pose a threat to peace and result in damages to private and public properties would be dealt with according to the law. Yesterday (5), Defence Secretary General (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne, in a statement issued in this regard, noted that despite the state of emergency being in effect and peaceful protests being allowed to be held in defence of the democratic rights of the people, the violent actions of politicians, who are committed to pursuing narrow political gains under the guise of peaceful protests, are targeting the security forces who are maintaining peace and that it can be seen that this campaign has now gone beyond the framework of democracy. What is more, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) also raised concerns about the same, stressing that even though the people have a right to protest and express their dissent peacefully, if a peaceful protest becomes violent, that will only dilute the objective and purpose of a peaceful expression of dissent and strengthen the hands of those who seek to suppress legitimate dissent. This spate of protests commenced with a good intention, by the people, for the people, and it is meant to be a people’s struggle for good living conditions and a better future. In this context, it is the responsibility of the people to see to it that their protests are being heard in the proper way. One obstacle to achieving this is unruly behaviour, which some of the protesters have shown throughout these protests. It is true that the people are furious and frustrated. However, those emotions should not suppress the cause for which they are fighting. On the one hand, their uncontrolled behaviour should not give an excuse to the Government to use excessive force against the protesters with no repercussions, and on the other hand, the protesters’ struggle should not cause any inconvenience to fellow citizens by way of vandalism or damages to the people. The country witnessed the adverse results of uncontrolled behaviour of protesters last week when a protest was held near the President’s private residence in Mirihana. Even though there is a widespread controversy as to who exactly set fire to properties, including state-owned vehicles, with fingers being pointed at Government-affiliated individuals, the Government alleged that the protesters caused it. Based on this, the Government, without a second thought, labelled the protest as a destructive act by “political extremists” which consequently paved the way for the Government to impose a sudden islandwide curfew on Sunday (3) and declare a state of emergency, and deploy security forces and police officers to every area where a protest was held. That is a good example of how even an accident that can be interpreted as violent or unruly behaviour can be used by the powerful to stifle the people’s genuine struggles. No room should be left to oppress protesters that way, and it is the protesters’ responsibility to behave and use brain power instead of muscle power. They should not give the Government or any other party a reason to label their “pro-people struggle” as a mere “anti-Government act” orchestrated by Opposition political parties or non-governmental organisations. In that lies the success of this struggle, as the right image can attract more people to voluntarily join these protests. Being conscious about behaviour during protests; taking necessary permissions if such is required; being vigilant about groups trying to sabotage protests by causing unrest; and most importantly, delivering the right message, not anger, to the right parties should be their priorities. For the citizens’ struggle to bear fruit, citizens should identify their individual responsibility in connection with these simple steps. At the same time, the Government has a responsibility to respect the people’s right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression and dissent, in accordance with the Constitution, and intervene only if there is violent or unruly behaviour exhibited. Security forces and police officers should strictly limit the use of power to minimum force, and the media and every citizen should have a responsibility to report incidents of excessive use of power. At the end of the day, the people must hold protests in a way that delivers a clear message without causing unnecessary inconvenience to the public and the Government, and security forces must not try to deal with protesters in an oppressive manner. Sri Lanka is in the middle of an unprecedented people’s struggle, and it is in the interests of the nation’s future that everybody acts responsibly.  


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