Protest in Colombo

Organised jointly by human rights organisations, non governmental organizations and several political parties demonstrators strongly appealed to respect human rights and democratic values.

The demonstrators donned black bands on their hands and gags.

Chairman of the Civil Monitoring Committee who is also the President of the United Socialist Party, Siritunge Jaysuriya criticised the government for giving police powers to the army under emergency laws.

War regime

“It is a war regime and undemocratic rule; an autocratic government which eliminate civil rights of the people”, he said.

The protest is the "initial step towards building a mass movement" against such a government, Jayasuriya said.

Fr.Sathiavel of the Colombo Anglican Diocese said those who are being disappeared today are Tamils, campaigners for peace and labour activists.

Right to life

Everybody in the country has the right to life and it can not be violated by a party or a race, he said.

Member of the Committee for Investigation of Disappearances, and Leader of the Left Front, Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne said suppression reign everywhere in the country.

	Protesting for democracy

He questioned why opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe couldn’t oppose in the emergency vote. The opposition, he said, supported it indirectly while Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) instigated racism among employees in work places.

Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda of the Catholic Church said if there were to be political solution there wouldn’t have been a war.

From the time of S W R D Bandaranaike, the need is there for a political solution to the national question but still Sri Lanka is in search of a solution, Fr. Iddamalgoda added.