Sri Lanka: Students go over the top over statue

By Ranga Jayasuriya | Lakbima News
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If there is a thing called the principle of proportionality — it appears to be missing on the part of both the government and the student activists. After an explosion damaged a statue built to commemorate the fallen student activists in the past, thousands of students of Sri Jayewardenepura University swarmed the streets and created hours of vehicular traffic blockages on Colombo streets on Thursday (December 5).

Students marched from the university to Temple Trees — and were stopped at Kollupitiya before they could reached their final destination. Thousands of working hours were lost in traffic jams and angry passengers, stuck on the road were heard swearing at the students.

Later that night, soldiers surrounded the university and armoured personnel carriers rolled on the streets around the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

On Friday, soldiers allegedly assaulted student activists who protested against their presence wounding three students. An injured student, Saranga Dissanayake was rushed to the hospital, and is being treated at the Sri Jayewardenepura hospital.

A climate of fear

Military presence around the university is intimidating to say the least.

Worse still, student activists allege that the army is engaged in systematic assaults on identified student activists.

“There is a climate of fear in the university,” says the convener of the Inter University Student Federation, Sanjeewa Bandara.

He says the military has been deployed to terrorize students into submission.
There are armoured cars and over 200 soldiers wielding guns. Students are scared to venture out, he complained.

He said the students had launched a satyagraha (a peaceful protest) against military deployment around the university.

He alleged that the purported bomb attack that damaged the ‘Viri Sisu Smarakaya’ in the wee hours of Thursday was an inside job (of the university administration).

“The Vice Chancellor earlier threatened to demolish the statue and we protested,” he said.

He questioned as to how a bomb attack is launched at the statue when hundreds of security guards hired from the Ratna Lanka Security Service, a commercial venture linked to the Defence Ministry, he alleges, are detailed in every nook and corner of the university.

‘Reign of terror’

He vowed that the students would continue with their agitation until the vice chancellor of the university whom they accuse of presiding over a ‘reign of terror’ is removed and the military is also removed from the surroundings of the university, and the services of the Ratna Lanka Security Service are discontinued.

The vice chancellor of the University, N.L.A. Karunaratne was not available for comment. However, in an opinion column published in a Sinhala newspaper, the vice hancellor alleged that student activists were agents of foreign conspirators who aim to ‘sabotage country’s development.’

© Lakbima News