ஆஸாத் சாலியின் கைது குறித்து மங்கள சமரவீர + கரு ஜெயசூர்ய

Salley, A Courageous Voice Against The Majoritarian Racist Elements

By Mangala Samaraweera -

We were gravely disturbed to learn of the arrest of former Deputy mayor of Colombo and Muslim Tamil National Alliance leader Azath Salley by the CID on May 2nd 2013.

This is yet another blatant manifestation of the depths to which the rule of law has sunk in this country and further proof that even as the Government prepares to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in a few months, it is simultaneously taking steps to suppress dissent and victimise political opponents in a manner that runs directly contrary to the fundamental tenets of democracy.

Mr. Salley has been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, a draconian piece of legislation whose provisions to detain suspects without trial for 180 days, and has no place in a country that is no longer fighting terrorism. Mr. Salley’s purported to be the incitement of communal hatred, for a newspaper interview in which he warned of the dire consequences of fanning the flames of ethnic and religious hatred.

It is strange that the PTA provisions permitting law enforcement to take into custody those who threaten strife between communities were never used to arrest the thugs who attacked a Muslim owned enterprise in Pepiliyana in March. Or that they were not used to arrest those extremist elements that forced the police to disperse a peaceful anti-hate vigil in April. It is baffling that these provisions are not being used to take action against the devastating reports of assaults on Muslim places of worship and women wearing the Muslim headdress.

There is no rationale in the authorities continuing to permit rallies filled with hate speech against the Muslim community and their way of life to take place in every major town in this country. Mr. Salley’s arrest, ironically called for repeatedly by hate groups afforded significant state patronage, makes it clear that the Government deals its justice by two yardsticks, one for the majority community, which can spout invective against other religions and ethnic groups freely and another for minorities who dare to issue warnings about the dangerous turn Sri Lanka is taking. His arrest is another clear indication of where the regime truly stands when it comes to ending racism and hatred.

Mr. Salley, has in these recently troubled times, been a courageous voice against the majoritarian racist elements that are threatening the re-emergence of ethnic and religious conflict in our country. If it is the regime’s answer to arrest Mr. Salley for warning against the dangers of this hate campaign, then perhaps each of us who also denounce the extremist campaigns of hate against Sri Lanka’s Muslim community must all be arrested for believing in a pluralistic society in which every Sri Lankan, irrespective of race, religion or caste, must be treated as equal citizens. If opposing hate is a crime, then we are all criminals today.

Last week, following the end of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group meeting in London, Commonwealth Secretary General told reporters there that Sri Lanka’s rule of law situation and its judicial reform would be taking a turn for the better within a matter of weeks, instead of months. He told journalists that he had received assurances of these changes by the highest echelons of the ruling Government in Colombo. It is deeply ironic that those remarks came on the same day that Sri Lanka witnessed the tragi-comic drama of the miraculous recovery of a murder suspect and Government Parliamentarian, who was supposedly so sick he could not attend court after spending over an year overseas receiving treatment, march out of hospital and straight to the Presidential Palace to be ‘blessed’, apparently in the pink of health.

The Secretary General’s words seem more ironic still, in light of the fate that has befallen Mr. Salley. The Government has shown its true face towards the minorities and its commitment to ending hate and strife in this country. This is the justice Sri Lanka’s ruling regime knows. This is the democracy and reconciliation that the next CHOGM host seeks to showcase before the world come November. We do indeed live in a land like no other.

Arresting Salley And Duminda’s Ceremonial Welcome At The Presidential Palace

By Karu Jayasuriya -

 

It is in the strongest possible terms that the arrest of former UNP Deputy Mayor Azath Salley must be condemned by all right thinking peoples of this country. His arrest – for allegedly inciting communal hatred under the prevention of terrorism act, is further proof that the Government continues to retain these repressive war time laws to hunt political opponents in peace time.

 

Mr. Salley’s arrest must not come as a surprise to any observer who has been witnessing the dismal levels to which law enforcement in this country has descended. Mr. Salley’s offence has been to warn of the dire consequences this country could —face if hate campaigns against a single community continue to grow.

 

Mr. Salley should in fact be saluted for speaking out against hate groups targeting one community of people in this country, when the Government continues to watch from the sidelines as another conflict brews in our island. In terms of battling racial hatred and calling for unity in Sri Lanka, all of us stand beside Mr. Salley. Many of us would fight to the end to prevent Sri Lanka from taking another dangerous turn down the road to a repeat of a 1983 type conflagration. The crime Mr. Salley has purportedly committed by an increasingly tyrannical regime should be work like a badge of honour by all patriotic Sri Lankans who do not believe in ethnic or religious divisions or hatred.

 

The arrest of Mr. Salley for alleged statements to a newspaper comes at the same time when a politician who is accused of a quadruple murder including that of a ruling party leader was granted bail. Sri Lankans are intelligent enough to see not only the irony of these events but the sheer shamelessness and the disgusting impunity with which the current regime governs. An alleged murder suspect is given police protection and a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential palace soon after receiving bail while an activist calling for unity and warning against an impending division is arrested for being a terrorist.

 

With the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting due to be held in Sri lanka in November 2013 the world’s attention is drawn to our country. It is sad that our government continues to  demonstrate that it does not adhere to any Commonwealth values that prescribe good governance, freedom of expression, democracy and the rule of law. While Sri Lanka has lost its standing as a shining democracy this regime seems determined to further tarnish our country’s image as a lawless land where goons rule and injustice prevails.

 

I call upon all freedom loving Sri Lankans to recognize the grave injustices being carried out by the ruling regime. The intimidation of Mr. Azath Salley is not just aimed at an individual. It is aimed at an idea, an idea that all Sri Lankans can live as one, an idea that there will be justice in this land and above all an idea that Sri Lanka need not be consumed once again by the flames of hatred and war. It is an idea that is worth preserving and fighting for, even against the mightiest odds.