By – shantha wijesooriya

The struggle against the capitalist system and the Rajapaksa regime, which began on March 9, 2022 at Galle Face, culminated in a massive crowd storming Colombo on July 9, occupying the President House, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Presidential Secretariat, and ousting president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Various classes, including some progressive sections of the capitalist class, the upper middle class, the middle class, the petty bourgeoisie, the proletariat, and the unprivileged public of the proletariat, participated in that people’s struggle.

Hundreds of thousands of people participated in this historic struggle, and in the aftermath of this struggle about three thousand people were arrested and prosecuted by the police and army across the country on charges of crimes, robbery, forcible entry into government institutions, illegal protests, damage to the homes of government ministers and MPs, and assault on individuals.

Some of the protesters arrested by the security forces were released on bail after being produced in court. Others were remanded in custody and released on bail within a short period of time. There are also a number of people who are still in prison on criminal charges. Among them are those arrested on suspicion of murdering the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Polonnaruwa MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his personal bodyguard in Nittambuwa, and those arrested on suspicion of setting fire to the former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s house in 5th Lane Colombo, who are still in prison.

The hundreds of thousands of people who participated in the struggle, as well as those in remand prison, participated in the struggle were against the deprivation of rights of those who had no food, no permanent source of income or work, who could not make ends meet even if they had a job, who had money but could not buy goods in the market, who had to queue for miles on the streets every morning, day and night because there was no fuel, who had something to cook but were forced to go hungry because there was no gas, who were trapped in apartment buildings without electricity, who were doomed to die because there was no medicine, and who were unable to use mobile phones.

The coincident of burning down the houses of the public MPs and ministers occurred because some MPs, SLPP supporters and thugs were incited by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for attacking an unarmed struggle. If the government thugs had not attacked the struggle, such a situation would never have arisen. The capitalist rulers who ruled this country, including former President Rajapaksa, are responsible for all these crimes and destruction.The government of former President Ranil joined the murderers and mp’s who looted public property, put the youths who came to chase away the thieves, robbers and murderers on the same charges and imprisoned them.

The main slogan of the National People’s Powers government was to prosecute thieves. The National People’s Powers also promised to bring to justice the murderers who were killed by the security forces in the North, East and South, including journalists. However, the Attorney General, Parinda Ranasinghe, approved the release of three accused who were arrested for the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga and released on bail. The NPP government, which remained silent in the face of the Attorney General’s order, pretended to wake up from a false sleep when journalists, trade union leaders and the public protested against the decision. 
The government, fearing that journalists would continue to question ministers on the issue during news conferences and the public would rally against the government, forced the Attorney General to withdraw the orders. Accordingly, the Attorney General withdrew the order.

Before the government took up the case of journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga, the government checked the pulse of the people by closing the Mahara Prison case in which 11 inmates and prisoners were killed, and the case of the murder of Indika Prabath in Balapitiya. The Attorney General dismissed the criminal cases in Welisara and Balapitiya on the instructions of President Anura Kumara Disanayake. But the President could have instructed the Attorney General to close all the pending cases of the Aragalaya activists if he wanted. But if that were not the case, the JVP and the NPP were completely hostile to the people’s struggle. The JVP and the NPP, which were spinning around the struggle and even giving up the struggle by saying that they were not involved in a “struggle without a cause”, did not have a clear scientific perspective in the form of leadership, so they were able to confine the struggle to the bourgeois parliament.
The falsehood of other leftist organizations that were hidden at the peak of the struggle was also revealed. The people who had mobilized to wipe out the capitalist system from the face of the earth were turned back by bringing Ranil Wickremesinghe to power. The program prepared by the July 5 Galle Face struggle was a pro-capitalist program. The proposal to form an interim government was a trap set for fear that the public struggle would lead to the seizure of the property of the capitalist tycoons. The writer opposed it during the discussion that prepared the program and withdrew from the discussion.

“There are people who have committed crimes and looting under the guise of the struggle, and if they are released, it could be a problem for the government, and the government is in discussions with the Attorney General to release those who do not have criminal cases, and they will consider each case separately, not as a whole.” 

Media and Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the above, when this writer raised a question during a press conference announcing cabinet decisions whether all the activists who joined the struggle will be released unconditionally.

The crimes that the protesters are alleged to have committed are not crimes that they committed intentionally or deliberately.  It is a public struggle against a vandalizing group that has been plundering public property and exploiting the working and oppressed people to the core for 76 years. We are not surprised that the struggle was violent or brutal, but we do not approve of the murder of the Member of Parliament either. 

However a protester was killed when the police used expired tear gas while trying to occupy the Temple Trees. No police officer has been arrested in this connection so far. Despite the prohibition on tear gas being used by protesters, the police targeted the faces, heads and bodies of the protesters, resulting in injuries to a large number of protesters. A large number of protesters even suffered from respiratory diseases due to the government’s use of expired tear gas while using expired tear gas is inhumane and illegal. Anuranga was among the injured in the attack on the protest site on May 9, when his skulls were dislocated.

Some who claimed to be protestors who spoke about it then are now clamoring to release  protesters in other cases, except for criminal cases, under the influence of taking positions and ideology of the National People’s Power  (NPP) government. We oppose the release of protestors based on case and warn the government to immediately release all protestors unconditionally.

We request the working-class people of this country to force the government to release the activists, just as the former JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera, who led the 1971 struggle, who was convicted by the Criminal Justice Commission, was later released by a special commission.

1) Force the National People’s Power government to unconditionally release all activists with cases, including criminal cases!

2) Pay compensation to the families of the killed and disabled activists!

3) Bring the police and security forces officers who killed, disabled and looted the activists to justice!