Protecting rights

Wednesday, 8 June 2011 00:37 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

IT was a disturbing sight when hundreds of people bearing long rods were seen converging near Lipton Circus while the JVP was staging a demonstration against the controversial Pension Bill for the private sector last week. Media reports indicated that there were around 1,000 people who had been brought to the venue in buses that were prominently parked outside the Town Hall.

Pictures of them striding across the roads and increasing the afternoon traffic jam as well as grouping near the Viharamahadevi Park were published, but to no avail. Neither Police nor politicians did anything.

The sheer impunity with which such large numbers of people were able to converge, openly carry weapons and escape any repercussions from the Police that were assembled at the protest area is scarcely conceivable. But it happened. This is one of the most disturbing elements of the events that unfolded on the fringes of the protests against the proposed Pension Bill that showcased the breakdown of law and order to the rest of the world.

As is often said, dissent is not disloyalty. People have the right to freedom of expression, particularly after the death of a protestor by Police gunfire. They have the right to converge and declare their issues to the Government and seek redress for their problems; after all is it not the people who voted the Government into power to represent them? If the officials in power are not serving the best interests of the people, then they have the right to express their dissent.

The situation was tenuous, to say the least, after the violent clashes between strikers and Police in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone. The situation was quickly hijacked by political parties and the Government had to take quick action to protect itself. However, the question is, do the ends justify the means? Can political mileage be gained by transporting goon squads to attack protestors who are demonstrating against the Government? Does it not show that a larger problem is being created, namely the breakdown of law and order? Should suppression be tolerated in a democracy?

If the avenues to communicate with the Government, which includes protests and strikes, are being undermined, then the people will become even more restless and resentful. This will lead to an even bigger breakdown of trust between the people and the Government. Moreover, there is a probability that these armed goons will take the law into their own hands if their fear of the law is stamped out. Therefore, suppression cannot be healthy for anyone in the long term.

The very fact that dozens of Policemen who were present at Lipton Circus allowed the goons to converge and took no action shows the severity of the level of impunity in which they operate. Even after the media drew attention to the thugs, there was no move by the authorities to explain themselves or give assurances that this situation would not be repeated.

The people protesting over the Pension Bill proved that their interests cannot be trifled with by the Government. It would be impressive indeed if the rest of the masses also insisted that their right to freedom of expression be maintained by the Government so that when another important issue comes along, it can be resolved without fights, bullets and death.