Weliweriya: Who Gave The Army Orders To Fire – 9 Questions By A Group Of Citizens Including Tamara, Dayan And Rajiva
August 7, 2013
In response to the shooting of unarmed civilians in Weliweriya and Balummahara by the Sri Lankan army, today a group of Sri Lankans including two former Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva issued the statement below;
APPEAL
Justice for Weliweriya :
Time for Indignation!
“Some party hack decreed that the people had lost the government’s confidence and
could only regain it with redoubled effort.
If that is the case, would it not be simpler
If the government simply dissolved the people and
elected another?” - Attributed to Bertolt Brecht, “The Solution” ["Die Lösung"] (c. 1953)
The shooting of unarmed civilians in Weliweriya and Balummahara by army soldiers equipped with T-56 assault rifles, armoured vehicles, and bullet-proof vests, is of unusual gravity for the consequences it will certainly have on the confidence placed by the ordinary citizen on those in power.
What confidence can people have in a State that uses live ammunition against its own unarmed citizens, whose peaceful protest for drinking water cannot by any stretch of imagination be compared with participation in hostilities in an armed conflict situation? They were only exercising their fundamental democratic right to organise and to protest. Their demand was for the basic right to clean drinking water and closure of the export-oriented glove-manufacturing factory Venigros Ltd owned by Dipped Products PLC, a subsidiary of Hayleys Group allegedly responsible for contaminating ground water by disposal of dangerous chemicals. The company must also assume responsibility for the tragedy if it failed deliberately to take timely action to respond to the legitimate concerns of the people.
Why did the members of the Government, and local authorities in charge, fail to take action, and to prevent escalation by ensuring that the company fulfils its responsibilities, despite the matter having brought to their attention?
A number of other pertinent questions arise. Read More
