“There are agitations everywhere; students have taken to the streets on behalf of the people against SAITM. Rs.12.5 million has to be spent for a medical degree from SAITM. Do we have so much money? This is why students have taken to the streets against SAITM. Doctors too have taken to the streets to agitate against SAITM. They agitate to maintain a good health service. For, degree holders that come out of SAITM would be fake doctors. There is no standard in that institute. Now, the fisher community too has taken to the streets asking for their rights. The farmer community too has taken to the streets stating their cultivations have been destroyed and demanding compensation. The government got bewildered and scared. They are trying to bring a new law to restrict agitations. Now it will be necessary to agitate demanding the right to agitate. The government, without taking medicines for diarrhea, is trying to stop it by wearing a loin cloth.
What the government is trying to do is to increase agitations. Bringing laws would not bring down agitations. The government comes out with nonsense. We would like to tell Ranil – Maithri government that there is only one solution to stop agitations. It is simple and not difficult. Listen to the people and give solutions for their issues. When SAITM is abolished students will stop their agitations, doctors will not take to the streets and we will not come out. That will be the end of agitations. Without doing this simple thing the government, on behalf of a few fake doctors, is trying to bring restrictions for agitations,” said the General Secretary of the JVP Comrade Tilvin Silva at the Hambanthota District Summit of the All Ceylon Fishermen’s Federation held on the 13th.
Speaking about the government’s attempt to bring in new laws to restrict agitations without solving the issues confronted by the masses the General Secretary of the JVP said, “Despite some saying Sri Lanka is a poor country it is not so. Ours is a rich country with poor people. The country is rich but eh people are poor. We still have not got a government that could make use of the resources the country possesses. The governments that have ruled the country are those that squeeze our necks, pick our pockets and deny our rights. We still haven’t got a government that recognizes the value of our natural resources and make them into our income and our assets.
On one sided the country has resources and the people are poor. The country is entangled in a debt trap. The people have to bear this debt burden. The people live amidst greatest difficulties.
As ours is an island fishing industry could develop our country if it is correctly handled. However, this industry is not properly handled. If we spend millions of dollars to import fish despite the sea is around us, could we call this a country? On one side we have to win the rights of fishing folk. On the other we have a struggle to change this administrative system. Hence, we ask you to understand correctly the challenge that is before us.
If we are fined, if the equipment we need is not given to us, if the government does not give solutions for our issues we have a responsibility and a right to agitate, take to the streets to win our rights.
Hence, the fishing community has to get ready for struggles on the streets and to win their rights. There are going to be obstacles placed on our struggles. There are many agitations and many have come to the streets. This government is going astray. They don’t know where they are going and what they are doing. The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand does. It is like the blind and the lame. One can’t see and the other can’t move.
There are many issues as the government cannot solve them. When there are no solutions for issues people take to the streets. Ministers do not listen to the people. Even if they listen they do not understand. The Prime Minister, the President or the ministers do not understand people’s issues. It is like there is no administration. As such, people take to the streets to make their voices heard by them.
Now, there are agitations everywhere, students have taken to the streets on behalf of the people against SAITM. Rs.12.5 million has to be spent for a medical degree from SAITM. Do we have so much money? This is why students have taken to the streets against SAITM. Doctors too have taken to the streets to agitate against SAITM. They agitate to maintain a good health service. For, degree holders that come out of SAITM would be fake doctors. There is no standard in that institute. Now, the fisher community too has taken to the streets asking for their rights. The farmer community too has taken to the streets stating their cultivations have been destroyed and demanding compensation. The government got bewildered and scared. They are trying to bring a new law to restrict agitations. Now it will be necessary to agitate demanding the right to agitate. The government, without taking medicines for diarrhea, is trying to stop it by wearing a loin cloth.
Before bring laws banning agitations the government is trying to introduce a process where only one agitation could be held in Colombo during a week. Agitations cannot be held like teledramas. Whenever there is an issue we take to the streets. Hence, we will have to take to the streets against such rules.
What the government is trying to do is to increase agitations. Bringing laws would not bring down agitations. The government comes out with nonsense. We would like to tell Ranil – Maithri government that there is only one solution to stop agitations. It is simple and not difficult. Listen to the people and give solutions for their issues. When SAITM is abolished students will stop their agitations, doctors will not take to the streets and we will not come out. That will be the end of agitations. Without doing this simple thing the government, on behalf of a few fake doctors, is trying to bring restrictions for agitations.
When farmers are given compensation they ask for their agitations will stop. When fisher folk are given their rights they will stop their agitations. People’s issues must be solved. If the government tries to arbitrarily stop agitations, we warn the government to be prepared for massive agitations on behalf of the right to agitate. Otherwise the government with the ban on agitations will have to go home before its term of five years end. We warn the government not to be funny with the people.
People voted this government in not to act like clowns; not to steal people’s tax money; not to spend people’s money to bring down luxury vehicles. Again rs.540 million has been allocated to import vehicles for ministers. Ministers want vehicles every year. Money is allocated for such tomfoolery. People did not bring this government to power to waste people’s money for voraciousness of administrators. If they have money to waste for such ruinous acts why can’t they find solutions for people’s issues? Hence, we have to struggle to find solutions for our issues.”