UNP Chairman blames govt. on mushrooming protests

By Piyasena Dissanayake

There were many protests in the country because the government had used force to disperse a demonstration by teachers near Parliament, the UNP said yesterday.

UNP Chairman and former minister Wajira Abeywardena, addressing the media at the party office in Elpitiya said: “There was a small protest near the Parliament roundabout against the Kotelawala Defence University Bill. It was attended by only a handful of people. The government used the police break it up and the protestors were treated inhumanely. After seeing how the protesters had been hauled into buses to be dispatched to quarantine centres, people became enraged. It is only natural to witness numbers attending the protests thereafter would increase dramatically. Now, there are protests all over the country by teachers and other unionists as well as university students. This is due to the government mishandling a small protest.”

Abeywardena said that the teachers had genuine problems and issues in their profession. “Their salary anomaly issue has not been solved for 24 years. When the schools were shut down the teachers spent out of their pocket to conduct online classes for their students. Such dedication should have been appreciated by adding an allowance to their salaries. We as the UNP proposed that to the government but it did not appreciate the teachers’ service. Instead, some ministers used the derogatory term ‘kaalakanni’ to describe teachers. Now, they are staging rallies demanding the very same and solutions to other problems in their profession,” the former minister said.

He said that the situation would take a turn for the worse if the government further delayed talking to teacher unionists.

The UNP Chairman said that the Kotelawala Defence University had been there for 30 years. Changes in curriculum and administrative processes should be changed with the time without causing problems. Those who graduated from that university fought in the war and contributed an excellent service in the battle against terrorism. There are similar institutes the world over. The government should be able to explain to the people its objective in introducing changes without letting others misinterpret facts for political reasons. It should discuss this matter with all stakeholders rather than suppressing democratic dissent. There is no alternative to negotiations with protesters.

Opposition Leader of the Galle Municipal Council Dilith Nishantha also addressed the press.