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We Condemn the Degrading Treatment Inflicted Upon Former Military Officer Suresh Sallay!
The 'Dinana Dakuna' Collective status-quo rejects and condemns in the strongest terms the long-term detention of Major General Suresh Sallay under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the subjecting of him to degrading treatment while being so detained.
In addition to opposing the detention and degrading treatment of Major General Suresh Sallay, the 'Dinana Dakuna' Collective uses this incident as an opportunity to warn society about the existing double standards within Sri Lankan politics.
It is clearly evident that through the degrading treatment Major General Suresh Sallay is forced to experience under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the CID is utilizing the anti-terrorism law to extract a forced confession from him stating that he and the mastermind behind the Easter attacks are one and the same party.
Furthermore, the 'Dinana Dakuna' Collective emphasizes that the political duplicity based on the acute irony and hypocrisy within Sri Lankan politics behind this entire incident is highly conspicuous. Our Collective believes that pointing this out is a politically vital phenomenon, parallel to condemning and acting against the incident itself.
Here, we particularly highlight the dual policy of the political forces confronted by this phenomenon.
The liberal, progressive people of Sri Lanka have fought against this temporary provisions Prevention of Terrorism Act No. 48 of 1979 for four decades. The international community, including the European Union, has emphasized that this Act should be abolished immediately. The abolition of this Act has become a factor directly affecting the country's economy through GSP+ tariff concessions.
Yet, we remind here that the Sinhala Buddhist political forces of this country showed no desire to eradicate this regressive law from the country, as they believed a "strong state" was necessary against terrorism. Those political forces who opposed its removal have today become victims of that very same law. Today, those who stood to protect the Prevention of Terrorism Act back then are the ones leading the front against the injustice taking place against Major General Sallay, who is currently in detention.
The most ironic and tragic situation here is that the current government led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which previously promised the public that the Prevention of Terrorism Act would be abolished immediately, is today, after coming to power, utilizing that very same oppressive law to hunt down Major General Sallay under an unjust legal framework.
We emphasize that the Prevention of Terrorism Act is an inhumane and brutally oppressive law that flagrantly violates the fundamental rights of the accused. It is our view that keeping a suspect in long-term detention creates the necessary background for them to be subjected to torture and degrading treatment.
The ultimate result of the physical and mental torture inflicted through such long-term detention is the police's ability to extract forced confessions from the detainee under severe psychological stress. It is clear that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is implementing this exact tactical strategy regarding the former military officer currently in detention.
It is a myth to think that a state is protected through such measures. What such unjust acts do is strip away the citizens' right to freedom and equality, thereby fracturing the trust between the citizen and the state. Accordingly, what it does is tarnish the legitimacy of the entire state.
This clearly demonstrates the hollowness and unprincipled nature of politics in our country in the face of rational public policymaking.
Therefore, as the 'Dinana Dakuna' Collective , we call upon the current government to abolish the Prevention of Terrorism Act with immediate effect.
It appears that the current government is attempting to replace this Act with another set of oppressive laws. That is by no means a solution.
Sri Lanka must further practice how to govern the country and preserve the rule of law without the aid of such oppressive legal regimes.
Our Collective believes that this should be the art of 21st-century governance, driven by new rational thinking instead of the old oppressive reality.
Our Collective appeals to all political forces in the country to act in accordance with this reality.
On behalf of the Dinana Dakuna Collective
Leadership Board & Executive Council
