02/22/2022 Sri Lanka (International Christian Concern) – Yesterday, Christians gathered in the streets of Sri Lanka to protest the government’s repression of activists in the country. The protest came in response to the attack on a journalist and the unjustified arrest of a human rights activist over a week ago. The president of Sri Lanka ordered armed forces across the country to be on alert and quell the protests. The Speaker announced the order today and justified the overreaction as “protection for the people.”

One of the targets of the recent discriminatory treatment was an activist who was critical of the government’s persecution of religious minorities on the island nation. A fellow activist described his character and arrest. “[He was] a civil activist who was instrumental in uncovering the masterminds of the Easter attack. [He] was arrested by a group of security personnel in a white van on the road.” 

The journalist was similarly critical of the government’s abuse of religious minorities and had his house attacked by alleged government agents. The attempt to silence the press stirred the Committee to Protect Journalists to compare the current state of civil society in Sri Lanka to the period during the decades-long civil war. “Throughout the year, security forces harassed and threatened human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and the families of victims of past abuses.” A priest and activist in Sri Lanka illustrated what happens to those who fight for truth and change. “Those who demand justice for the Easter attack victims are arrested and questioned without exposing the real masterminds behind it.”

According to the leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramauna (JVP), the Easter attack was a major factor in the current government coming to power. Most people voted for the current president and the government in the hope that those responsible for the Easter attack would be punished. He said, “It is now clear that the present government has failed to do justice to the victims and punish the government officials and politicians.”

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