In the past few months the cost of living has skyrocketed in Sri Lanka, causing widespread dissatisfaction among workers. In response to the multiple threats of strikes in various sectors of the economy, the authorities have taken numerous steps to end the protests. In this context, the campaign launched in February this year to discredit and diabolize a group of independent trade unionists, and to associate them with the Tamil Tiger insurgents [1], is particularly worrying. Intimidation and threats against them have multiplied since they organized a demonstration outside the Colombo Fort station to protest against the kidnapping of three members of a railway workers’ union on 6 February. In this situation workers fear repression which could lead to the systematic abolition of trade union freedom in the country. A serious threat is therefore weighing on these unionists; if nothing is done to stop the authorities’ campaign to discredit them, it is not only their freedom but also their lives that will be in danger.

Anton Marcus, leader of the Free Trade Zone and General Services Employees Union (FTZ-GSEU) and longstanding partner of Peuples Solidaire (cf. "Further information") is one of the union leaders who participated in the 7 February demonstration. He affirms that he and other union leaders, notably Sman Ratnapriya and Ravi Kumudesh from the Hospital Sector Trade Union Alliance (HSTUA) and Joseph Stalin of the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU), are currently threatened with kidnapping, arrest and possibly death due to false accusations of terrorism [2]

Attempts to discredit unionists

This group of independent unionists is in the front line of the struggle for basic union rights. They recently participated in campaigns denouncing the government’s attacks on the right to strike and its arbitrary reforms of labour legislation. Due to the massive support they receive from exploited workers, they have become a source of concern for employers and the government. Although these unionists affirm that they have no intention of countering government plans to maintain law and order in respect of terrorism, wanted notices with their names, accusing them of being terrorists, have been displayed throughout the country, near the free trade zones, in public transport, hospitals, etc. It seems, moreover, that the national media are preparing to launch a campaign to diabolize their unions. By thus discrediting them, this campaign is designed to sow the seeds of doubt in peoples’ and especially workers’ minds and to put these unionists’ lives in danger. Several death threats have already been made against union militants, who will probably soon be kidnapped or arrested due to their alleged complicity with the terrorist movement.

Threats of kidnapping

Everything indicates that the 6 February 2007 kidnapping of Nihal Serasinghe, Lalith Seneviratne and Sisira Priyankara, all of whom worked for the union newspaper Akuna, was actually a repressive measure against trade unions. This sector is traditionally considered to be one of the most active in the trade union world and railway workers are known for their relentless struggle for trade union rights. Shortly before being kidnapped, Sisira Priyankara, editor of the newspaper, had participated in lodging several complaints to the courts concerning salary increases illegally granted to senior government officials. Under pressure from the unions which threatened to launch new protest action against the multiplication of kidnappings, the government announced that the three men had been arrested by the criminal investigation department and held in police custody for questioning. Videos showing the three militants confessing their "crimes" were then presented to journalists. In the videos Nihal Serasinghe, Lalith Seneviratne and Sisira Priyankara each describe their planned attacks and military training with the Tamil Tigers. Reporters Sans Frontièrs has denounced the repressive methods evidently used by the police to obtain these confessions. It has pointed out that "confessions recorded in an unknown place, by unknown individuals, after an arrest that looks more like a kidnapping, have no legal validity".

The authorities have to react

On 21 February 2007, two of the unions targeted by this discrediting campaign, the FTZ-GSEU and the HSTUA, lodged several complaints with the police, requesting their protection and demanding an inquiry into this disinformation campaign which is threatening their lives and freedom. But to date the authorities responsible for applying the law have taken no steps to guarantee the safety of the threatened journalists. As a member of the International Labour Organization which ratified the Convention on Trade Union Freedom [3], as well as the Convention on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining [4], Sri Lanka has the duty to protect trade union rights and to guarantee freedom of association.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Anton Marcus, leader of the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees’ Union, one of the union leaders threatened by the Sri Lankan authorities’ discrediting campaign, participated in the international seminar on urgent Appeals which we organized in 2005. He also visited several towns in France to contribute to the events organized by local associations (Peuples Solidaires groups, RITIMO centres, Artisans du Monde shops, etc.). The campaign intended to associate the unionists with terrorists has been clearly denounced by many organizations, including:
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
The Clean Clothes Campaign
The International Trade Union Confederation

WRITE!

By e-mail: gosl@presidentsl.org - Cc: ftzunion@wow.lk
By letter: copy the standard letter below (downloadable by clicking on the attachment at the bottom of this page) or use your own wording. Remember to add your name, address and signature.
Partner’s message: to give the FTZ-GSEU an idea of the support on which they can rely, send them the support message.
Reaction time: On reception and until 30 May 2007.

PROTEST LETTER

The President, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakshe
President’s House
"Temple Tree"
Colombo 3
SRI LANKA
E-mail: gosl@presidentsl.org

Dear Mr President,

I have been informed by the Solidarity Network of Peuples Solidaires about the risks that trade unionists face while carrying out their legitimate activities in Sri Lanka. On 6 February, three contributors to a trade union newspaper were abducted in Colombo and accused of collaboration with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam. Key trade union activists who participated in a protest for the release of the abducted men are now being publicly accused of being covert terrorist operatives and, as a result, seriously threatened. The FTZ-GSEU and the HSTUA lodged complaints with the police to seek protection for their trade union right and for their lives but, to date, the law enforcement authorities have failed to take constructive measures to guarantee their safety. The exercise of trade union rights is enshrined in ILO Conventions 87 and 98, to which your country is a signatory. I therefore urge you to take immediate measures in order to:
- guarantee the safety of all trade unionists under threat, and ensure the free exercise of trade union activities;
- investigate the complaints lodged by the aforesaid trade unionists and guarantee their safety;
- ensure the due process of law on all acts of threat and intimidation.

I look forward to your timely intervention and response. Yours respectfully,

Name - Surname :

SUPPORT MESSAGE

Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union (FTZ-GSEU)
Reg: No 7223141,
Ananda Rajakaruna Mawatha
Colombo 10
SRI LANKA
E-mail: ftzunion@wow.lk

Dear friends of FTZ-GSEU,

I have been informed by Peuples Solidaires about the risks that trade unionists face while carrying out their legitimate activities in Sri Lanka. I am alarmed by the campaign explicitly aimed at linking trade unionists with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam and the serious threats that have been made against trade unionists as a result of this campaign.
I support your action and have sent a letter to the President of Sri Lanka, urging him to take immediate measures in order to implement your demands. With warm regards,

Name - Surname:

[1] The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeaam (LTTE) is a Tamil independence movement in Sri Lanka, founded in 1976 to create a separate state, Tamil Ealam, in the north-east of the island. It adopted the armed struggle in 1972 and was the first movement to use suicide attacks as a means of action.

[2] Appeal launched by Anton Marcus available in English on the site: http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/images/stories/urgentappeals/docsandpdfs/07-02_ftzgseu_appeal.pdf .

[3] Convention N°87 of 1948, ratified by Sri Lanka in 1995.

[4] Convention N°98 of 1949, ratified by Sri Lanka in 1972.