“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.
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 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 Tilvin Silva 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.”
I don’t know why people are so worried about SAITM. They should be more worried about government doctors who received free education with public funds not serving their medical needs. The protest should be against government doctors not SAITM . Students who can afford SAITM will go abroad and spend that money and get their education. Ultimately its the ordinary people who are protesting that will suffer. Also the country will lose foreign exchange. Foolish nation.
First JVP should question if GOMA does their job? Do you ever question how much they charge or earn?
JVP is talking about spending a mere Rs. 12.5m for a five year private medical degree
in Sri Lanka, what they don’t realise is that Sri lankans, not only the rich, but even middle class parents too pay through the nose over Rs. 40 million to get a medical degree from China or Nepal or over Rs.70 million for universities in Australia !! All this foreign exchange could be saved here if we press the government to enforce proper legislation and procedure to encourage and improve the private education facilities for our youth in every field of study. What a petty solution for the issue they suggest, to abolish SAITM and they think the matter ends there!!
If we look at India, we see lot of children studying at different levels of private institutes in every city, for at least a certificate level qualification, diplomas or degrees to match their income levels, it has done India good, because you find the majority of their student population involved in learning activities without marching aimlessly on the streets, they have their personal goals and they aim to get into the job market fast and then gradually seek ways to reach higher levels of knowledge, upon saving some money.
JVP as a poitical party needs to abolish their constitution first and introduce addenda to do away with rigid rules to see eye to eye with the needs and wants of youth of modern times !
My dear Tani,
How many parents in Sri Lanka would be able to afford to spend Rs. 12.5 million for their children’s education when 43% of the population earns less than Rs.300 daily (Govt. Central Bank figures)?
If saving foreign exchange that goes out of the country due to people going abroad for education is the important factor,,,,, why not stop billions of dollars spent to import luxury vehicles for corrupt politicians and aren’t there other ways of stopping foreign exchange from being wasted?
What happens to our state universities when education merchants like Neville Fernando attract the professors and lecturers from state universities paying large salaries with money they plunder from poor parents who want their children to be doctors whether they are eligible to do so or not?
Do you know there are more than 4.5 million unemployed graduates in India? It is also reported there are10,000 foreign returned MBBS who have failed screening test in India!