Bala Tampoe, General Secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial and General workers Union (CMU) calls on President Mahinda Rajapakse to repeal Regulations 13 and 40 immediately, stating that the regulations violate fundamental human and democratic rights of the people of Sri Lanka.

The CMU communiqué titled Repression or Restriction of Human and Democratic Rights under Emergency Regulations, dated 7 October 2006 to the president reads,

“The General Council of my Union (CMU) is seriously concerned by the fact that you have exercised the powers of the Executive President to make regulations and orders under the Public Security Ordinance enabling you, or persons authorised by you, to repress or restrict, at will, the human and/or democratic rights of the people of our country.

“We have to draw your attention in this regard to two regulations that you have made under the prevailing State of Emergency, which you have extended from month to month since you became President, namely:

1. Regulation 13 – prohibiting any public procession or meeting in the Western Province without the express written permission of the Inspector General of Police;

2. Regulation 40 – enabling you, by Order published in the Government Gazette, at any time
   • to suppress the collective right of workers to strike

• to proscribe workers’ organisations

• to prohibit any worker, for any reason whatsoever, from staying away from work, or refusing to carry out the orders of an employer, even outside normal working hours or on a holiday, on pain of immediate termination of employment, and subject to confiscation of property and other penalties.

“Both the above-mentioned regulations violate fundamental human and democratic rights of our people. The General Council of the CMU accordingly calls upon you to repeal Regulations 13 and 40 immediately.

“Although, you have been reported in the media to have revoked the regulation relating to ‘essential services,’ I regret to state that this has not been done, up to date. All that you have done is to repeal a Schedule, specifying all services and industries in the public and private sectors as essential services, by an amendment of Regulation 40 (published on 29th September 2006 in Government Gazette No. in 1464/26 – 2006) that nevertheless enables you, as before, ‘by Order published in the Gazette’ to declare, at will, ‘any service to be an essential service,’ and thereby to make all workers in any such service subject automatically to the prohibitions and penalties set out in Regulation 40.

“You may recall the fact that former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga proclaimed a State of Emergency under the Public Security Ordinance on 13^th August 2005 - the day after the late Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, was assassinated. Although,

she promulgated a series of regulations there under, including Regulation 40, she repealed that Regulation in its entirety, two months later, by notification in the Government Gazette (No. 1414/22 – 2005) of 13^th October 2005. It is to be regretted that you nevertheless saw fit to make a new Regulation 40, on 3^rd August 2006, containing all the draconian provisions of the very Regulation 40 that your predecessor had repealed.

“It is also to be regretted that you have seen fit to continue to keep Regulation 13 in force, despite my protest to you in that regard, on behalf of the CMU, by my letter dated 29^th May 2006, to which you gave no reply. Unfortunately, no publicity has been given by the media to that regulation, even though it may be invoked at any time against any persons exercising the right of public procession or meeting, in ignorance of it, without the express written permission of the Inspector General of Police, if he so chooses, or you direct him to do so, in any particular instance.

“Though my Union did not join public issue with you in regard to the above-mentioned regulation, I trust that you will understand why it has become imperative for my Union to do so now, in regard to that regulation as well as Regulation 40, in the interests of the working people of our country, which the CMU has always sought to defend. I am accordingly releasing copies of this letter to the media on behalf of the CMU.”

Bala Tampoe

General Secretary

7^th October 2006