International appeal of support for the people of Sri Lanka!

We are activists, workers, students, intellectuals, artists and internationalists who live in France and in various countries of the world due to economic, social or political conditions.

We salute the first victory won by the people at home.

We salute the general strikes (haartal) on 28 April and on 9 May called by all the trade union organisations.

We salute the mobilisation on 9 July of the people in Colombo who, on a united basis between Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all faiths and ethnicities, drove away the President and forced the Prime Minister to resign.

The people rose up because they couldn’t stand it any longer, because they want to be able to eat, to have electricity in their homes, to be able to obtain medicines and petrol. 

We heard the slogans in the demonstrations: "Seventy-four years is enough! "Enough of the divisions! "Power to the people!"

Yes, the people are right. The President has left. All the institutions of which he was the heart must go with him. The interim President has no mandate to call on the army to repress the people. We firmly condemn comments saying that “the protestors are fascists”. We warn him that any attempt to repress the people in a bloodbath will provoke massive mobilisations in all capitals of the world until the Sri Lankan people have achieved total victory. 

All political prisoners must be amnestied. The members of the law enforcement agencies and the military who refused to fire on the people must be reinstated with full compensation. 

Seventy-four years ago, the question of the Constituent assembly was raised. It is being raised again today. The people were able to drive the corrupt out of power. They have the capacity to run the country.

The woman who, mourning the death of her husband, had to wait more than 24 hours in a queue in front of a petrol station is right when she said: "It is not me or my husband who contracted that debt, but it is my husband who paid for it with his life. It is all the successive regimes that have contracted those debts and are solely responsible for my husband’s death.”

The debt contracted by the corrupt is not the people’s debt.

We issue a solemn warning: it is for the Sri Lankan people to freely define their future.

It is not for the leaders of the United States of America or any other foreign power to decide the future of the Sri Lankan people, it is not for Biden to tell the Sri Lankan government what it must do to “restore economic stability”.

The IMF must not dictate the economic programme, including privatisations, in Sri Lanka.

We warn against any attempt to divide the victorious people, by creating conflicts and carrying out provocations.

We will stand by the Sri Lankan people as they freely find their own way.

No to repression! No to foreign interference !

Yes to the right of the Sri Lankan people to freely define their destiny !

Initiators of the appeal : Chula Samarasinghe (retired teacher),Saman Mudunkotuwage, Horacio Medina (Chile),Supun Rajapaksha (science student),Nihal Manikbowe (military retiree)

For international endorsers

I publicly endorse the International appeal of support for the people of Sri Lanka!

Name:

Forename:

For Sri Lankan endorsers

As activists, workers, peasants, youth and intellectuals in Sri Lanka we support this international solidarity appeal. We call for it to be publicised and countersigned so that young people, workers and their organisations can express their solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka throughout the world.

Name:

Forename:

Contact address: solidaritysrilankajuly2022@gmail.com