A friend once told me that it better to die like a man than live like a dog. So, I thought I’d come out of my dogged obedience to the authority and stand by Shanaka (who seems to be talking some sense) as he tries to do something about one of the most frequent injustices of today – closing roads indiscriminately.

So here’s a mail I was forwarded. Let’s rally around the cause? This is the mail:

Dear All,

I’m sure all of you endured the torture today. The situation has built up gradually and this morning was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The suggestion is that as many people as possible are rounded up and made Petitioners in a fundamental rights application in the Supreme Court. As you may know, the Constitution of Sri Lanka guarantees many fundamental rights to its citizens (i.e. – us), the freedom of movement being one among those.

http://www.constitution.gov.lk/constitutionSL1978.shtml

(specifically Articles 10 – 14). The constant and unannounced road closures and inexplicable traffic buildup is a source of much annoyance, stress, and monetary detriment to individuals and corporates alike.. One person took four hours to get to work today. The loss of man hours in the commercial hub of Colombo is innumerable and when crystallised will have a huge effect on GDP.

In the face of horrendous fuel costs, many people can ill afford to burn several litres to travel a few hundred metres. It is just not possible.Furthermore, it is a far cry from security, as if a bomb goes off in all that congested traffic, the damage will be far far more severe than it would otherwise be. Not only can a fire brigade or ambulance not attend the scene given the buildup of thousands of vehicles wounded cannot be evacuated and those who could have been saved may also succumb. With international oil prices rising it is also a huge wastage of resources.

As such, the situation is dire, and something needs to take place. The plan is that we round up as many apolitical petitioners as possible (all you have to be is a citizen faced with hardship), and ask the Supreme Court to intervene. We may at least be able to get them to define what ‘national security’ is. Whether it is the sacrifice of the time, energy and money of thousands of people to ‘protect’ a handful of VVIP’s?

This is not a political campaign but purely citizens asserting their rights to live peacefully in their own country. It will not cost anything and will only require you to consent to being a petitioner in a fundamental rights application before the Supreme Court. The justice system is not completely dead and we should use it before we are.

Do let us know if you’re interested at shanaka@juliusandcreasy.com and pass this message to others who might be interested.

I have spoken to the CPA and in keeping with the judicial trends at the moment, they believe that we might be able to convince court to put an end to the harrassment of citizens in the name of ‘national security’.