SRI LANKA: Defamation and intimidation of five teachers remains uninvestigated by the police and the Ministry of Education 

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information about the inaction of the police and the Ministry of Education in regards to the defamation and threatening of five school teachers by the principle of Kingswood College, Kandy.

The teachers had been targeted by the principle after giving testimony against him before a Presidential Investigation Commission that was investigating corrupt practices in the management of school facilities. Besides lodging an erroneous complaint against one of the teachers, the principle slandered him in front of the school’s staff and parents, stirring up their anger and inciting them to stage a rally against the five teachers. They now live in a situation of permanent insecurity, as they have been menaced and insulted by colleagues and parents as a result of the principal’s smear campaign.

Four of the teachers have lodged complaints with the police of Kandy. However, no action has been taken so far. Similarly, the Ministry of Education, which has been informed about the matter and has been requested to provide security to the teachers, has so far chosen to ignore the problem.

We urge your immediate intervention into this matter by demanding a thorough investigation by the police and the Ministry of Education into the slander campaign which results in adequate punishment for those responsible.

Thank you,

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Sarath Abeysinghe Wickramasurya (50), teacher of English language and literature, and four other teachers of Kingswood College, Kandy.
Name of the perpetrator: Ranjith Chandrasekara, principle of Kongswood College.
Place of the incident: Kingswood College, Kandy

Sarath Abeysinghe Wickramasurya (50), was a teacher of English language and literature at the Kingswood College in Kandy since 1990. Besides other duties, he was also the Master in Charge of the college’s computer unit since 2000. In 2002, a new computer unit was established by a private informatics institute, and the old computer unit was illicitly destroyed by a group of students with the consent of principle Mr. Ranjith Chandrasekara, who had assumed his duties in 2001. This incident was investigated by a Special Presidential Investigation Commission before which Mr. Wickramasurya bore witness. A report by this Commission was prepared in September 2004. After learning from this report that S.A. Wickramasurya had given evidence against him in front of the Commission, Mr. Ranjith Chandrasekara started a defamation campaign against the teacher. He made an erroneous complaint with the police (Complaint No. CIB 223/668) on 15 September 2004, accusing S.A. Wickramasurya of stealing his mobile phone, about which the latter made a statement with the police on September 23 (Statement No. CIB 91/1042). S.A. Wickramasurya also learned that principal Chandrasekara had stirred up sentiments against him among six other teachers whose children were admitted to the first grade of the college in 2005. Chandrasekara achieved this by spreading the rumor that Wickramasurya had complained against the admission of the teacher’s children.

At a meeting of the School Development Society on 2 April 2005, S.A. Wickramasurya and four other teachers were named and blamed by Mr. Anuruddha Gamage, staff of the school, for acting against the principal’s plans for the development of projects of the college, especially the computer unit, which allegedly had been closed down due to the complaints from the five teachers. In fact, this had been done in accordance with circulars from the Ministry of Education. The principal then persuaded the parents of the school children to protest against the five teachers. The meeting of the School Development Society was also attended by the Police Officer in Charge of Kandy Zone No. 1 police, Mr. Rodrigo, who is the father of a grade one student.

On April 7, the day of the protest, students were persuaded to participate in it by the college authorities, especially the School Prefect Court, holding banners displaying the names of the five teachers. On the same day, S.A. Wickramasurya lodged a complaint at the Kandy Police Station (Complaint-No.: CIB 1 262/84). The Special Presidential Investigation Commission was informed about the unsecure situation of the teachers and with the courtesy of the Commission, the Inspector General Of Police from Colombo provided them with the security. The Police Officer In Charge of Kandy Zone No. 1, Mr. Rodrigo, provided them with security until they left the college premises and assisted them to collect their salaries from the college the next day.

On April 8, three of the teachers complained to the police about their threatened security and gave them the names of the responsible persons (Complaint-No.: CIB 1 283/104). Until now, the police have not conducted any inquiry into the matter. Since the protest continued, the Ministry of Education announced a school holiday.

When the school was reopened on April 25, Wickramasurya and his four colleagues felt that it was not secure for them to resume their duties and therefore sought advice with the Provincial Director of Education, who merely told them to report to their duties as usual. After following this advice, some of the staff members of the college and colleagues of the principle threatened and insulted the five teachers and persuaded the College Prefect Court to take actions against them.

Because of the inaction of the Kandy police, the five teachers requested the President, Secretary of the Education Ministry, Deputy Minister Of Defence and the Inspector General Of Police to provide them with adequate security. However, these requests have so far been ignored.

The AHRC urges you to intervene by demanding a proper police investigation and an inquiry by the Ministry of Education into the defamation and threatening of S.A. Wickramasurya and his four colleagues. It is unacceptable that teachers who assisted a presidential investigation into corrupt practices in their school can be targeted while the police and other responsible authorities remain passive. Those responsible have to be disciplined and brought to justice. Moreover, the five teachers have to be provided with adequate protection.

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