Sri Lanka’s National Security Council to discuss “violence” in estates
Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara, an ex-rear admiral, told the
Sunday Times last weekend that Sri Lanka’s National Security Council (NSC) will today discuss “security issues” in the plantations. His statement was in response to claims by planters and the police that workers are unleashing “violence” in the estates.
Uda Rathalla Estate workers picketing last September against austerity measures (WSWS)
The NSC is headed by President Gotabhaya Rajapakse and includes Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, key ministers, senior officials from the armed forces, police and intelligence, and other leading state bureaucrats. That the NSC is discussing so-called estate violence as a top priority is a serious threat against plantation workers, who are involved in a long and bitter struggle for higher wages, improved social conditions and democratic rights.