Significant response to Sri Lankan meeting demanding release of jailed poet Ahnaf Jazeem
Last Sunday’s online meeting demanding the release of Sri Lankan poet Ahnaf Jazeem attracted a significant audience. The meeting was organised by the Action Committee for the Defence of Freedom of Art and Expression (ACDAE), held via Zoom and live-streamed on Facebook.
Ahnaf Jazeem (Facebook Photo)
Over 80 people attended the live event and the video, which was posted on the ACDAE’s Facebook page, has now been watched by about 1,000 more. The ACDAE was established in August 2019, under the political initiative and guidance of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka.
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Company and police harassment continues against Alton Estate workers in Sri Lanka
On July 14, a Hatton magistrate postponed a planned court hearing against Alton Estate workers until October 27. The trial was originally scheduled to begin on May 28 but had been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The case against the 24 Alton Estate workers and two youths is a frame-up by the company and the police, assisted by the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC). The company and police falsely claim that the workers physically attacked the estate’s manager and assistant manager. The victims have categorically rejected the allegations.
Alton Estate is located near Maskeliya in central Sri Lanka and is part of Horana Plantations, which is controlled by Hayleys, one of the country’s biggest companies.
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Alton Estate workers in Sri Lanka confront harsh and worsening social conditions
The ongoing company witch hunt against Alton Estate workers near Maskeliya began early this year in response to workers’ determination to win better wages and improved living conditions. The Alton workers, who walked out on February 2, participated in a one-day national plantation workers’ strike three days later and continued their industrial action until March 22 in protest against estate management harassment.
Twenty-four workers and two youth were then framed up by the company and the police, aided and abetted by the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), on false accusations of physically assaulting the estate’s managers. These workers now face a criminal court trial. The Horana Plantation Company, which runs Alton Estate, has sacked a total of 38 workers, including those to be tried, without conducting any investigation or allowing any right of appeal against its dictates.