Fifty eight leading academics and civil society voices have stepped forward to condemn what they call a dangerous, gender driven smear campaign against Prime Minister and Education Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, warning that Sri Lanka’s democratic culture is being deliberately poisoned.
A collective of scholars and civil activists has issued a strong public statement calling for an immediate end to the hateful, insulting and deeply personal attacks directed at Prime Minister and Minister of Education Dr. Harini Amarasuriya. The group says these attacks have crossed all acceptable limits of civility in a democratic society and express shock and concern over the tone now dominating public discourse.
The statement notes that much of the hostility stems from reports of a preventable error in a school textbook produced by an institution under the Ministry of Education. While the group stresses that fair and honest criticism of such mistakes is legitimate, they argue that the current response has evolved into a coordinated hate campaign that violates personal dignity and privacy.
What alarms the signatories most is the clear presence of anti women jealousy and gender based hostility. They describe the insults aimed at the Prime Minister as repulsive and point out that such attacks reflect a long pattern of abuse faced by female political leaders in Sri Lanka since the 1960s.
The group urges the public not to be misled by propaganda driven by socially backward elements and notes with concern that even members of the clergy have voiced disappointment over their association with the campaign.
They welcome the government’s acceptance of responsibility for the textbook error and its decision to initiate a police investigation. Recalling Dr. Harini Amarasuriya’s exemplary parliamentary record and sharp intellectual interventions, the group expresses confidence in her ability to withstand smear campaigns while correcting administrative shortcomings.
The statement is signed by Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda, Professor Jagath Weerasinghe, Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, President’s Counsel M. A. Sumanthiran, Professor Neera Wickramasinghe, and 58 prominent academics and civil society activists.
