COLOMBO : A group of social activists and social organizations have urged Mr. Bimal Ratnayake, Chair of the SL Committee for Solidarity with Palestine, to take appropriate actions to severe trade and economic ties with Israel The petition has been signed by more than 120 activists, trade unionists, clergy, academics, lawyers .
The full text of the letter
Dear Mr. Rathnayake,s attached for your information,
We are writing to you as trade unionists, academics, writers, activists and concerned citizens of this country.
We are stating the obvious, but you are aware that, as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine, as a long-standing champion for a free State of Palestine, Palestine is under siege and needs every ounce of support it can draw from the world for its survival. On Nakba Day this year, you said, “We will take the leadership in championing the cause of the Palestinian people and stop the annihilation of and all attempts to vaporise the Palestinian people.” Taking leadership in championing the cause of the Palestine people from a small country already facing the crushing might of global forces takes extraordinary political will. So, we are appealing to you to exercise that political will backed by us, the Sri Lankan people.
The Sri Lankan State has a strong and proud tradition of being one of the first States in South Asia to break diplomatic ties with Israel as early as the 1970s. It was one of the first States to recognise the State of Palestine after its declaration of independence in 1988. Despite threats of sanctions from colonial powers such as the UK, Sri Lanka has stood with and extended our Solidarity to the Palestinian State.
However, in order to advance the war against the Tamil people, consecutive Governments started forging dangerous ties with Israel, including by receiving weapons and military training. The Sri Lankan State’s history of Sinhala colonisation schemes in the North and East, torture camps, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances targeting Tamil civilians, indiscriminately bombing Tamil civilians in the North, and cutting off food and essential supplies all bear many similarities to the methods of oppression and warfare practised by Israel against the Palestinian people.
In the last few years, we have also started to visibly notice Zionism rooting in various parts of Sri Lanka, including the Eastern province. We are hearing worrying reports of locals being sidelined and bullied in Arugam Bay by Zionist Israelis. We are hearing credible reports that IDF soldiers are setting foot on our land for ‘rest and recreation’ after murdering people in Palestine. The construction of Chabads in strategic places around the country are not an innocent gesture, but is a part of the larger aggressive Zionist programme that underlies Israel’s imperialist chauvinist moves. When all eyes are turned upon the terror unleashed on Palestinians in Gaza, we cannot wait unconcerned about the Chabads, catering to IDF soldiers among other Israeli tourists. This is a cultural and political move to bring the war to Sri Lanka.
We have already raised our strong opposition to your Government continuing the flawed policies of the Ranil Wickremesinghe regime in sending Sri Lankan workers to replace Palestinian workers who were denied a right to livelihood in Israel post-October 7th, 2023. Not only has your Government continued those labour export agreements, but it has also signed new ones. Hence, it is a sinister paradox when you claim you stand for a Free Palestine but continue to forge diplomatic and economic ties with Israel. Israel is able to ‘vaporise’ Palestine because of the continuing diplomatic and economic relations the Third World states maintain with it. We are both giving a Zionist State oxygen and breathing life to it when we trade and when we engage with it.
We are not speaking truth to power. You already know the truth that when we continue to engage with Israel, we are complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people. We are reminding you of the truth you are aware of and demanding that you stand by it and stand by the Palestinian people, not in words but through actions.
Stand in Solidarity with the Palestine people by cutting all economic and trade ties with Israel. Stand in Solidarity with the Palestine people by refusing visas for IDF soldiers. Stand in Solidarity with Palestinian people and with our own workers and bring them back to Sri Lanka. Through these actions, let us remind even powerful States such as China and Russia that genocidal states only continue to exist because of the political and economic support extended by the rest of the world. As long as we trade with Israel, we are not in Solidarity with the Palestine people. We are complicit in their destruction.
We want to end by recalling Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s words in his speech at COP28 in 2023: “What we are seeing in Gaza is a rehearsal of the future.” What we are seeing in Gaza is the rehearsal of our collective future, the future of all of us in the Third World. Act now and stand with Palestine by cutting all diplomatic and economic ties with Israel. Please do it for the Palestinian people. Do it for the future of the Sri Lankan people.
Sincerely,
