Sri Lanka: University of Peradeniya attempts to justify ban on IYSSE courses

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka, Terrence Madujith, issued a press release on Friday stating that “the University wishes to address the concerns raised by various groups regarding the public meeting titled ‘How to combat the d ‘IMF austerity?'”.

The statement referred to the International Meeting of Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), scheduled for January 3 but banned following a letter sent that morning by acting vice-chancellor Ranjith Pallegama. The meeting was sponsored by the Political Science Student Association (PSSA) of the university’s Department of Political Science.

The press release not only suggested that the planned meeting was an unauthorized event, but also foreshadowed the imposition of strict restrictions on future meetings and therefore on free speech at the university.

The Vice-Chancellor rushed to issue his so-called clarification, just seven days after the cancellation of our conference, because this blatantly undemocratic action sparked outrage among academics, intellectuals, students and workers in Sri Lanka. Lanka and around the world.

First, Madujith claimed that the meeting was not prohibited, saying that the acting vice-chancellor was just innocently requesting a change in the subject of the meeting. This is false because the request was accompanied by an explicit threat.

The letter to the head of the Department of Political Science specifically stated that the topic needed to be changed so as “not to give the impression that the meeting was questioning government policy or that it would be immediately suspended.”

Second, the press release implied that the student organization, PSSA, was not properly registered at the university; and did not go through the relevant authorities to obtain approval. As a result, the PSSA authorized an “international organization”, namely IYSSE, to hold the meeting.

As for the PSSA, it obtained permission from the head of the Department of Political Science for the meeting, was allocated a conference room for the event and informed the IYSSE. Over the past two years, PSSA has sponsored conferences not only by IYSSE but also by other organizations.

The IYSSE has organized several conferences sponsored by the PSSA: The war in Ukraine and how to stop itAugust 22, 2023; An introduction to historical materialism, October 26, 2023; The centenary of Trotskyism, delivered by Joe Kishore, National Secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (USA) on December 7, 2023; and on the communist manifesto on February 21, 2024.

Many students as well as some academics and non-academic staff took part in these conferences which sparked discussions and debates.

Some of the participants at the IYSSE conference at the University of Peradeniya on October 26, 2023

Only now, as the IYSSE was preparing to give a lecture entitled How to fight IMF austerity?, did the university authorities criticize the PSSA and the IYSSE for not having obtained the necessary authorizations!

This is not accidental. IYSSE and the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) have single-handedly denounced the new Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna/National People’s Power (JVP/NPP) government which is now centrally imposing the entire harsh austerity program of IMF. This is why an investigation was opened into the conference and its objective by the Prime Minister’s Office, despite subsequent denials.

The Vice-Chancellor concludes his press release by hypocritically stating that “The University of Peradeniya remains steadfast in its commitment to upholding academic freedom and cultivating a culture of critical research and intellectual engagement…”

This “culture of critical research and intellectual engagement” must, however, be severely circumscribed. The preceding paragraph states that the university has a “strict policy” that “prior permission (for meetings) must be obtained from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor/Vice-Chancellor through the Chief Marshal, Proctor of the university and other relevant officials.

University authorities suddenly exposed this “strict policy” as it met their political goals. The objective is very obvious, as the letter banning IYSSE makes clear: it is a meeting or activity that “questions government policy”.

Moreover, in the Sinhala but not English version of his press release, the Vice-Chancellor appears to be particularly targeting the IYSSE.

According to some reports, “these associations, distributing leaflets and other materials and organizing meetings within the faculty, without the permission of the university, attempted to sabotage the educational activities of the faculty.”

Although we are not named, the slanderous insinuation is that the IYSSE is not only engaged in political activities “without authorization”, but that it has “attempted to sabotage the educational activities of the faculty”. This is clearly an attempt to intimidate students and academics, to stifle political debate in political science and other faculties, and to prepare to exclude the IYSSE from campus.

What university bureaucrats and the government fear is that students will begin to oppose the drastic austerity measures that the JVP/NPP is preparing to impose on schools and universities. Furthermore, under the influence of the IYSSE, students will turn to the working class, already facing an immense social crisis, and help build a mass movement based on a socialist and internationalist perspective.

We warn students, teachers and workers: if the attack on freedom of expression and association launched by the authorities of the University of Peradeniya is not resisted, it will spread to more other universities, colleges and schools.

There is a long-standing tradition in Sri Lankan universities that students have the right to freely engage in political activities. In the past, political parties and their youth organizations had university sections, organized public lectures, meetings and debates, and sometimes invited international figures to give speeches.

University students have staged massive protests against education funding cuts and campaigned on many other issues. Successive governments have increasingly introduced laws and regulations to restrict legitimate student activities, exploiting reactionary incidents.

However, Peradeniya University authorities, on behalf of the JVP/NPP, are now preparing to ban political activities that question government policies. This is a measure not only of the right-wing undemocratic character of the JVP/NPP government, but also of the immensity of the political and economic crisis of Sri Lankan capitalism.

We urge students to vigorously oppose this attack on the democratic rights of students and the IYSSE at the University of Peradeniya.

The IYSSE calls for:

End ban on IYSSE conference”How to fight against IMF austerity?
Don’t touch freedom of expression and academic freedom!
Let’s defend free education! Billions to expand and modernize educational facilities available to all who need them!
Build IYSSE branches in all higher education institutions, including universities!

We also call on you to condemn the ban by the University of Peradeniya authorities on the IYSSE course. Send letters of protest to university authorities, with a copy to IYSSE.

To: Acting Vice-Chancellor, University of Peradeniya
Email: [email protected]

Cc: IYSSE
Email: [email protected]