Former Speaker and the Chairman of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) Karu Jayasuriya has appealed to all parties to put an end to all acts of retaliation and to exercise restraint and patience to resolve issues plaguing the country.
Pointing out that the education crisis gripping the country has been further exacerbated despite the entire country hoping it would be resolved yesterday, he said that If all parties concerned had acted patiently, children who have missed out on almost two years of school would have been able to resume their educational activities and regain their childhood.
Issuing a statement today (22), Mr. Jayasuriya further said;
"In the recent past, the teaching profession has been subjected to various harassments and insults from politicians and the police. It would be pivotal for the government to understand human emotions and sentiments as well.
The National Movement for Social Justice appeals to all parties to put an end to acts of retaliation and to resume work in schools from next Monday with the blessings of both teachers and parents.
Furthermore, we could also see that the fertiliser crisis is paving the way for another major catastrophe.
Despite general consensus that the use of organic fertiliser is better than chemical fertilisers with regard to the environment, not a single country in the world has forced its farming communities to abruptly change fertilisers in a span of a few months. This isn't viable.
Bhutan, one of the first nations to embrace the goal of becoming the world’s first 100% organic nation has also phased out its transition to organic fertilisers and is expecting to see results only in 2030.
Above all, our focus is on the current public discontent. According to media reports, if farmers as well as the public who have been burdened with the skyrocketing cost of living take their frustrations to the streets, there could be bloodshed.
We request the government to take measures to avoid such a scenario as it would only further destroy our country.
Leading academics and experts in the country including the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture do not approve of the measures taken by the government. They have even made public statements regarding certain policy decisions.
Although fertiliser is being imported from various countries now, the government should have implemented this about six months ago.
They could have brought the necessary fertiliser in stages after conducting necessary tests to instill confidence in the farming community.
However, the various types of fertilisers currently being imported have not been subjected to any laboratory testing to see if they are devoid of any harmful elements.
At this juncture, we propose to the authorities to understand the reality at the grassroots level and to listen to the voices of our farmers.
We humbly request the Government to consider these proposals."
