We are shocked to see the use of military by the government of Sri Lanka to crush the peaceful protest by the thousands of protestors against the Venigros Gloves Factory located in Nadungamuva near Weliweriya.

Colombo, Sri Lanka – We are shocked to see the use of military by the government of Sri Lanka to crush the peaceful protest by the thousands of protestors against the Venigros Gloves Factory located in Nadungamuva near Weliweriya. We condemn the killing of a protestor and injuring many others including the army personnel. We believe this is a result of the failure of the Central Environmental Authority to act properly and impartially in the past several years.

We believe that men, women and children in the villages in the vicinity have a legitimate right to oppose to the polluting factory and has a right to request clean water and stop the operations of the said factory as it deprived water, which is a basic need and a right. The company has dumped the untreated sludge into the lands in the vicinity and released polluted water making their water acidic.

Regulation of the said factory lies within the responsibility of the Central Environmental Authority. We believe that the failure of the CEA is instrumental to the loss of a valuable life and injuring many others. We further state that inaction of the CEA is responsible for this major social and environmental disaster.

Signed

Ven Madampagama Assaji Thero
Sri Lanka Environmental Congress
0777112255

Hemantha Withanage
Centre for Environmental Justice
0777600503

Thilak Kariyawasam
Sri Lanka Nature Group