Reform Watch is a video magazine program which aims to redress issues faced by marginalized communities through Constitutional Reform. Activist and lawyer Dr Kaushalya Ariyarathne explained to the Reform Watch team how the Freedom of Expression can be further strengthened in a new Constitution.

Many people have marvelled at the GotaGoGama protest, which has been held continuously for several months, stating that they feel it might be a revolutionary way to protest that the world has never even seen before. While many feared violent uprisings due to the current economic crisis, this is not what has taken place. People have supported each other and peacefully staged their opposition to the government.

There have been government crackdowns and attempts to strike down the protest which was immediately opposed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and many other Human Rights Organisations and the protests were by and large allowed to take place. This begs the question – what is the current legal status of Freedom of Expression in Sri Lanka?

Dr Ariyarathne cites the 1993 case of Amaratunga v Sirimal and others (commonly known as the Jana Ghosha case) where protestors shouted anti-government slogans and beat drums to protest against the government. There was a harsh crackdown of the protest by the police, which the Supreme Court held to be unlawful. It was in this case that the Supreme Court held that lawful protest is an unviolable right provided that it is peaceful.

Supreme Court Justice Fernando, J. stated in his judgement that “The right to support or to criticize Governments and political parties, policies and programmes is fundamental to the democratic way of life, and the freedom of speech and expression is one which cannot be denied without violating those fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all civil and political institutions”.

Apart from this landmark judgement which paved the way for peaceful anti-government protests ever since there are several rights related to Freedom of Expression that Dr Ariyarathne states are intertwined and equally important. She states that along with Article 14 of the Constitution which allows freedom of speech, assembly, association, occupation, and movement, other Articles of relevance include Article 10 -freedom of thought, conscience and religion and Article 11 freedom from torture (upon arrest) are all important in this context. She also stated that upholding all of these Constitutional rights is important to ensure that Freedom of Expression can be upheld in the future as well.

When asked if the current laws need to be reformed, Dr Ariyathne stated that she felt that the Constitutionally laid out procedure on bringing a Fundamental Rights petition to court should be made more practical so that people can access justice more easily. “The courts have been setting precedent on how all of this must be done but I think its better if all of this was granted by the Constitution itself,” she says.

Regarding the new Constitution, Dr Ariyarathne brought up another interconnected point related to the Freedom of Expression – allowing the public to voice their views on what needs to be included in the new Constitution so that the voices of all Sri Lankans including marginalized communities are included. “It might be a slightly difficult task but it is not an impossible one and it is definitely worth the effort,” she said.