Most of them were soon released trial.
he-spent four years in jail than two years! The delence counsel for three of the suspects charged as a result of the events in Ceylon in April 1971 has been barred from making further submissions at a crucial stage in the The action came after the counsel, who is also General Secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile Union and Secretary of the Revolutjonary Marxist Party ( Coylon section of the Fourth International - had begun his submission by accusing the police and government investigators of fabricating the evidence against his clients. The latter - Young militants associated with the JVP group — are accused of conspiring to overthrow the Government by insurrection in the events three years ago, which have been used as the pretext for continued emergency rule on the island ever since.
Tampoe argued before the Criminal Justice Commission set up by the Goveroment that the real conspiracy had taken place on the prosecution side, to railroad his clients to jail on the basis of a series of false "confessions' The Chairman of the "court" then ordered him to restrict his oral submissions to 18 bours - in a trial which has now lasted for more When Tarpoe insisted that more time was needed the Chairman arbilrarily barred him from making any further submissions, despite the protests of his clients. One of the latter, M. J. Uyangoda, pointed out that at this stage of the case it would be impossible for him to briet a new counsel and so offer a proper defence. The response of che Chairman, as reported in the Ceylon Daily News, was: "If you think it is unfair we "Do you hope to get acquitted?
This latest incident only confirms the intention of the Ceylon regime -Ted by Mrs Bandaranaike's Sri Lanka Freedom Party in coalition with the Communist Party and the renegade Trotskyists of the LSSP to use every means at their disposal to make victims of these militunts.
As the chiel accused, Rohana Wijeweera, who has conducted his own defence, courageously put it in his concluding address before che Commission: Whatever your verdict, acquittal or imprisonment, I am sure this Government will continue to keep me effectively imprisoned. Even if 1 have to spend the rest of my life in jail, I will not regret it?
Wileweera has refused to appear before the Commission for as long as the ban on Bata Tampoe remains in force. It is vital that he does not stand alone in this, but that international solidarity action is taken in defence of these and the thousands of other political prisoners still held by the Bandaranaike regime.
Bala Tampoe speaking at a rally in March