FUTA demands Govt. investigation into banning of anti-IMF seminar at UoP

The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) has called on the Government to investigate an incident involving the alleged obstruction of academic freedom at the University of Peradeniya (UoP). 

The FUTA condemned the actions of the University’s Vice Chancellor Terrence Madhujith, who reportedly intervened to prevent a seminar on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) impact on Sri Lanka from taking place as scheduled.

The seminar, organised by the Political Science Students’ Union in collaboration with the International Students and Youth for Social Equality, was planned for 3 January, on University premises. According to the FUTA, the Vice Chancellor instructed the organisers to either change the title of the event or cancel it entirely.

In a strongly worded statement, the FUTA described the Vice Chancellor’s actions as a blatant interference in academic freedom, warning that such decisions undermine the principles of intellectual exploration and open dialogue that universities are meant to uphold.

“Universities are foundational spaces for critical thought, open dialogue, and the exchange of diverse ideas,” the FUTA stated. “The suppression of critical discourse curtails the academic rights of students and faculty and erodes trust in the leadership of our higher education institutions.”

The FUTA expressed deep concern over the precedent such actions could set, arguing that they threaten the ethos of universities as bastions of intellectual freedom. The Association reiterated the urgent need to safeguard academic freedom and ensure that universities remain spaces for the free exchange of ideas without fear of censorship or reprisal.

The FUTA has urged the Government to take immediate steps to investigate the matter and reaffirm its commitment to upholding academic freedom within Sri Lankan universities.

Daily FT  Monday, 6 January 2025

Former Chairperson of Human Rights Commission Prof. Deepika Udagama

Prof. Udagama condemns Peradeniya Uni ban on IMF austerity programme lecture

Published

 16 hours ago 

on

 2025/01/6 The Island

Former Chairperson of Human Rights Commission Prof. Deepika Udagama yesterday (05) strongly condemned the cancellation of a lecture, titled ‘How to fight against the IMF austerity programme,’ at the Peradeniya University.

Responding to The Island query in this regard, Prof. Udagama said: “This reported move to censor a programme, within a university, is surprising and is extremely problematic to say the least. It sets a chilling precedent. Universities are critically important sites of free speech as sharing of thoughts and ideas on any subject, however disagreeable or unsavoury to the authorities or anyone else, is essential for the generation of ideas. If academia is gagged, the democratic spirit in the country, too, suffers. If academia is sent the message that it cannot enjoy academic freedom, then what is the guarantee to the citizens of the right to free expression? “

She added: “One hopes that this intervention will be withdrawn and confidence restored. If the government, indeed, has not prevailed upon the university to interfere with the programme, it should give assurances to the public. “

Earlier, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE-Sri Lanka) strongly condemned the cancellation by the Vice Chancellor of Peradeniya University. The lecture, sponsored by the Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA) of the Department of Political Science, was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on January 04. The PSSA had obtained prior approval from the Department head, Professor Upul Abeyratne, and arranged for the lecture to be held in Room 86 of the Political Science Department.

Senior Treasurer of the PSSA, Senior Lecturer Sumudu Walakulu, has informed the IYSSE convener of the cancellation. Walakulu explained: “I have received a message from the Acting Vice Chancellor, through the Dean, Faculty of Arts and the Head Political Science, to revise the topic of the speech and advertise accordingly so as not to appear that the meeting challenges the government policies or else consider hereby that the above meeting be suspended immediately.”

The Vice Chancellor’s actions are a blatant violation of the democratic rights of the PSSA, university students as a whole, and the IYSSE.

Walakulu further said that “due to the severity of the message” from senior university officials, he advised the PSSA President to cancel the event. He pointed out, however, that changing the meeting topic was at odds with PSSA’s objective of making “various insights” on Sri Lanka’s economic crisis available to “the university community.”⍐

 

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the Laurier Club holiday party in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Patrick Doyle/File Photo

Canada PM Trudeau is likely to announce resignation, source says

By David Ljunggren January 6, 2025

• Summary

• Source says Trudeau is likely to announce resignation but no final decision has been made
• Trudeau expected to announcement resign before caucus meeting on Wednesday - newspaper report
• Ruling Liberals trailing badly in polls, election must be held by late October

OTTAWA, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is increasingly likely to announce he intends to step down, though he has not made a final decision, a source familiar with Trudeau's thinking said on Sunday.

The source spoke to Reuters after the Globe and Mail reported that Trudeau was expected to announce as early as Monday that he would quit as leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party after nine years in office.The source requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Trudeau's departure would leave the party without a permanent head at a time when polls show the Liberals will badly lose to the official opposition Conservatives in an election that must be held by late October.Sources told the Globe and Mail that they did not know definitely when Trudeau would announce his plans to leave but said they expect it would happen before a emergency meeting of Liberal legislators on Wednesday.

An increasing number of Liberal parliamentarians, alarmed by a series of gloomy polls, have publicly urged Trudeau to quit.The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The prime minister's regularly published schedule for Monday said he would participate virtually in a cabinet committee meeting on Canada-U.S. relations.

It remains unclear whether Trudeau will leave immediately or stay on as prime minister until a new Liberal leader is selected, the Globe and Mail report added.

Trudeau took over as Liberal leader in 2013 when the party was in deep trouble and had been reduced to third place in the House of Commons for the first time.

If he does resign, it would likely spur fresh calls for a quick election to put in place a stable government able to deal with the administration of President-elect Donald Trump for the next four years.

The prime minister has discussed with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc whether he would be willing to step in as interim leader and prime minister, one source told the newspaper, adding that this would be unworkable if LeBlanc plans to run for the leadership.

Trudeau, 53, had been able to fend off Liberal legislators worried about the polls and the loss of safe seats in two special elections.

But calls for him to step aside have grown since December, when Trudeau tried to demote Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, one of his closest cabinet allies, after she pushed back against his proposals for more spending.

Freeland quit instead and penned a letter accusing Trudeau of "political gimmicks" rather than focusing on what was best for the country.

Trudeau propelled the Liberals to power in 2015 promising "sunny ways" and a progressive agenda that promoted the rights of women and a promise to fight climate change.

But the everyday realities of governing gradually wore him down and like many Western leaders, the need to deal with the effects of the pandemic ate up much of his time.

Although Ottawa spent heavily to protect consumers and businesses, racking up record budget deficits, this provided little protection from public anger as prices soared.

A botched immigration policy led to hundreds of thousands of arrivals, straining an already overheated housing market.

US plans $8 billion arms sale to Israel, US official says

By Mike Stone and Kanishka Singh

January 4, 2025

Jan 3 (Reuters) - The administration of President Joe Biden has notified Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms sale to Israel, a U.S. official said on Friday, with Washington maintaining support for its ally whose war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands.

The deal would need approval from the House of Representatives and Senate committees and includes munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters as well as artillery shells, Axios reported earlier. The package also includes small-diameter bombs and warheads, according to Axios.

An Israeli soldier holds a weapon in a military vehicle, during an Israeli raid in Tulkarm, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Protesters have for months demanded an arms embargo against Israel, but U.S. policy has largely remained unchanged. In August, the United States approved the sale of $20 billion in fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel.

The Biden administration says it is helping its ally defend against Iran-backed militant groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Facing international criticism, Washington has stood by Israel during its assault on Gaza that has displaced nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million population, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide accusations that Israel denies.

The Gaza health ministry puts the death toll at over 45,000 people, with many additional feared buried under rubble.

Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to end the 15-month-old Israeli war in Gaza that was triggered after an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants that killed 1,200 and in which about 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Washington, Israel's biggest ally and weapons supplier, has also previously vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions on a ceasefire in Gaza.

Democrat Biden is due to leave office on Jan. 20, when Republican President-elect Donald Trump will succeed him. Both are strong backers of Israel.

South Korea- Arrest of impeached Yoon suspended due to safety concerns - agency

 South Korean presidential guards prevent arrest of impeached Yoon after tense stand-off

《By Hyunsu Yim, Eduardo Baptista and Joyce Lee January 3, 2025》

• Summary

Some 200 presidential guards, troops clash with investigators
Arrest attempt suspended due to safety concerns - agency
Hundreds of Yoon supporters gather outside compound
Yoon's lawyer says arrest unlawful, threatens legal action
Arrest warrant viable until Jan. 6

SEOUL, Jan 3 (Reuters) - South Korea's presidential guards and military troops prevented authorities from arresting impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday in a tense six-hour stand-off inside Yoon's compound in the heart of Seoul 

Yoon is under criminal investigation for insurrection over his Dec. 3 martial law bid that stunned South Korea and led to the first arrest warrant to be issued for a sitting president.

Anti-Yoon protesters clash with police officers as they march towards impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's official residence, after investigators were unable to execute an arrest warrant on Friday for Yoon according to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, in Seoul, South Korea, January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 

 

"It was judged that it was virtually impossible to execute the arrest warrant due to the ongoing standoff," the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said in a statement.

CIO officials and police evaded hundreds of Yoon supporters who gathered in pre-dawn hours near his residence on Friday, vowing to block the arrest "with our lives".

Officials from the CIO, which is leading a joint team of investigators, arrived at the gates of the presidential compound shortly after 7 a.m. (2200 GMT Thursday) and entered on foot.

Once inside the compound, the CIO and police were outnumbered by cordons of Presidential Security Service (PSS) personnel, as well as troops seconded to presidential security, a CIO official told reporters.

Members of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials gather in front of the impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's official residence, as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, in Seoul, South Korea, January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 

 More than 200 PSS agents and soldiers blocked the CIO officers and police, he added. While there were altercations and PSS agents appeared to be carrying firearms, no weapons were drawn, he said.

Yoon, who has been isolated since he was impeached and suspended from power on Dec. 14, was not seen during the standoff, he said.

South Korea's defence ministry said the troops were under the control of the PSS.

The CIO called off the effort to arrest Yoon around 1:30 p.m. due to concerns over the safety of its personnel, and said it "deeply regretted" Yoon's non-compliance.

The CIO said it would consider its next steps. The police, who are part of the joint investigation team, have designated the PSS chief and the deputy as suspects in a criminal case for obstruction of official duty and issued summons for them to appear for questioning on Saturday, Yonhap news reported.

Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity.

Yoon's arrest warrant, approved by a court on Tuesday after he ignored multiple summons to appear for questioning, is viable until Jan. 6.

In a statement after the arrest effort was suspended, Yoon's legal team said the CIO had no authority to investigate insurrection and it was regrettable that it had tried to execute an illegal warrant in a sensitive security area.

The statement warned police against supporting the arrest effort. The presidential office filed a criminal complaint against three broadcasters and YouTube channel owners for unauthorized filming of the presidential residence, which it said was "a secured facility directly linked to national security."

The current warrant gives investigators only 48 hours to hold Yoon after he is arrested. Investigators must then decide whether to request a detention warrant or release him.

Kim Seon-taek, a Korea University law professor, said targeting the PSS leadership may allow the investigators to sap the service's ability to put up resistance so they can try again to execute the warrant, which is "a rough way" to proceed.

A better way, he said, would be for acting President Choi Sang-mok to exercise his power to order the PSS to cooperate. Later on Friday, the CIO said it would ask Choi to give that order.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyer Yoon Kab-keun arrives in front of the impeached Yeol's official residence, as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, in Seoul, South Korea, January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SURPRISE MARTIAL LAW

Yoon sent shockwaves through Asia's fourth-largest economy and one of the region's most vibrant democracies with his late-night announcement that he was imposing martial law to overcome political deadlock and root out "anti-state forces".

Within hours, however, 190 lawmakers had defied the cordons of troops and police to vote against Yoon's order. About six hours after his initial decree, Yoon rescinded it.

He later issued a defiant defence of his decision, saying domestic political opponents are sympathetic to North Korea and citing uncorroborated claims of election tampering.

Two South Korean military officials, including the martial law commander during the short-lived declaration, have been indicted on insurrection charges, Yonhap reported on Friday.

Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned as Yoon's defence minister after playing a major role in the martial law decree, has been detained and was indicted last week on charges of insurrection and abuse of power.

Separate from the criminal investigation, Yoon's impeachment case is before the Constitutional Court to decide whether to reinstate or permanently remove him. A second hearing in that case was held on Friday and the court set the first oral arguments for Jan. 14.

Bae Jin-han, one of the lawyers for Yoon, told reporters Yoon may not appear for the first arguments but will likely do so at a future hearing to argue his position.

North Korea's state media published a detailed report on the political turmoil in the South, including the arrest warrant issued for Yoon, who it said "stubbornly refuses to be investigated, totally denying his crimes with sheer lies."

North Korea has been harshly critical of Yoon, citing his hardline policy against Pyongyang as grounds in declaring the South a "primary foe" and announcing it had abandoned unification as a national goal.

Reporting by Joyce Lee, Eduardo Baptista, Hyunsu Yim, Dogyun Kim and Josh Smith; Writing by Josh Smith and Jack Kim; Editing by Sandra Maler, Michael Perry and Kim Coghill