<p>Under the theme &quot;Safeguard the Dignity of the Human Person; ensuring the Rights of all People&quot;, a protest march was held in Hatton on 26th August 2001 at 3:00 p.m. The purpose of such a protest march was to make the plantation people of the hill country aware and to voice against the present &quot;Crime Wave&quot; in the Central hills and the atrocities that are taking place.</p><p>The procession started off in front of the SETIK regional office in Hatton. More than 600 people from Hatton, Talawakele, Bogawantalawa, Kawlahena, Maskeliya participated in the March.</p><p>Many religious dignitaries participated at this peaceful protest.</p><p>Rev. Antumbure Somananda Thero, Welipele U Rathanapala Thero, Mahagalkadawala Punyasara Thero, Minipe Dammakiththi Thero, Wellangahawatte Piyananda Thero represented the Buddhist clergy. The Catholic clergy was represented by Rev. Fr. Ivan Jayasundara, Rev.Fr.Desmond Perera, Rev. Fr. Camilus Janze, Rev. Fr. Nerio Abraham, Rev. Fr. Shivantha Rosdrigo, Rev. Fr. Thimothy Gnapragasam, Rev. Fr. Nandana Manatunga, and Rev. Fr. Geroge Sigamony.</p><p>The people who gathered in the church square carried Banners and Placards, which read:</p><p>We condemn all inhuman acts that destroy human life. <br />Ensure law and order in the hill country. <br />Do not give in to political pressure to release the accused. <br />Silence against rape - you sacrifice your daughter. <br />Support the police and the judiciary to enforce law and order. <br />Protect Human Life and Ensure Freedom.<br />The silent protesters walked down to the Hatton town passing the Railway Station, up to the main bus stand and then walked back to the Hatton SETIK premises for a meeting.</p><p>Fr. George Sigamony addressing the gathering explained the purpose of the meeting. He said that the two incidents that happened since July: the suicide of N. Ilayakannan of Talawakelle because justice was denied to the students of the Tamil Vidyalaya Talawakelle and the rape of the sixteen year old girl Sita, prompted the Human Rights Secretariat to bring the Plantation People together and voice against such brutal acts.</p><p>Mahagalkadawala Punnayasara Thero called upon the religious leaders to come forward to save the Sri Lankan society, that has rich religious values. He further said the people's power would eventually destroy the evil forces such as political power, war business, corrupted leadership. Natural order will punish them as it did in the past. Fr. Abraham in his speech invited the plantation people to continue their struggle for peace.</p><p>Ven. Welipele U. Rathnapala Thero called upon the people to condemn the brutal acts that destroy life and bring destruction to the society.</p><p>Rev. Fr. Nandana Manatunga said that the protest which was to be in Talawakele had to shift to Hatton because of the tension that prevails in the Talawakelle town, further he said that the police and the local priest did not want this protest.</p><p>Fr. Nandana: &quot;It is not our intention to further divide people and bring about clashes, therefore we decided to have the protest in Hatton. All of us have the freedom to live peacefully and without danger to life. The government must ensure security and protection to all the people. Every citizen has the Right to freedom of movement. If the school is not safe for the children, if children cannot walk on the road, what kind of security do we have?</p><p>&quot;The government is providing security to the numerous ministers of various Pradeshiya Shaba, Province Councils and National Govt. What about ordinary civilians? Sita is our sister, sister of all the people of this society, whether she is Tamil or Sinhala, the law should protect her. At this moment we need not act emotionally and bring about further destruction. The law enforcing agencies are at work let us do our best to ensure justice to Sita, it will be a lesson to all the civilians in the Hill Country. Let us join hands to bring about Justice and Equality to ensure Peace.&quot;</p><p>(A Report from Justice and Peace &amp; Human Development Secretariat in Kandy, Sri Lanka, on behalf of the Human Rights Unit)</p><p>1. Do you think this a useful way to protest against rape and inaction of law enforcement agencies?</p><p>2. Have you tried to get community leaders to support your protests?</p><p>Note: You may use your own questions and discuss other aspects you think are important.</p><p />