Startup founders of Sri Lanka came together to demand that the Government of Sri Lanka take all necessary action to uphold the law, punish those who spread racial or religiously less violence and remove the blackout of social media.
<p>
Statement by Sri Lanka Startup Founders - 13 March 2018
STATEMENT FROM SRI LANKAN STARTUP FOUNDERS ON THE
CRITICAL SITUATION FACING OUR COUNTRY
The startup community of Sri Lanka condemns the violence that has recently taken place in certain parts of
the country. We may be Muslims, Tamils, Burghers and Sinhalese. We may practice Buddhism, Hinduism,
Christianity and Islam. But we are all Sri Lankans, who believe and promote the idea that by living, playing
and working together, we can help make Sri Lanka a peaceful, inspiring and prosperous leader in the
global community.
To help achieve this vision, we demand that our political representatives and the police take urgent action
to ensure that this organized violence never happens again. We demand our government officials
undertake urgently the following actions:
Investigate the evidence, arrest the perpetrators and make them accountable to the crimes
committed. The law in Sri Lanka must be enforced, without political interference and justice must
be carried out.
Show strong leadership, ensuring there is zero tolerance to acts of racism and violence against our
fellow citizens.
Remove all restrictions on Internet services immediately. Instead of censoring the Internet, identify
individuals and groups that use social media to promote hate and use legal mechanisms to bring
them to justice.
The scars of the 30 year long war are only just beginning to fade away. Men and women from all our
diverse communities fought to create a free Sri Lanka. We never want our country to experience war
again.
We expect our political lea