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Sri Lankan SEP to hold online meeting on a socialist program to fight COVID-19

The Socialist Equality Party and International Youth and Students for Social Equality in Sri Lanka will hold an online public meeting to discuss the program the working class must adopt to fight the social disaster caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. on October 28 and will be livestreamed through the party’s official Facebook page.

The pandemic is rapidly spreading globally with the number of cases exceeding 41 million and 1.1 million deaths. Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapakse’s claim that his government had controlled the pandemic has been exploded with hundreds of COVID-19 cases emerging throughout the country this month. Even though the government is covering up the real extent of the spread, according to official data coronavirus infections have reached 5,811 with 2,341 active cases.

Tens of thousands of workers were called “back to work” in April after a brief and haphazard lock-down in March. Over recent days, COVID-19 infections have been found among teachers and students as well as workers in hospitals, banks, transport services, the docks and the electricity board, and among security forces and police personnel.

The government is determined to downplay the dangers. It is allowing big business to continue its profiteering and has only imposed limited lockdowns in the Gampaha district where most of the cases were reported and several other areas.

The economy faces a grave debt crisis with the World Bank pointing out that the country’s economy will contract by 6.8 percent this year. The government is attempting to impose the burden of this crisis onto workers and the rural poor whilst preparing dictatorial forms of rule to crush rising popular opposition to its austerity measures.

The SEP’s online meeting will discuss a socialist program for the working class to fight the devastation caused by the pandemic and the government’s reactionary and anti-democratic measures. We urge Sri Lankan workers and youth to join the SEP, which alone fights for this program. Attend our online public meeting this Wednesday, October 28, at 7 p.m.

Meeting details:
Date and time: Wednesday, October 28, 7 p.m.
Through: facebook.com/sep.lk

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