Sri Lankan government closes public schools to break up teachers' protest

Closing the schools constituted an outright attempt to intimidate the teachers and all working people, under conditions where President Mahinda Rajapakses government is demanding further sacrifices of wages and conditions in order to finance its reactionary war against the Tamil minority in the islands north and the east.

The government insists it has no funds to rectify the long-outstanding salary anomalies affecting teachers. Education Minister Susil Premajayantha told Lakbima that 9,600 million rupees would be needed to meet the teachers demand. This is equal to the whole amount allocated for the 1.9 million Samurdi families across the island, he said. (Samurdi is a meagre state welfare program, which gives small amounts to some very low-income families.)