United National Party MP Ranjan Ramanayake

We protest against the Saudi Arabian embassy for the proposed killing of Rizana. The Saudi Arabian government beheaded an Indonesian housemaid recently and the family was notified only after the beheading. We won’t tolerate double standards. The Saudi Government will never dare to behead any US or British national who is on death sentence since they don’t want to get on the wrong side of those Governments.
We have asked the Government to do their best but to no avail. Therefore we have decided to appeal to the US, British and Italian Embassy to step in on our behalf. Our government is weak and they cannot help Rizana. We will be discussing it with those embassies and handing over letters to their central government. Minister Dilan Perera and Sri Lanka Bureau for Foreign Employment Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka have never visited Rizana’s family, so can I expect them to do anything about it?
A Saudi Arabian man murdered his Sri Lankan domestic aide and got away with paying Saudi Riyal 40,000 as blood or compensation money. The SLFEB and the Embassy helped to settle this matter. It was a housemaid named P. Selvadurai who was the mother of four children. More than 333 Sri Lankans are killed in Middle East annually and those people who killed them get away with cold blooded murder while our people have to pay with their life for murders they did not commit.
I challenge the Saudi Arabian Embassy to tell me whether they have ever killed a European or US prisoner on death row. The answer will have to be no. Recently a few male Sri Lankan labourers were beheaded but in Rizana’s case we are appealing since she was under-aged when the incident took place and therefore be treated as a minor.

Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) spokesperson Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe

If something should come out of Rizana’s incident, the Government has to come out with a clear cut policy when sending labourers to the Middle East. The Government is forced to make the necessary policy changes. The President and the government should do their utmost to help save Rizana’s life.
Women from a lot of Asian countries seek employment in the Middle East regardless of the cases of abuse, rape and killing. Most of them work below the basic wage level under inhumane conditions and without pay. We should eventually stop sending women to these countries since the social cost is much higher when compared to the revenue that the country generates through them. This issue is most often swept under the carpet and it will only worsen for the future generations to come. Sending women as housemaids lead to the destruction of the family unit. Not forgetting that it also harms the image of the country.
The housemaids should be soon replaced due to the escalating trend of abuse they experience at the hands of their employers in these Middle Eastern countries. They are treated below the level of a slave. When these women are sent on foreign employment the Government and the ministry should be responsible for their wellbeing. They should be educated of their rights and the foreign missions should play a greater role in their well being and safety.

Women and Media Collective Director Dr. Sepali Kottegoda

The manner in which the SL government responded to the issue should also be critically examined. Our government stepped into the issue only after several international organizations including the Asian Human Rights Watch intervened and rallied for her release. Rizana was deprived of immediate legal support she was entitled for, which largely contributed to the aggravation of the issue. The Sri Lankan government should review its policies and ensure that immediate and full support is given to Sri Lankans who face allegations in other countries.

The failure to specify the nature of work the migrated women are made to carry out is also a factor which contributed to the current situation. Regulations should be imposed concerning nature of work these migrating women are assigned to. It should be made a duty of the employers to specify the nature of work they expect their employees to carry out once they are recruited.

It will be a tragedy if Rizana’s execution is carried out because it was a catastrophic combination of factors that led to that young woman’s current plight. It is mainly poverty, insecurity and limited options that compel these young women to migrate for work. It is even more tragic that the local regulations were not strictly adhered to concerning age limitations and the fact that she was underage wasn’t taken into consideration.