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| ENB Poster 12-01-16 |
By Our Police Correspondent
Jan 10, 2016 12:29 PM GMT+0530 | 1 Comment(s)
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| USE OF FORCE: File photo of Sri Lanka's riot police |
As President Maithripala Sirisena marked his first year in office on Saturday, senior investigators found that the Embilipitiya police led by an Assistant Superintendent (ASP) had gone on the rampage seriously undermining his good governance credentials.
A senior investigator said they discovered that the ASP and his men not only carried out the illegal action, but also tampered with evidence and altered official records to mislead senior officials and the judiciary.
Criminal investigators had two versions, one from the police – 21 of whom have been transferred out of the Embilipitiya police pending investigations into the January 4 incident, and the other from the victims.
Police initially maintained that they were responding to a 119 emergency call complaining of loud speakers being used at a party and causing disturbance to neighbours. Four police on mobile patrol had given conflicting statements to investigators on how they were beaten by party goers.
The police had also fired an automatic rifle, a fact that had been suppressed from the highest level in the police department, an investigator who asked not to be named said.
Police had said they summoned reinforcements and in the ensuing clash a man fell to his death from the third floor.
"We have found that policemen did not face any danger at any stage of the incident, but the only explanation is that an officer used excessive force to attack unarmed people as collective punishment," he said.
Party goers say that four policemen on mobile patrol had demanded alcohol and when it was refused there had been fisticuffs resulting in the subsequent carnage.
Investigations showed that the 119 call was not about the level of sound, but it had been made when more than a dozen police in civilian clothes armed with sticks and poles barged into the party and went on the rampage smashing everything within reach.
Witnesses told investigators that even an ASP had been carrying a stick and was seen beating women and children.
There was blood splattered on the walls of the banquet hall. It is at this stage a man is either pushed or falls from the third floor while trying to escape the marauding police.
Security has been stepped up in Embilipitiya Sunday ahead of the funeral of the Sumith Jayawardana, 29 who was a father of one. His pregnant wife was among those assaulted by police. The inquest into the death is due to take place on Monday.
The Human Rights Commission which last month ruled that police had violated not only local laws but also the UN Human Rights Charter (This ruling was given after police Senior Superintendent Ajith Rohana erroneously attempted to take cover of the UN charter to justify attacking students).
The police has reportedly appealed the HRC decision which awarded damages to the victims and ordered the IGP to take disciplinary action against the police culprits.
The commission has now uncovered shocking details of other police brutality in Embilipitiya in recent times while investigating the latest case of abuse.
“The Embilipitiya incident is a good example of how the mind-set of the police is yet to change although a new administration that promised good governance is in power,” a human rights official said.
(COLOMBO, January 10, 2016)
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Police brutality in Sri Lanka
January 8 2016
29 வயது சுமித் பிரசன்னாவின் பொலிஸ் படுகொலையை எதிர்த்து எம்பிலிப்பிட்டி மக்கள் போராட்டம்
Oct 2015
HNDA Student Protest
June 2011*
Katunayaka Free Trade Garament Factory workers brutally Attacked by SL Police
June 2008
A protest demonstration held by Inter University Bhikku Front to demand the government to solve their issues was attacked by police using tear gas and water cannons. Later the Buddhist Bhikkus were baton charged and some of them were dragged into police vehicles. 11 Buddhist Bhikkus have been arrested by the police after dispersing the peaceful demonstration by the Bhikkus.
Ratnapura
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*Katunayaka Free Trade Garament Factory workers brutally Attacked by SL Police
Sri Lankan police fire on protesting free trade zone workers
By W.A. Sunil and Ruwan Liyanage
1 June 2011
On Monday, thou sands of police officers launched a violent attack on free trade zone (FTZ) workers in Katunayake who were protesting against the Sri Lankan government’s private sector pension bill. During the resulting clashes, police twice opened fire with live ammunition. Altogether, more than 200 workers were injured and about 100 arrested.
After the confrontation, which included the mobilisation of thousands of troops, the government shut down the FTZ for two days. Thousands of police and security personnel have been stationed in the area, which is close to the capital, Colombo. All vehicles are being checked and any FTZ workers who live outside the zone are being prevented from entering.
This is the second police crackdown against FTZ workers in months. In February, the police attacked striking workers at the Hong Kong-owned Bratex factory, an undergarment producer in Katunayake, and arrested several workers on trumped-up charges.
Monday’s protest was held in direct defiance of the Free Trade Zone and General Services Workers Union (FTZGSWU), which had called on workers not to stage any industrial action. The demonstration was a continuation of the struggle initiated by the FTZ workers on May 24 against the pension bill, which will effectively cut wages and require at least 10 years of continuous employment to qualify for a monthly pension amounting to just 15 percent of a wage.
Workers in zone No.1 of Katunayake FTZ, which has three zones, began the walkout. By about 9.30 a.m. thousands of workers had joined the demonstration, which was peaceful until the police intervened.
Between 11.30 a.m. and noon, according to workers, police entered zone No.1 through the main gate and began to attack the protesters with batons and tear gas. When workers retreated into factories for their safety, the police forcibly entered the
premises and continued the assault. Angry protesters retaliated with whatever they could find. The police then fired live ammunition at workers, injuring a number of them, one critically.
After hearing about the police attack, at around 3.00 p.m. thousands of workers from zones No.2 and 3 joined the protest, condemning the police action and demanding the release of their arrested colleagues. By this stage, about 40,000 workers, mostly young females, were involved. They flooded onto the main road running through the FTZ, demonstrating and chanting slogans against the government.
With the police unable to control the large crowd, the government deployed police special task force (STF) officers and hundreds of soldiers. Army officers asked for a return to work, but the workers demanded the release of all those arrested. When the police refused to do so, outraged workers attacked the police station with stones.
Some 15 police personnel, including high ranking officers, were reportedly injured, and several police vehicles damaged. Police again opened fire on about 500 workers who stormed the station, wounding at least eight.
Inspector General of Police, Mahinda Balasuriya, claimed that the protesting workers had tried to grab arms from the police station—an allegation that protesters denied. Balasuriya defended opening fire on the demonstrators. “When a large crowd stormed in, police fired in the air and then later fired at them to control the gathering,” he declared at a press conference........
Local residents and FTZ workers at Biyagama, closer to Colombo, and Koggala in south also condemned the police attack.
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