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9 October Galle Face incident: HRCSL begins probe, seeks report from IGP in 24 hours 

12 Oct 2022

BY Buddhika Samaraweera The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), which has commenced a special probe with regard to the incident on 9 October when the Police dispersed those attending an event at the Galle Face Green to commemorate the “aragalaya” (the people’s struggle) deceased, has informed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne to submit a report within 24 hours explaining the basis on which the event held at the Galle Face Green in Colombo on 9 October was dispersed.  The Young Journalists` Association of Sri Lanka (YJASL) has requested the HRCSL to declare that the police officers who obstructed two peaceful demonstrations held at the Galle Face Green in Colombo on Sunday (9) and Monday (10) have violated the fundamental rights (FR) of the citizens, and to recommend to the relevant authorities to take appropriate disciplinary and legal action against them. Speaking to The Morning, YJASL President Tharindu Iranga Jayawardana claimed that the Police is applying a provision of the Police Ordinance, which is an ancient Ordinance dating back to 1865, that the conduct of a religious procession must be notified of at least six hours in prior, to protest marches, and that in the recent past, the Police had continuously attacked and prevented peaceful protests from taking place.  “As the Police stop almost every protest using the provisions related to religious processions in the Police Ordinance, the activists who organised the demonstration on Monday in protest of the event held at the Galle Face Green to commemorate those who lost their lives during the ‘aragalaya’ being attacked by the Police on 9 October, decided to inform the Police six hours in advance. However, we believe that the Police should not be notified six hours before a protest or a march,” he said. Accordingly, Jayawardana said that a digital copy of a letter addressed to Colombo Fort Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Chief Inspector of Police (CI) Sagara Liyanage was forwarded to the official electronic mail (e-mail) address of the said police station on 9 October with copies to the HRCSL and the IGP. He also said that the relevant letter was sent to CI Liyanage’s official mobile number through WhatsApp, and that the latter had seen the message at 12.27 a.m. on Monday. Despite several notifications made to the Colombo Fort Police Station, he said that Police officials including CI Liyanage, Colombo Central Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nalin Dilruk, and Colombo Central Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Roshan Dias disrupted the peaceful protest march, which was heading towards the Supreme Court complex through the Galle Face Green area on Monday, by closing the road using barricades. “At that point, we went to SSP Liyanage and told him that we had informed the relevant police station that there would be a protest march. The police officers then shouted at the protestors, including lawyers, the YJASL representatives, and other civil activists, and behaved shamefully, saying ‘you all are lying’, ‘you all are performing shows’, ‘you all are not journalists, but YouTubers’, and that we are ‘lying for media exposure’,” he added. Jayawardana further said that by not allowing the protestors to move forward and ordering them to disperse, the Police violated the fundamental rights of citizens ensured by the Constitution. He also said that the Police officers including CI Liyanage, ASP Dilruk, and SSP Dias behaved in a disgraceful manner by humiliating those who attended the protest.  Accordingly, the YJASL has requested the HRCSL to conduct a prompt investigation in this regard, and to declare that the relevant police officers have violated the fundamental rights of citizens, and to also recommend to the IGP to take legal and disciplinary action against the police officers in question. Meanwhile, the HRCSL has informed IGP Wickramaratne to submit a report within 24 hours, explaining the basis under which the event held at the Galle Face Green in Colombo on 9 October was dispersed. The HRCSL stated that it has initiated a special investigation in connection with the incident in which the Police took action to disperse those who were attending the said event. A tense situation erupted between the Police and protestors during the protest march organised by lawyers and professionals on Monday to protest against the incident of police officers obstructing a peaceful event held at the Galle Face Green in Colombo on Sunday (9) to commemorate those who lost their lives during the “aragalaya”, and to protest the arrest of several persons who attended Sunday’s event.  


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