Parliamentarian Ramesh Pathirana informed Parliament yesterday that the IGP and the Secretary to the Public Security Ministry had instructed the Security Forces not to take action to prevent the May 9 attack on Galle Face. He also explained that the President had tried to intervene and stop the attack.
“The President or the government had no intention of attacking the peaceful protesters.Just before the attack, I went there and I told the Senior DIG not to allow the situation to escalate and to prevent any violence. He assured me that all the road blocks had been set up and nothing would happen. Then I had to go to a meeting with the President and at the time former MP Ashu Marasinghe called me and told me that a huge calamity was going to take place and wanted me to ask the President to somehow prevent it from getting out of hand. Then in front of many Ministers the President called SDIG Tennakoon and asked him why he was not taking steps to prevent this situation when the President had instructed him in the morning. He then notified the President that the IGP had told him not to do anything to prevent the mobs.”
Then he said that the President had yelled at Tennakoon and reminded him that he was the President and asked him to follow the orders that he, as the President had given.
“It was then that the Senior DIG had taken steps to use the water cannons and tear gas to prevent the mobs from running amok.
Pathirana said that the IGP and the Public Security Ministry Secretary should be held responsible as they are the ones who had prevented the police from stopping the Temple Trees mobs from attacking the peaceful protests at Galle Face.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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