US urges GoSL to respect right to protest Crackdown on Weliweriya protest

August 2, 2013, 10:10 pm 

17-year-old victim Akila Dinesh

By Norman Palihawadana and Madura Ranwala

Expressing concern over the violence which broke out during a protest in Weliweriya on Thursday, the United States has urged the Sri Lankan government to respect the rights of people to protest peacefully.

A statement issued by the US Embassy in Colombo said, "The US Embassy is concerned about the violence at the protest in Weliweriya, and urges the government of Sri Lanka to respect the rights of people to protest peacefully and urges restraint from all sides."

Residents of Weliweriya claim that the chemical waste from a factory has polluted their drinking water.

Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a group of residents blocking the Colombo-Kandy main road in protest against ground water contamination.

Armed troops were called in to assist the police in dispersing the protesters and that resulted in a tense situation with the protesters refusing to abandon their agitation.

Meanwhile, UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Democratic Party leader Gen. Sarath Fonseka and several other MPs yesterday visited Weliweriya to meet those affected by Thursday’s violence, while a full scale investigation, into the circumstances under which a 17-year-old boy was killed during Wednesday’s protest, got under way. The army said it, too, would conduct a separate investigation into the incident.

The teenager was identified as Kahadawa Arachchige Don Akila Dinesh of Helanwatta, Weliweriya. Among the wounded were 30 civilians, nine troops and the OIC of the Weliweriya police station. The injured were being treated at the Gampaha, Wathupitiwala and Ragama hospitals. Some of them were transferred to the National Hospital.

Asked what the cause of Akila’s death was, Gampaha Hospital Director, Dr. Sudath Dharmaratna told The Island that the body had been handed over to the Consultant Judicial Medical Officer for the post mortem.

Asked whether the others had sustained injuries due to being shot at by the army, Dr. Dharmaratne said that his staff had treated the patients till early yesterday as there were multiple cuts and wounds on them, but they had not bothered to ascertain who had inflicted them.

The police said they would use pictures and video footage taken by police and army intelligence units, various groups and journalists to ascertain how the protest had turned violent. 

Even yesterday, the area was highly protected with the presence of the Special Task Force, Police and army.

The protesters from ten villages blocked the Kandy-Colombo main road. A court case over the issue was pending and the Defence Secretary had held discussions with some representative from the protesters on the issue of groundwater contamination, the government said..