Nine students hospitalized - Police fire tear gas

Nine students hospitalized - Police fire tear gas

By Skandha Gunasekara-2015-10-30

Police are actively searching for persons involved in yesterday's protest opposite the University Grants Commission (UGC) by students of the Higher National Diploma for Accounting Collective (HNDAC), which ended in chaos when demonstrators clashed with police leaving nine hospitalized.  According to Police media spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekara 40 individuals were arrested, of whom 32 were male university students, six female students and two bhikkhus.
Nine protesters were hospitalized with injuries, one in critical condition with a head injury while a Police Constable (PC) of the Bambalapitiya Police Station also sustained injuries.

The protesters, who had marched from Fort to Ward Place with the objective of speaking to the Minister of Higher Education and the UGC, were barred by a large police force from approaching the UGC building.
The demonstrators, following several attempts to negotiate with the authorities, resorted to physical confrontation with the police after a police official threatened violence against the picketers. "If you stay here for another minute we will beat you up," he is alleged to have said.

Convener of the HNDAC, Dhammika Ruwan Kumara, told Ceylon Today that during discussions the authorities had promised an audience with Minister of Higher Education, Lakshman Kiriella but later on had informed the protesters that the minister would not be available and could instead talk with the Secretary to the Ministry.
"Initially they said we could speak with the Minister of Higher Education so that we can come to an agreement but then they said that he was unavailable for various reasons and said that a secretary would meet us. This was unacceptable. We have spoken with Ministry Secretaries on several occasions to no avail."

Kumara added that the protesters had at that point refused to disperse until a meeting with the minister was arranged .This resulted in the police responded with threats of beatings and violence.
"We said that we would not leave until the Minister met us. Then a policeman said that we would be beaten up by the authorities if we insisted on staying and they started firing water cannons at the demonstrators."
Although the students were able to storm and topple the barricades set up by the police, tear gas and baton charges forced the protesters to flee.

Both the media and the public witnessed instances of police brutality when students, both male and female, were caught and beaten by the officials.
The demands of the protesters were that authorities re-establish the Higher National Diploma for Accounting into a Degree programme, as well as increase the Mahapola Allowance to
Rs 5,000.