A blow-by-blow: the mob attack on families of disappeared
3.15pm:
On the 4th of August a private sharing of experiences session organized by civil society inside the Centre for Society and Religion [CSR] is disrupted by an organized gang led by what appeared to be a group of Buddhist monks. Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities are present on location approximately 10 minutes after the gang disrupted the meeting. It is possibly one of fastest response times by Sri Lankan police to a 119 emergency phone call. The police encounter a gang of over 20 persons including Buddhist monks shouting obscenities, taking pictures and intimidating the persons including women, small children, prominent civil society activists and foreign diplomats inside the sharing session. Even the foreign diplomats feel that they cannot leave the premises due to the police failing to provide guarantees for their safety and security. They call their own security personnel for their protection. The police fail to disperse the organized mob for over 90 minutes. The women and children who have missing or disappeared family members are crying they look at the gang in fear. Unsurprisingly and sadly rather than protecting the persons at the private meeting and arresting the gang on charges of trespassing the police close down the meeting stating that “peace has been disturbed” and that they “cannot guarantee the security of the persons” where the incident occurred.
A Blow-By-blow the Mob Attack on Families of Disappeared by Thavam
A Blow-By-blow the Mob Attack on Families of Disappeared by Thavam
