Communist Party: It is farcical to go after people who ate and swam at President’s House, Temple Trees

Law enforcement authorities are engaged in a farcical attempt to find the people who entered the President’s House the Presidential Secretariat, and Temple Trees and used the swimming pool and consumed the food items there, the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) says.

“Tens of thousands of people participated in these incidents, and efforts are being made to arrest selected persons. Meanwhile, the student leaders who participated in a demonstration and campaigned recently have been arrested. Those who are arrested are detained and interrogated under the Prevention of Terrorism Act,” CPSL said.

The CPSL said it strongly opposed the attempt to use the Prevention of Terrorism Act to suppress the peaceful agitation and insists that all those who have been taken into custody since 09 May and are currently in custody should be dealt with under the general law.

It said that they had paid close attention to the agitations and riots taking place in the country after 09 May and the responses of the authorities.The party said that violence was unleashed from Temple Trees on 09 May, and the subsequent riots showed an organized nature.

“In July, some people entered the presidential palace, the presidential secretariat office and Temple Trees, and later the private residence of Ranil Wickramasinghe was torched. The Communist Party of Sri Lanka, which drew attention to this, requested the authorities to appoint a ‘Truth Commission’ with appropriate powers to identify the persons responsible for all the violent acts that took place from May 9 onwards and to recommend appropriate punishments. It was not fulfilled and after the appointment of Ranil Wickramasinghe as the President, people’s opposition is emerging again,” CPSL said.

The request to appoint a presidential commission was ignored and instead the law enforcement authorities are engaged in a farcical attempt to find the people who entered the above places and committed acts of violence as well as those who used the swimming pool and consumed the fruits and food items in the presidential palace, CPSL said.