Police withdraw reinforcements amidst protests

By Kamal Bogoda and Hemantha Randunu

The riot police squads that had been deployed to the Galle Face protest site yesterday were later withdrawn following objections raised by protesters.

A large number of police officers as well as anti-riot squads were deployed near the Presidential Secretariat where a protest, demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, passed the 24th consecutive day, yesterday.

When police reinforcements were brought there by heavy trucks and buses, the protesters gathered at the site confronted them.

Protesters said that they were conducting a peaceful protest and what was the need to deploy such large number of police contingents.

Senior police officers said that they had received a complaint that the entrances to the Presidential Secretariat had been blocked by unauthorised structures and tents put up by the protesters and they came there to remove them.

A young female lawyer accosted the senior police officers and demanded to know under whose orders the stages were to be removed. She said that when the police received a complaint the job of the police was to investigate it and demanded to know what right the police had to remove the makeshift stages. Investigating the complaint was different from using force to remove the protesters, she pointed out. She said that lawyers were supporting the protest and she would come to the police station enabling the police to investigate the complaint.

Thereafter the senior police officers withdrew from the protest site and the protesters shouted jubilantly.

A senior police officer when contacted for comment said that they received information that the protesters were planning to put up a new hut barricading the entrance to the presidential secretariat and the riot squads were summoned to counter possible disturbances by the protesters when the erecting of the new hut would be prevented.

The Police eventually withdrew from the location.