Protesters resist police bid to quarantine them

Pandemonium outside court

A tense situation arose near the Colombo Magistrate’s Court complex when police yesterday tried to take 33 people, including Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin and the Convener of the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF), Ven. Rathkarakawwe Jinarathana thera, for violating quarantine laws, to a quarantine centre.

They were protesting opposite the Parliament Roundabout against the Kotalawala Defence University (KDU) bill at the time.

Police Spokesman SDIG Ajith Rohana told the media that those arrested would be produced in court. The protest was jointly organised by the CTU, IUSF and the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP.)

When the Police produced the suspects before the court, Additional Magistrate, Kanchana Neranjana de Silva released them on personal bail of Rs. 25,000 each.

The Police told the Magistrate that the protest had caused great inconvenience to the people and hindered the movement of ambulances moving towards Sri Jayawardanepura Hospital. The Police then asked the Additional Magistrate to give an order to send the suspects to a quarantine centre. The lawyers representing the defendants said that the police were using quarantine laws to suppress dissent and the freedom of expression.

The Additional Magistrate said that the court had no power to send the defendants to a quarantine centre. This should be done through health officials, she said.

Meanwhile 13 members of the JVP, including two former provincial councillors, too were arrested yesterday during a protest in Akuressa. Four other JVPers, including a local councillor, were arrested at Hatton. Both protests had been organised against cost of living and the fertiliser crisis.