TNA condemns police attack on Southern students
November 3, 2015, 9:53 pm
By Saman Indrajith
Leader of the Opposition R. Sampanthan yesterday condemned in Parliament the irresponsible manner the police had baton-charged students including girls during a protest in Colombo last Thursday.
Making a special statement, Sampanthan said that the entire nation witnessed on TV how the police brutally beat up the students retreating after they had been beaten back by the water cannon. Policemen hit the female students. The bhikkhu students, who took to their heels in fear of advancing policemen, had been chased and attacked. The attack could never be justified. It was brutal and ruthless, the Opposition Leader said.
"The students took to the streets to win their just demands. They were stopped by the police.
They later withdrew. We cannot comprehend why the retreating students were mercilessly assaulted. We are not living in a colony. We cannot let our youth being beaten by khaki-clad officials in this manner. Is this what you mean by good governance?
"Senior police officers could have stopped their subalterns and junior ranks. But, there was no such order from the top. Innocent students fled for their lives. We should understand the hierarchy of order and those above would not be exonerated for their irresponsibility in not preventing their juniors.