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Board of Inquiry on protest control says armed forces and Police failed to act decisively

09 Sep 2022

  • Notes that reluctance to baton charge and fire below the knee when necessary were lapses
The Board of Inquiry to ascertain lapses, if any, by the armed forces and State intelligence services during the recent incidents of violence has informed President Ranil Wickremesinghe that a serious lapse in the conduct of the Armed Forces, Police, and intelligence services during the spate of protests from 31 March onwards was its reluctance to act decisively by baton-charging, firing in the air, and firing below the knee when the need arose. This was noted in an interim brief the Board, led by its Chairman Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda and including members General Daya Ratnayake and Marshal of the Air Force Roshan Goonetillake, has provided to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, which was seen by The Morning. “Since its inception on 24 May 2022, this Board of Inquiry has summoned 30 officers from the Armed Forces, Police, and the intelligence services for producing evidence in relation to the incidents of violence that took place on 31 March 2022 and its aftermath, and 09 May 2022 and its aftermath. The Board has observed a few salient concerns, surfacing during almost every session, that bear direct relevance to the lack of professional conduct of services during any civil unrest. “Considering the present situation in the country which still gives rise to occasional protests against the Government, the Board is of the view that those need to be brought to your immediate attention.” The Board said it has observed three serious lapses in the conduct of the Armed Forces, Police, and the intelligence services in the above context, including the reluctance to act decisively; i.e., baton-charging, firing in the air, and firing below the knee when the need arose, lack of intelligence co-ordination among the services, and the lack of operational co-ordination.  As the reasons for the above lapses, the Board cited the following:
  • The incidents of lawsuits against Armed Forces and Police personnel subsequent to the Rathupaswala incident and more recently, the Rambukkana incident where no indemnity was available for them has instilled a sense of abandonment by the Government and as a result, reluctance to act during civil riots or similar incidents 
  • Actions of lawyers and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to have a bias against the servicemen during such recent incidents have also demoralised them 
  • Refusal of visas for officers who were part of the humanitarian operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), penalising and subjugating them by the Government itself since 2015, and the inability to effectively counter the international propaganda and activities of the United Nations Human Rights Council have instilled a fear in them that they would not be protected even when they execute their professional duties 
  • There has been no co-ordination among the intelligence services, or regular intelligence sharing among the Armed Forces and Police at almost all levels
  • There has been no co-ordination of operations during a riot/civil unrest situation, or the execution of a contingency plan among the Armed Forces and Police, at almost all levels
  • Considering the rapidly developing situation in the country, the Board recommends that immediate action be taken to address the reasons mentioned above, in order to prevent such future occurrences as the recent riots. 
The Board has placed this briefing before the President for urgent consideration.


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