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Hirunika arrested at President’s House gate

07 Jul 2022

  • Former MP and 11 others granted Police bail
  • Demanded Prez come out and face the music
  • Media denied access to protest site 
BY Buddhika Samaraweera National Organiser of the Samagi Vanitha Balawegaya (SVB), the female wing of the main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Hirunika Premachandra, and 11 others who were staging a protest against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in front of the President’s house in Colombo Fort were arrested by the Police yesterday (6) and subsequently granted bail. At around 11 a.m. yesterday, Premachandra, SJB Weligama Chief Organiser Rehan Jayawickreme, and a few others approached one of the main entrances of the President’s house, making their way through several barricades on the road leading to the President’s house. The group reached one of the gates of the President’s house and at that time, the gate was left open.  However, as seen in video footage of the incident, as soon as they reached the gate, a female Police officer told a senior security officer (probably a Police officer): “Sir, close the gate.” Accordingly, the security personnel worked to close the relevant gate, preventing Premachandra and the others from entering the President’s house.  At that time, Premachandra and the others sat on the road in front of the gate, where they began protesting against the President and the security personnel assigned to the security of the President’s house. The protestors said that citizens should be free to enter the President’s house, which is a public office. “I came right in front of the President’s house. I will not say how I got here, but a single intelligence agency could not find me until I approached here. I invite the people from all over Sri Lanka to come here. I invite the people to gather at this place. Rajapaksa is inside. I am not going to leave here until he comes out. Rajapaksa, come out,” Premachandra said.  “I will not do anything to him. He may have already wet himself. Either tell him to come out or let me in. Even if he is to come out at midnight, I will not leave here. Ask Rajapaksa, who destroyed the country, deprived the children and the people of their meals, and was laughing in the Parliament when people are dying in queues, to come out. Ask the so-called hero who fought in the war to come out,” she told the security officers, including those from the Army and the Police. Meanwhile, several local and international journalists attempted to approach the entrance where Premachandra and the others were staging the protest, but the Army officers, according to a few journalists who were at the scene, did not allow them to reach the said location. The concerned journalists were seen standing near one of the barricades on the road leading to the President’s house.  At that time, while publishing videos of the incident on social media networks, the journalists mentioned that the Director General of the Department of Government Information and the Army Media Spokesman had been informed about the matter via telephone. Premachandra, who continued to protest against the President, said: “Not even one of Rajapaksa’s intelligence units was able to find us until we reached here. This is what Rajapaksa would have done in the war period too. Maybe he served tea at that time. Today, we will stay here until Rajapaksa comes out. If he does not come today, we will stay tomorrow too. We will leave here only after kicking him out of the President’s house on 9 July. Rajapaksa, either you go to the US, or get buried inside these premises. That is all. Either Rajapaksa should live, or we should live. It is one of the two.”  Meanwhile, the SVB and SJB Members who were with Premachandra requested the security personnel at the scene to at least give Premachandra the opportunity to go inside the President’s house and meet the President. They said that they were even ready to leave the place if she was given the opportunity to enter the President’s house and meet Rajapaksa. They also mentioned that fundamental rights (FR) cases would be filed against all the security personnel who obstructed them. At the time, Premachandra said to a police officer who was taking pictures of her (Premachandra) with a mobile phone that: “Take as many pictures as you want. Have you not seen me before? Take the pictures and show them to the President. Go and tell him that Premachandra has come to meet him. We are not afraid of being captured in photographs.”  At the same time, Premachandra was seen shouting: “Rajapaksa, come out. If we are able to get here, hundreds of thousands of people can come here. I invite the people to come out now. It is enough that you waited. Come here without fearing anything. If we want to kick him (Rajapaksa) out, we will have to fight. So, do not wait any longer and come out.”  While the protest was going on, over 100 officers of the Police and Army were seen inside the President’s house premises and another large number of Police and Army personnel were seen near the barricades on the road. In the meantime, a group of female police officers including a high-ranking female police officer, the latter who is said to be the first female Deputy Inspector General of Police of Sri Lanka, was observed arriving at the scene and speaking with Premachandra and the others cordially before leaving.  At that point, a large group of army personnel were seen reaching the place. A few moments later, a large group of police officers including female police officers arrived at the scene, after which the protestors, including Premachandra, were arrested and then loaded into a bus. At that time, on a live video published via Facebook, Premachandra and the others claimed that the police officers had seized Premachandra’s mobile phone. They further claimed that the police officers had arrested them while berating them in obscenities. Later, the group was taken to the Colombo Harbour Police Station. Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa and a group of MPs representing the SJB went to the Colombo Harbour Police Station and met with Premachandra and the others last evening. Issuing a statement with regard to the incident, Premadasa said that Premachandra and the others were arrested in violation of their fundamental rights. Meanwhile, when contacted by The Morning, Police Media Spokesman, Senior Superintendent of Police and Attorney-at-Law Nihal Thalduwa said that Premachandra and the others had been arrested under the National Thoroughfares Act, No. 40 of 2008. Thalduwa earlier said that the group would likely be released on Police bail. Earlier, a heated situation arose on 28 June when the Police set up barricades on the road leading to the President’s house in Colombo Fort while several persons including Premachandra were attempting to enter the said road. Along with Premachandra, who is also a former MP, two other females had been seeking to enter the road leading to the President’s house. At that time, the police officers present had set up barricades, blocking the road. Following this, Premachandra, Ceylon Teachers’ Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin, and several others had gathered near the road and staged a protest against the President.


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