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Torching of buses on 9 May brought to int’l attention

26 Aug 2022

  • LPBOA writes to EU, UNOHCHR, letters copied to IGP/HRCSL/BASL Claims interference into Police probes
  BY Buddhika Samaraweera   The Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) has filed complaints with the EU Office, and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) in Sri Lanka regarding the incidents of torching and damaging buses that occurred after a group of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) supporters attacked peaceful protestors in Colombo on 9 May. Speaking to The Morning, LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne said that there is a problem with the investigations carried out by the Police, and the other authorities regarding the related incidents. For instance, he said that the relevant investigations are hindered by various parties opposing the arrest of suspects related to the incidents. “We see torching and damaging buses as an act of terrorism. We, the bus owners, rent buses to anyone who asks for them. That is our business. When someone comes and makes the relevant payment, and requests a bus, we provide them. We do not rent buses considering the political party of a person. Therefore, damaging buses on that day is not acceptable at all,” he said. Claiming that nearly 50 buses were torched and destroyed on 9 May, Wijeratne said that the owners of those buses have no income to live on at present. He also said that the bus owners are facing severe economic difficulties due to the loss of buses, adding however that the Government has not taken any action such as paying compensation for the destroyed buses. “More than 50 buses were torched and destroyed. They cannot be repaired. The owners cannot claim insurance too as some of the buses had been bought on a lease basis. That is why we complained to the EU Office and the UNOHCHR. Copies of those complaints were forwarded to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL),” he added. Following a group of SLPP supporters, who had come to meet then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attacking the public protest sites at the Galle Face Green, and in front of the Temple Trees, tense situations erupted in several parts of the country on 9 May.  After the said attacks, the buses and vehicles in which the SLPP supporters had reached Colombo on that day were smashed and set on fire by the people. Several SLPP supporters were also attacked by the people in Colombo and more than 250 who were injured during the clashes had been admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo, including the SLPP supporters who carried out the attack on the protestors, while at least six persons had died during the incidents.


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