We didn’t have enough soldiers to control rioters: Brigadier tells PCoI

By Yoshitha Perera

The Army officers who were available in the camp were insufficient to handle the Anti-Muslim riots in the North-Western Province on May 12, 2019, after the Easter Sunday terror attacks, Brigadier Priyantha Dissanayake, who is in charge of the 143 brigades in North Western Province yesterday informed the PCoI probing Easter Sunday attacks.

Testifying before the Commission Brigadier Dissanayake said that there were only 600 soldiers under him to provide security for 7,888 square kilometres and it was impossible.

“We provided security for religious places and we asked Police to assist us. The two battalions of the 143 brigade were deployed to several areas but it was not enough to handle unrest,” he said.
The witness informed the Commission on 12 May 2019, Commander of the 16th battalion of the Gajaba Regiment in Puttalam informed him that a Muslim owned shop had been attacked in Chilaw.
Several incidents occurred around the district on May 12 and 13 and he travelled across the area to observe the situation and assist the Police, Brigadier Dissanayake said.

The representative from the AG’s Department then questioned the witness whether the Army arrested the individuals those who involved in the riots.

Responding to the question the witness said that if the Army had arrested individuals there would be documents but there were no documents in relation to those arrests.

“As per our records the men who carried iron clubs and knives were arrested by Police and the Army vehicles had used to transport those arrested persons to Bingiriya Police station,” he said.

The witness also added that on May 13 large crowd were gathered near the Kuliyapitiya Police station demanding to release the suspect and he was informed by Kuliyapitiya OIC that former IGP Pujith Jayasundara had instructed to release the suspects.

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Testifying before the Commission Brigadier Dissanayake said that there were only 600 soldiers under him to provide security for 7,888 square kilometres and it was impossible.

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The witness also added that on May 13 large crowd were gathered near the Kuliyapitiya Police station demanding to release the suspect and he was informed by Kuliyapitiya OIC that former IGP Pujith Jayasundara had instructed to release the suspects.