Welikada Prison riots: UNP, JVP blame Govt.

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday blamed the government for Friday’s Welikada Prison riots. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said the government had forgotten that ‘Prisoners are also human’ and was trying to justify its decision to allow the STF to search the prison.

He said the International Charter on Prisons had been violated by allowing the STF to enter the prison.

“Government is focusing attention on justifying its decision to allow STF inside the prison but has conveniently ignored the 40 prisoners killed in the riots,” Mr. Attanayake said and urged the government to pay compensation to the families of those who were killed.

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva also blamed the government for the incident and said it was the result of using the army for everything. He asked why the Army was called in to search the prisons without using the Prison officials.

Mr. Silva said the security forces were being insulted by using them for all kinds of work like cleaning up of drains, planting way side trees and even getting them to search prisons.

“The legend prominently written on the Welikada prison wall, “We are also human” had been completely ignored by the government,” he added.