Colombo Additional Magistrate Lahiru Silva on Wednesday ordered the immediate arrest of people who allegedly used a sound amplification device without a permit during the Viharamahadevi Park protest demanding the release of Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera — and in the same sitting closed the injunction proceeding the police had obtained over that protest, because the protest is over.
The order directs the Cinnamon Gardens (Kurunduwatta) Police to arrest the suspects and produce them before court, NewsFirst reported. Officers appearing for the complainant told the court that monks and civil activists staying at the park had continued their protest despite court orders, and that the equipment was used without any lawful approval or licence. Investigations have already begun, and the magistrate instructed police to report their progress to court promptly.
A second order, and the footage
Hiru News reported that the court issued two orders on two complaints, both filed by Cinnamon Gardens OIC Chief Inspector Sagara Dayaratne.
The second concerns obstruction. Officials of the Colombo Municipal Council and the officer in charge of the park went to remove banners, posters and cut-outs unlawfully hung at Viharamahadevi Park, police said, and protesters blocked them and obstructed their duties. The court ordered police to examine CCTV and video footage of the incident, identify those who obstructed public officials, and arrest and produce them before court.
Arrests refused in October, ordered in November
The sequence is worth setting beside what happened a fortnight ago. On 23 October, Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama refused the Attorney General’s request for arrest warrants against the protesters, while leaving the order to vacate the park in place. Wednesday’s arrests were ordered on different ground — not the vacate order, but a licensing offence and obstruction of public officials — and on police complaints rather than an AG motion.
The encampment began on 16 October, was read a court order to disperse on 22 October, and was suspended on 25 October after the Mahanayake Theros intervened. Hiru reports that the injunction complaint was concluded on Wednesday precisely because police told the court the protest has now ended. The protest is finished; the prosecutions are beginning.
Not reported
Neither filing says how many people are to be arrested, names any suspect, or states the statute under which the sound-amplification offence is charged — police issued a general warning on loudspeaker use under the Penal Code in August. Neither dates the incidents complained of, so it is not stated whether they fall before or after the 25 October suspension. No date is given for the suspects to be produced in court. NewsFirst reports only the sound-system complaint and does not mention the second order or the closing of the injunction matter.
