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Policemen, Uni. students injured in clash on Badulla-Colombo Road
View(s):At least 12 policemen including two senior officers and six students were injured in clashes between protesting students of the Sabaragamuwa University at Balangoda yesterday, while the main opposition United National Party (UNP) hit out at the use of force by the authorities.
Riot police officers trying to disperse the student protesters. Pic by Lasantha Niroshana
Seven students were arrested in the melee which erupted after police charged the students firing tear gas to clear the road for traffic. According to police the Badulla-Colombo Road was blocked for some five hours during the protest. Among the injured policemen who were treated at the hospital were a Superintendent of Police (SSP) and an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).
Yesterday’s protest follows a death fast launched by six undergraduates to protest their suspension from the university. Two of the fasting students were removed to a regional hospital after their health conditions worsened, officials said. Meanwhile United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian and National Youth Front Organiser Ruwan Wijeywardene condemned the use of force on the protesting students.
In a statement he said the students were forced to take their protest to the street because relevant authorities continued to ignore festering issues faced by the students over the past decade or more. The situation was aggravated after unknown persons had gone up to the university gate during the early hours of Monday and fired into the air while the students were participating in a silent sathyagraha, Mr. Wijeywardene said.
He added that yesterday’s incident also comes barely 24 hours after the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe met student representatives at the university complex.
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