A strong warning from the army to the "violent" in the struggle

The army said that the army personnel were empowered to prevent loss and property loss  of the state.

The army has mentioned this in a statement.

It states that all those involved in increasing violence to harm security forces or public property should immediately desist from such acts of violence.

If this is not the case, the security forces will have to use all the powers of the security forces in accordance with the existing conditions and the army has emphasized that the security forces, which are entrusted with the ancillary responsibility of protecting public property as well as all the places and public lives, will not hesitate to use that power at all. .

Moreover, it also shows that the responsibility for the consequences that may arise in such a situation should be borne by the perpetrators themselves.

Also, it has given details regarding the events that occurred yesterday (July 13).

The full notification is given below.

"In accordance with the powers of the Constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka, the members of the security forces and police officers are dedicated with their lives to maintain law and order in the country, to ensure the public safety of its people, public property and the country. It is no secret to all Sri Lankans that the security forces are engaged in their duties by protecting the sovereignty of the people of the republic established by the constitution as a sovereign state and ensuring their free speech and movement and in all the public protests that started in May this year, the disciplined discipline of the security forces was very clearly evident to all Sri Lankans.

During the recent protests, including the people's protest at Colombo Fort on July 9, apart from a few minor incidents between the security forces and the protestors, there were no significant violations of the rule of law or severe violence during that period, and there were some heated tensions between the two sides. it was.

The Chief of Defense Staff, the three Army Commanders and the Inspector General of Police on more than three occasions publicly strongly urged the protesters to be peaceful, to protect government buildings and all property and to resolve the situation that arose with the departure of President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in accordance with the Constitution.

During the last 72 hours, the Acting President and the Prime Minister, the Speaker and the leaders of the political parties, the Chief of Defense Staff, the three Army Commanders and the Inspector General of Police strongly requested to speed up the search for solutions to the political instability and economic crisis in the country, and the peaceful activists did not engage in public violence. It was agreed that they should be controlled with minimum force without using full force as long as they do not damage the property.

However, contrary to the promises made by the peaceful protestors, unfortunately, leaving the 'non-violence' approach, a group of those protestors broke law and order and resorted to violent acts to seize the Speaker's official residence and the Parliament complex on Wednesday (July 13) at noon. It was done with the aim of taking over the parliament complex which is the only institution that can implement the people's sovereignty and constitutionally assigned democratic values ​​in the country by breaking down the police roadblocks etc. using heavy machines.

On Wednesday (July 13) in the evening, the army personnel did not pay any heed to the protestors' continuous requests for calm, and the protesters aggressively tried to enter the parliament complex and did not stop the army soldiers on duty by covering them with iron rods, clubs, helmets, etc. Attacked and two T-56 automatic firearms in the hands of the troops were snatched away with their ammunition, brutally beating two soldiers until they fell asleep. By now, the two seriously injured military personnel and other troops have been hospitalized for emergency treatment. The police have already been informed about the protesters who ran away with these two weapons and about the disappearance of those weapons.

In the meantime, several violent people who overthrew the military personnel and fired several shots in the air and incited the police and troops to unleash violence have also been taken into police custody. However, by Wednesday (July 13) night, those violent people who tried to break into the Parliament complex were dispersed and the situation was brought under control.

All those who are engaged in increasing violence to damage the security forces or public property should immediately refrain from such acts of violence, otherwise the security forces will have to use all the powers in accordance with the existing conditions and in the future, all the police stations as well as public property will be used. And it is further emphasized that the security forces, who are entrusted with the complementary responsibility of protecting public lives, do not hesitate to use that power and the responsibility for the consequences that may arise in such a situation should be borne by these violent people themselves.