The Commander of the Sri Lanka Army General Shavendra Silva has called on the public to assist in the passage of road transport during protests.
In a video message, General Silva said the public is currently engaged in several peaceful protests in various parts of the country.
It has been observed that certain groups of people have obstructed vehicle movement inconveniencing the public.
However, in certain instances the public themselves have intervened and prevented vehicle movement from being obstructed by these certain groups, he pointed out.
Thanking the public who have intervened in this manner, the Army Commander called on the people to further assist in enabling the passage of road transport during public protests.
Following is the full statement by the Sri Lanka Army:
The Sri Lanka Army is dedicated round the clock to the best interests of all Sri Lankans who have extended their support and goodwill for the performance of duties appeals to the general public, engaged in protests to assist the unhindered passage of transport movements without blocking roads and causing inconvenience to the public.
In a special message, issued this afternoon (21) by General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, he recalled how all Sri Lankans overwhelmingly supported the armed forces during the height of COVID-19 control work and the war against terrorism by way of holding blessing ceremonies, services, etc. The full text of his message is as follows;
“In the face of present economic constraints, people of Sri Lanka in various areas are holding protests and agitations in a peaceful manner. We have not to date caused any hindrance to such peaceful protests. However, a few elements, who have shown up at those places were seen in the past few days engaged in particularly blocking road movements, causing inconvenience to the general public and transport of fuel supplies and essentials to different island-wide areas”.
“The Sri Lanka Army at the request of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), in an attempt to assist the Police, particularly for unhindered passage of transport movements since yesterday (20) has deployed Army troops and other forces to assist in this connection. Particularly we saw on Wednesday (20), some members of the general public who have volunteered and come forward to remove those blockades on their own, for which we would like to pay tribute to such volunteers”.
“Let me earnestly appeal to all intelligent Sri Lankans to support our forces and the Police in the same way you all cooperated with the armed forces in the control of the most recent COVID-19 epidemic and the war against terrorism in the past. I kindly urge all Sri Lankans to lend the same degree of support at this critical juncture to all the armed forces and the Police for the passage of essentials to the public by dispensing with roadblocks and other obstructions,” General Shavendra Silva said. (NewsWire)