Colombo (AsiaNews) – Hundreds of people demonstrated yesterday against police brutality, which took the life of a young mentally ill Tamil man on 29 October in Bambalapitiya. Human rights activists, Catholic and Anglican religious, politicians and ordinary people rallied in front of Colombo’s central railway station (pictured) with signs in English, Sinhalese and Tamil against “murderers in khaki uniform”.
The victim’s name was Balavarnan Sivakumar, a 26-year-old Tamil man who found himself in a state of mental delusion.
He began throwing stones at passing vehicles and at police when they arrived. After trying to talk to him, the agents beat him and then threw him in water where he drowned, all this in broad daylight with many witnesses present.
The TNL network even broadcast video footage of the assault against the young man, giving the whole country a chance to see what happened.
Rev Duleep de Chickera, Anglican bishop of Colombo, has called on the authorities to start an inquiry into the killing of the 26-year-old Tamil.
He is concerned that the growing “lack of trust in the security forces” may turn into “a broad state of illegality throughout the country.”
Fr Sarath Iddamalgoda, a Catholic priest involved in human rights work, said that the attack that took place in Bambalapitiya was just the latest in a series of gratuitous violence by the police.
The killing of Balavarnan Sivakumar follows the recent violent death of two young people in Angulana. Altogether, 23 people died in police custody this year.
The priest is also concerned that police violence might get worse because years of war against Tamil Tigers probably lowered their inhibition to violence even if the war itself ended recently.
“Today, anyone who does not promptly obey police orders is looked upon with suspicion as a potential enemy,” Fr Iddamalgoda told AsiaNews.
“For them, killing such people has become a natural urge,” he added.
