Police disperse unruly students in Kollupitiya

Shirley WIJESINGHE

COLOMBO: A protest parade organised by Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) to hand over a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa was stopped by Police at the High Security Zone entrance, Kollupitiya Junction yesterday.

Police said five student representatives were asked to go in to hand over the letter to a President’s representative but hundreds of other students behaved in an unruly manner breaking down barriers and attacking the Police.

“Despite all security problems, we allowed them to march from Wijerama to Kollupitiya. But they turned violent quite unnecessarily,” a senior Police official said.

He said inciting such violence and creating an unstable security environment in Colombo was a clear sign that the JVP-backed IUSF was aiming to divert the attention of the Forces and the Police from the North where the LTTE was facing defeat.

The IUSF has said that they were opposing the privatization of higher education and shortcomings at universities.

Police had to use tear gas to disperse the unruly students. The march created long traffic jams along the Highlevel and Galle roads.