24 October 2022 10:15 am Views - 179
By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana
Aragalaya activists in large numbers from countrywide locations travelled to Tangalle yesterday by train to stage a symbolic protest against the unlawful detention of two IUSF leaders Wasantha Mudalige and Galwewa Siridhamma Thera under the PTA.
Scores of armed policemen were summoned to the Tangalle Town when the area started flooding with activists arriving at the Beliatta Railway Station by yesterday noon.
Several leading groups of the Galle Face Aragalaya including the Inter University Students’ Federation led several hundred activists that started the train journey from Anuradhapura yesterday early morning.
The entourage was joined by more activists in numbers from the Fort Railway Station that altogether travelled to Beliatta Railway Station. Banners and flags imprinted with various slogans demanding the release of the two IUSF leaders were seen tied to the sides of the train.
The procession of activists, which set off from the Beliatta Railway Station bound for the Tangalle Prison, could not proceed beyond Puwakdandawa area, where the police blocked the way forward.
The procession then travelled to Tangalle Town and staged a demonstration demanding the release of Mudalige and Siridhamma Thera, who are being detained for more than two months now.
Youth For Change Convener Lahiru Weerasekara said that they have travelled to Tangalle by train to stage a symbolic protest against the unlawful detention of the two IUSF leaders. “If the government is trying to further repress the Aragalaya then we will travel from village to spread the message to awaken the masses,” Weerasekara said.