Police intervene as protesters erect hut on Galle Road amid ongoing demonstration

Buddhist monks and lay supporters arrived in Colombo on October 15 after a six-day march from Kandy calling for the release of imprisoned monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera. The Island reported that the march began on October 10 and that its final stage travelled from Kadawatha through Kiribathgoda, Peliyagoda, Maligawatta and Maradana to the area around the Presidential Secretariat at Galle Face. Lankadeepa also reported the group reached Colombo amid heavy rain.

The group staged a sit-in near the Secretariat. Monks said they would remain until the authorities responded positively to their demand. Ven. Ulapane Sumangala Thera urged the government to secure Gnanasara Thera’s release and said the protesters were willing to meet President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at a location of his choosing. He also said they might consider other ways to press their demand if peaceful appeals were not answered.

Representatives met presidential officials, including Presidential Secretary Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, but the discussions did not produce an agreement. Newswire reported that officials said the government needed at least a month to consider the request, with no specific decision date agreed. It also reported there had been no public statement from the President’s Office on the talks.

Tensions arose when protesters put up a temporary tent or hut on Galle Road and police sought its removal. Newswire reported that demonstrators moved the structure to the roadside and, following a police request, later left the area directly outside the Secretariat for the opposite pavement. Traffic was reopened, while a reduced group remained and the protest continued. A separate Newswire report identified several former MPs at the demonstration, including Prasanna Ranaweera, Sanjeewa Edirimanne, Indika Anuruddha and Saman Ratnapriya.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.