Former Parliamentarian Wajira Abeywardena said the authorities should have opened the gates of the Negombo Prison and allowed inmates to leave in order to protect their lives during the recent unrest.
Abeywardena recalled that during the 2004 tsunami, the Matara Prison was opened and all inmates were allowed to return home, with instructions issued about two months later for them to report to their nearest police stations.
“Look at what happened in Negombo. It was like a tsunami. What did they do when the tsunami struck? What did they do at the Matara Prison? They opened the prison and told everyone to go home,” he said.
“Everyone went home. About two months later, they were told to report to the nearest police station. As far as I remember, only about five prisoners went missing,” he added.
Questioning the response to the Negombo Prison incident, Abeywardena said the priority should have been to protect the lives of inmates.
“Is it the duty of the authorities to let prisoners die? What would have happened if they had opened the gates and told them to leave? Their National Identity Card numbers are available. Their passport numbers are available. Those details could have been given to the airport authorities to prevent them from leaving the country. If they had been given a week, not a single person would have died,” he said.
Abeywardena made these remarks while participating in a discussion on a YouTube channel.
