Army launches probe over officer who kicked civilian at fuel station

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) says that a five-member Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been appointed to investigate and make recommendations on the incident where an army officer had assaulted a civilian at a filling station in Yakgahapitiya, Kurunegala.

A video recorded using a mobile phone, showing an army officer kicking a person on the chest at a fuel station, had been widely circulated on social media recently. 

Issuing a statement today (04), the Sri Lanka Army said the aggressive nature of the Army member was excessively prioritized in the media in order to “ridicule him without projecting the violent behaviour of the drunken civilian.” 

However, the Security Force Headquarters - West on a directive of the Commander of the Army immediately appointed a five-member Court of Inquiry (CoI), headed by a Brigade Commander to go deep into the issue and make its recommendations, it said. 

Meanwhile, the same civilian in question has now been taken into Police custody, the Sri Lanka Army said.

Full Media Release:

“Members of the Sri Lanka Army and other services in conformity with provisions of the Army Act on the directions of the government have been called to assist the Police, engaged in coordinating the distribution of fuel stocks at island-wide petrol sheds in the midst of the prevailing crisis.

Those Security Force members have been compelled to resolve / confront various conflict situations, including some indecent, aggressive and provocative instances, some of which the Police have already confirmed as executed purposely by some elements with vested interests while all the efforts for fair distribution are being made by those troops in a better transparent manner since the Police have sought assistance to control such mobs.

A series of media reports including many social media blogs and video clips going viral, some of which are intentionally edited or projecting only one side or tail end of the dispute or extracted clips without properly projecting true ground realities have been observed by the Army where Army personnel are being humiliated or verbally abused while trying to assist proper distribution of fuel stocks. Such attempts go quite contrary to basic media ethics, too.

The Army fully understands frustrations and difficulties of the public in the present context. Those media clips, needless to reiterate, some of which project Army members as a ‘repressive force’ of undisciplined, impolite nature, are being produced by invisible elements in order to serve different agendas of their masters in order to ridicule members of the Army and cause animosity between civilians and Army personnel.

One such most recent example was the unfortunate incident at Yaggapitiya fuel station in the Dorahitiyawa Police Division. The aggressive nature of the Army member was excessively prioritized in Media in order to ridicule him without projecting the violent behaviour of the drunken civilian. However, the Security Force Headquarters - West on a directive of the Commander of the Army immediately appointed a five-member Court of Inquiry (CoI), headed by a Brigade Commander to go deep into the issue and make its recommendations. Meanwhile, the same civilian in question has now been taken into Police custody. It is also pertinent to recall here how another civilian had meanwhile resorted to violence forcing one Army member to seek admission to Embilipitiya hospital with cut injuries.

Members of the Army and other services at the request of the Police, well aware of the most difficult challenges of the civilians, are day and night committed to their assigned duty roles despite tense and volatile conditions and are tirelessly prepared to serve for the best interests of the civil community all the time. Hence, members of the public are very humbly and kindly requested to coordinate with Army personnel with broader understanding and cordial nature since they have been deployed in respective areas for your own safety and protection as you all have admirably done in the past, too.”