The Prime Minister has ordered the Culture Ministry to cancel the contract with a government owned security company that provided security at the Independence  Square.

This came after a silent protest was held within the Independence Square limited against the decision to bar young couples from sitting together at the Independence Square. The protest sparked after a footage went viral on Facebook showing security personnel ordering a couple to leave the Independence Square as they sat together at the venue.

Deputy Minister Harsha de Silva, in a Facebook status update said, “PM ordered the Culture Ministry to cancel the contract with this government owned security company, to remove the Director Operations and issue a statement. The LRDC Security company chairman has already complied with the last two in the last hour!

This afternoon on behalf of the Government I met with the ‘Occupy the Square’ protesters who had come to Independence Square to protest against the regular harassment of people couples by security guards who seem to have got enormous power to chase them away based on all kinds of weird interpretations of ‘decency’.

The Director Operations of the security company had been appointed to the post by the former Secretary Defence and is a sitting member of the Kotte municipal council!

In the video that is circulating widely the guards say they have been asked to chase couples away unless accompanied by children. Today they argued with me that holding hands, putting a hand on the shoulder etc are indecent acts and won’t be tolerated.

I reported the matter to PM who issued the above instructions to ensure that young people in this country can enjoy their freedom in a decent manner. This is the democracy we fought to establish in this country.”