More than 100 arrested in new Sri Lanka “Grease Devil” clash

| Published on August 24, 2011 at 1:07 am

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse: "Do not joke with the forces"

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan authorities on Tuesday arrested more than 100 people who threw rocks at police and soldiers who stopped them from chasing men thought to be “grease devils,” or nighttime prowlers who have sparked an island wide spate of deadly violence.

At least five people including a police officer have been killed over the past two weeks in bouts of vigilantism and clashes, prompting deployment of the army and opposition accusations that the government may use the panic to keep wartime emergency laws in place.

Nocturnal assaulter

Roughly 40 “grease devil” incidents have been reported in nine districts of the country, mostly in areas inhabited by minority Muslim or Tamil people as the government and opposition trade blame over the crisis.

Traditionally, a “grease devil” was a thief who wore only underwear and smeared grease over his body to evade capture.

But it became known as a nocturnal assaulter after a series of ultimately unrelated murders of elderly women arose in a southern area populated by the majority Sinhalese people.

Latest clash

The latest clash, in the military-controlled northern city of Jaffna, followed a familiar pattern. People chased unidentified men thought to be “grease devils,” and then threw rocks at security forces who stopped them from pursuit.

“When the police searched the area for grease devils, people reacted angrily. So police took 100 people for questioning,” military spokesman Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi said. A total of 102 were later arrested.

Nevin Pathmadeva, senior superintendent of police in Jaffna, said 22 people including four police officers were injured.

Beaten with batons

Three area residents told Reuters the army shot into the air when they tried to chase the men, who ran into a nearby military camp. Police and soldiers later beat them with batons.

“I saw black-colored grease men with bare bodies and underwear running into the army camp when the military blocked us from chasing them,” one of the three residents told Reuters.

All three spoke on condition of anonymity, for fear of angering the authorities. The government has warned of severe punishment for anyone spreading “grease devil” rumors.

“DO NOT JOKE WITH THE FORCES”

Jaffna has been under military control since 1995, when the army wrested it back from the Tamil Tiger separatists. Sri Lanka defeated the Tigers in May 2009, ending a 25-year civil war.

Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s younger brother and a decorated infantry officer who was the architect of the war victory, said the security forces had nothing to do with the “grease devil” mayhem.

Terrorist acts

“Surrounding military camps and attacking the forces are terrorist acts. Our forces are capable of facing any threat after facing a 30-year brutal terrorist war. So do not try to joke with the forces,” he said at a meeting with leaders of mosques, which the government has said it will protect.

Sri Lanka has suffered from widespread impunity that has flourished amid three insurgencies since 1971, and public anger at ineffective policing has frequently turned violent.

“People in frustration have sought to take law in to their own hands,” the Women’s Action Network, a body of women’s groups working with victims of sexual violence in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, said in a statement.

(Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

Taken from http://news.yahoo.com/more-100-arrested-sri-lanka-grease-devil-clash-153401105.html


4 Comments to “More than 100 arrested in new Sri Lanka “Grease Devil” clash”

  • I am very much concerned that people attempt to create so many divisions and rifts during times when demonstrating UNITY is the only answer that we should send out to the world that continues to work towards the total demolition of Sri Lanka. Did our loved ones who were forcibly robbed away from us lose their lives for us to continue attacking each other? If that is going to be the case, the 80.000 + 1 (Lassantha) who sacrificed their lives were wasted for nothing.
    We should stop seeing that one single individual as the only personal loss we suffered. As for me, every single individual whose life was robbed is an immediate next of kin, a very precious loved-one lost for ever.
    How can we say “thank you for being with and for us” and pay tribute to the supreme sacrifices they made when we continue to create rifts and continue digging more graves for others? Will that +1 want it to happen and will he be happy? I doubt it very much. Sri Lanka lost many great sons and daughters within a very short time, and it will take another few centuries to overcome the terrible losses, so the unanswered question is, are we going to keep ourselves busy digging pits for another 80.000 + 1? That wouldn’t be the way to pay tribute to every single love we lost. Making mistakes is human, forgiving is a God’s act, booth are in us, all depends on which one we use. Be strong Sonali, good luck.

  • It is reported in Sri Lanka that a bogus website operated by a woman whose name in known in Sri Lanka is behind the fear monger campaign. As confessed by an arrested man he had been paid Rupees 10.000.00 to do the job of scaring people to test the reaction by the public ad that it was for the purpose of testing the reaction by the people. The officials have now found out that the bogus website posing as a Sri Lankan news publication online is behind the campaign targeting to discredit the president. I see quite a few parallels between the stories published here and the statement made by the arrested man.

  • Remember 335542X35 ?

  • This sounds like a bad joke by a few people who did not appreciate the fact that Sri Lanka has become a far safer place after the Tamil terrorists were killed and it seems as if some people still amuse themselves by fear and hatemongering but they are not the small criminals and jobless youths but people who call themselves Journalists who are seated thousands of kilometres far away from reality, seated behind computers in a far away country. Looking at the track records of these people we do not have to wonder when people who suffered in the hands of Tamil terrorists since decades will resort to any means to get rid of these fear and hatemongering menaces who have placed prize tags for their own heads. People who suffered terrible hardships since decades will resort to any means to get rid of every menace.

    If the killing of ruthless terrorists in self-defence is justified, who should care when a hate and fear mongering menace is eradicated? Return to the country where you came from to find the answer. With the latest and most efficient despatch services we could also deliver the answer right up to your doorsteps with the best compliments from the people of Sri Lanka..



Issues

More than 100 arrested in new Sri Lanka “Grease Devil” clash

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse: "Do not joke with the forces" COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan authorities on Tuesday arrested more than 100 people who threw rocks ...