Opposition MP Kabir Hashim revealed that he had received information that members of the military had visited the home of the Rambukkana victim and requested the family to not proceed with funeral arrangements along with the villagers.55 Opposition MP Harin Fernando quoted a social media post allegedly published by the Army Commander, Shavendra Silva, which stated that the man killed in Rambukkana was an aide affiliated with UNP and SJB political parties, and asked if this was the reason why he had been killed.56 MP Prasanna Ranatunga, Minister of Public Security made a statement in Parliament regarding the Rambukkana incident; excerpts from his statement were reported as follows: “Minister Ranatunga stated that the Rambukkana demonstrators were trying to set to fire to a 33,000 litres fuel bowser, and said that if the fuel bowser was burned there would be no Rambukkana today.”57 “He further stated that the government, including the President, would like to express its regret with regard to the Rambukkana incident, to the House and the people of the country, as well as to the family of the person who died in the incident and to those who were injured during it, while also hoping for their quick recovery. He also expressed his regret to the police officers who were injured and hospitalized while attempting to maintain law and order during the events. Minister Ranatunga stated that protests have been carried out across the country over the past couple of days and that they are a government that has accepted the people’s right to protest. However, he said that they are also a responsible government that understands the need to maintain and safeguard the daily-to-day lives of the average citizens who are not engaging in protests. He accused the opposition parties of organizing and giving leadership to the protests across the country and said that those who gave leadership to these protests are also responsible for this situation. He said the police took every possible action to control the situation during the incident in Rambukkana and charged that the ‘Military visits Rambukkanavictims home, not allowing villagers to conduct funeral: Kabir Hashim’ The Morning, 20 April 2022.https://www.themorning.lk/military-visits-rambukkana-victims-home-not-allowing-villagers-to-conductfuneral-kabir-hashim/ 56 ‘Kalani Kumarasinghe – MP @fernandoharin quotes from a social media post allegedly published by Army Commander Shavendra Silva. According to the post he reads, the man killed in #Rambukkana was an aide affiliated with UNP & SJB. "Was this the reason to kill him? he questions. #SriLanka’ – Twitter, 20 April 2022. https://twitter. com/KalaniWrites/status/1516647377406287873 57 ‘If the oil bowser had caught fire there would be no Rambukkana today’ Lankadeepa, 20 April 2022 https://www. lankadeepa.lk/news/%E0%B6%AD%E0%B7%99%E0%B6%BD%E0%B7%8A-%E0%B6%B6%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%94 %E0%B7%83%E0%B6%BB%E0%B6%BA%E0%B6%A7-%E0%B6%9C%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%92-%E0%B6 %AD%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%B6%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%B6%E0%B7%8F-%E0%B6%B1%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%85%E0%B6%AF-%E0%B6%BB%E0%B6%B9%E0%B7%94%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%9A%E0%B6%B1%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A-%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%91/101-611763 55 15