Attorney-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara said that he is ready to accept responsibility as the Minister of Justice for the clash that has been going on in the Negombo prison since yesterday, leaving 32 people dead.
Speaking to the media this afternoon (06), he further stated that he was deeply shocked by the clash. The Minister further stated
“There is a great shock over the loss of human lives there. We must express our deepest condolences and regret to the families of the deceased. We must go there and find out what happened and ensure that this does not happen again in the future. We are not blaming anyone for this.
There is indeed a shock that this is happening in an institution under my jurisdiction as the Minister of Justice. Therefore, we have to accept that responsibility.
Now, rather than regretting, how did this happen? Where is the problem? Has anyone done anything wrong? How did the problem arise? How can this not happen in the future? There is a need to find solutions to this very soon.
Sometimes such things happen. This cannot be normalized. It cannot be trivialized. Because human lives have been lost. We need to investigate this further.
There is no lack of condolences and shock that we express to the families of the deceased here. Whether he is a prisoner or he is in the underworld is irrelevant to us. No.
There is a great shock that people have died. It should not have happened. Therefore, as the Minister of Justice, we accept the responsibility for it because it is an institution in my hands. We must accept it and solve the problem.
I mean the government. That is why I accepted the responsibility, as the Minister of Justice. I don’t know if the entire government should accept it. But as the Minister of Justice, I have to accept it.”