Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had ordered the Culture Ministry to cancel the contract with this government owned security company, in charge of the security at the Independence Square.
"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'," de Silva said in a statement, soon after the protest.
"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!," he also added
"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 the Prime Minister 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," the Deputy Minister explained.
