August 02, Colombo (LNW): Opposition MP Namal Rajapaksa has blamed the latest prison unrest on what he described as poor management, negligence and a deteriorating prison system, calling on the government to implement urgent reforms instead of relying solely on increased security.
In a statement shared on social media, Rajapaksa questioned how many more lives would be lost if the underlying issues within the prison system remained unaddressed.
He said that the latest incident was the second major prison disturbance within a matter of weeks, arguing that it was no longer an isolated event but a symptom of systemic failures.
Rajapaksa also criticised the government for failing to appoint a permanent Commissioner General of Prisons, despite the ongoing crisis, and questioned why the key position had yet to be filled.
While acknowledging that deploying additional security personnel may temporarily contain unrest, he said it would not resolve the root causes of the problem. He pointed to prison overcrowding, inadequate facilities, poor healthcare and the lack of meaningful rehabilitation programmes as issues requiring immediate attention.
“A prison sentence takes away a person’s liberty, not their dignity,” Rajapaksa said, urging the government to move beyond short-term responses and undertake comprehensive reforms to address what he described as clear signs of institutional failure within the prison system.