PSD coercion at Govt. Press
Government Printer Neville Nanayakkara was forced to carry out his duties to print the gazette notification of prorogation of parliament under an unprecedented Presidential security and an army guard.

Presidential security personnel dressed in civvies, producing their identity cards stormed the building accompanied by a Presidential Secretariat officer and army guards around 2 p.m. last Tuesday and gave instructions to print the Gazette notification.

Sources said that at least 60 personnel were present and that over 15 trailer motor cycles on which some of them arrived were also in front of the gate of the Government Press. They had reportedly waited there for several hours till the Gazette notification was published.

Commenting about the incident, Mr. Nanayakkara told The Sunday Times that an Additional Secretary from the Presidential Secretariat had come with the notice and handed it over to him.

Eyewitnesses told The Sunday Times that the police, Army and the PSD were present in and around the premises of the Government Press on Tuesday.

Even the PSD personnel who were in civvies had pistols in their possession and they were in the premises for two to three hours, they added.

Answering questions regarding this, PSD Chief A. Rodrigo said that he was unaware of the presence of any PSD officers in the Government Press.

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