Penang Deputy Chief Minister I P Ramasamy has denounced the violence against Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Malaysia Ibrahim Ansar, who was allegedly assaulted at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport yesterday.

“We do not encourage violence, you cannot condemn violence by acting violently,” Ramasamy said at a press conference in Komtar today.

Ramasamy said Ibrahim, as well as a Buddhist monk who was also allegedly assaulted in a protest in Kuala Lumpur, were merely civilians.

He urged the police to act immediately to arrest the perpetrators and charge them in court.

“There seems to be a small group of protestors who threw water bottles at the Federal Reserve Unit members, they seem to want to attract attention,” Ramasamy said.

He was referring to confirmation by Inpector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar that Ibrahim was assaulted at KLIA yesterday.

DAP youths joined the protest at the Putra World Trade Centre. Ramasamy, who was supposed to join them on Sunday, did not do so due to work commitments.

Head injuries

According to Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the high commissioner was assaulted by a group, and the ministry was working with authorities in Malaysia to identify the perpetrators.

Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror alleged the high commissioner had suffered head injuries, while another person was also injured.

The group of Sri Lankan officials had reportedly met with the protestors at the airport, as they arrived to send off a Sri Lankan MP who had been accompanying former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Ramasamy said Ibrahim or the monk were not responsible for the massacre of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

“Buddhism is peaceful religion but in Sri Lanka, the religion has been ethnicised; we protest, and ask the Sri Lanka government to address grievances of Tamilians. Many are still missing, while others have been abused and raped,” Ramasamy said.

“We urge for an international probe on the violence against Tamilians in Sri Lanka, as you cannot have a reconciliation without parties being held accountable for these crimes,” he added.

Ramasamy said the Malaysian government was insensitive, and had allowed Rajapaksa to attend a conference in Kuala Lumpur last Friday.

“Would they invited the prime minister of Israel to attend a conference in KL? Malaysia does not seem to have a moral stand on these issues,” he declared.

Rajapaksa's presence drew protestors, who called for his deportation. His administration has been credited with defeating the armed insurgency by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009, ending 26 years of civil war.