By Shakir Husain
NEW DELHI, July 22 (NNN-Bernama) — Sri Lanka’s new administration faced strong criticism on Friday over a raid on the main anti-government protest site in Colombo.
Police and security forces moved in to clear the Galle Face protester camp, which has been a centre of protests since April in the early hours of Friday.
The action comes as President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was sworn in on Thursday, seeks to control the country’s economic and political turmoil.
He appointed schoolmate and senior lawmaker Dinesh Gunawardena as prime minister on Friday.
While the months of public protests have forced the powerful Rajapaksa family, blamed for the current crisis, out of key government roles there is resentment against Wickremesinghe as well.
Condemnation against the raid on the protest site near the Presidential Secretariat was swift and strong.
“The use of the armed forces to suppress civilian protests on the very first day in office of the new president is despicable and will have serious consequences on our country’s social, economic and political stability,” the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) said in a statement.
“A cowardly assault against peaceful protesters, who agreed to vacate the sites today,” opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said.
He said it was “a useless display of ego and brute force” that put lives at risk and harmed Sri Lanka’s international image.
“Deeply concerned about actions taken against protestors at Galle Face in the middle of the night. We urge restraint by authorities and immediate access to medical attention for those injured,” US ambassador Julie Chung said.
Sri Lanka is making desperate diplomatic efforts to secure foreign funds to overcome its worst financial crisis since its independence from British colonial rule in 1948.
Inflation worsened in June to almost 60 per cent from about 45 per cent in May, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on Thursday.
— NNN-BERNAMA
