Protestors and media assaulted by the troops in Sri Lanka. The president’s act of force criticized and disapproved by the opposition and the president of the Bar of Association of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan soldiers and police attacked the main protest site Galle Face in Colombo on Friday, 22 July earlier in the morning.
After hearing about the new Presidentship of Ranil Wickremesinghe, the demonstrators announced that they will leave the premises by Friday afternoon.
But according to sources, the military was deployed with Wickremesinghe’s permission right before when the demonstrators agreed to vacate the area.
Tearing down the tents of the protestors
The area was under attack by the forces around 2 A.M. They brutally took down the tents of the demonstrators including the deaf community and the troops with disabilities by tearing them off.
They even attacked those who were trying to get footage of the event.
The entries and roads connecting to the Presidential Secretariat were also banned. The media was also denied of the entry.
People got arrested and at least 50 protestors were injured including lawyers and journalists, who were debarred of the entry.
Why did the protests happened and protestors were attacked
The protestors, however, were going on peacefully but it took a different turn on 9 July 2022 when the peaceful protestors broke their peace and breached the law by entering the premises of the President’s residence and the PM’s office.
This happened because the citizens came to know that Ranil was made the acting President when the former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled from the island amid the economic crisis.
Ranil allegedly preparing a severe State crackdown to put an end to protests, according to what Aragalaya says, which in Sinhala means “the struggle”, the unofficial term for the current protesters’ movement.
Additionally, he contrasted between “peaceful protestors” and the “rioters”.
Now, this is because he sworn after his confirmation as the new president that he will be taking action against the demonstrators and also gave a warning that possessing state premises is considered illegal. For those who fiddle with the law, serious actions will be taken.
This could possibly be the reason behind this attack on the protestors.
However, on Wednesday when Ranil was confirmed as the president, who sworn in as the eighth President of Sri Lanka on Thursday, the protestors were willing to continue the peaceful demonstrations. They considered Wickremesinghe as an illegitimate president.
The peaceful protests have been ongoing since March-April when the situations started to make difficulties in the regular routine of the citizens.
They started facing excessive power failures, shortages of fuel supplies, and a hike in the price of basic amenities like food and medicines. This was all because of poorly taken financial management and political decisions.
The frustrations of the citizens came down to the street and forced the president to flee, but along with that the news of the acting president as Ranil Wickremesinghe created more havoc among the protestors because of which they breached the law and entered into the Presidential residence, that further compelled the then president Rajapaksa to resign.
Opposition commented and others reacted to it
Sajith Premadasa, who is the opposition leader stated this was an act of cowardly assault against peaceful protestors.
The president of the Bar of Association of Sri Lanka also expressed his thoughts regarding the turmoil caused by Ranil criticizing the use of force.
Ranil could prove his worth
Well, the acting President now confirmed President started on the wrong foot with the citizens by declaring an emergency causing a state of anguish and rage.
Due to this, some may consider him to give a second chance for Sri Lanka whereas others won’t.
He has been a five-time prime minister and multiple times finance minister under the rule of Rajapaksa government, so he is considered to be the contributor to the grave economic crisis that the island is facing.
At the same time, a fact cannot be overlooked here that the President has also worked with the IMF and had prior accomplishments with economic strategies.
This could turn out to be beneficial for the country or as we hope so. Or maybe Ranil would face more citizens’ wrath after his recent use of force.
Also Read : Amid the Sri-Lankan Crisis: Dinesh Gunawardena likely to be Sri Lanka’s next PM
