COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s new president Ranil Wickremesinghe informed diplomats this week that non-violent protests towards his government is going to be allowed to continue, including in the commercial capital Colombo, his office mentioned in a statement on Sunday (Jul 24).
Within a pre-dawn raid on Friday, countless security personnel disassembled part of an anti-government protest camp outside of the presidential secretariat, increasing fears of a wider crackdown by Wickremesinghe who was sworn per day earlier.
“President Ranil Wickremesinghe has reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to upholding the rights associated with peaceful, non-violent assembly, ” his office said in a statement, describing a meeting with Colombo-based envoys.
“The Diplomats were also briefed at the measures being taken to ensure that non-violent protests were allowed to move forward within the city without having endangering property or even lives. ”
Friday’s raid drew condemnation from the Un and Western envoys who urged the federal government to exercise restraining, saying the use of force could further destabilise the island nation struggling its worst recession in seven decades.
Wickremesinghe had taken office following success in a parliamentary election after his successor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled the nation and resigned after mass protests triggered simply by his mishandling of the economy.
The country of 22 million people has been struggling persistent shortages associated with fuel, food and various other necessities, having run out of foreign exchange to bring in essential imports.