Thousands of people across Sri Lanka took to the streets yesterday, a day after police opened fire at demonstrators, killing one person and injuring 13 others, reigniting widespread protests amid the nation’s worst economic crisis in decades.
Protesters used vehicles to block key roads in many parts of the country as they demonstrated against the shooting, as well as rising fuel prices and the government’s failure to resolve the deepening economic problems. The shooting was the first by Sri Lankan security forces during weeks of protests.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday in Rambukkana, 90km northeast of Colombo. Fifteen police officers were also admitted to a hospital with minor injuries after clashes with protesters.
Photo: Reuters
Police said the demonstrators had blocked railway tracks and roads, and ignored police warnings to disperse. They also said protesters threw rocks at them.
Thousands of bank, port, health and other state employees also demonstrated yesterday in front of the main railway station in Colombo, condemning the police shooting and demanding that Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign.
They marched on the main road in front of the station shouting slogans and displaying placards that read: “Bring down the cost of living,” “Bow down to the peoples’ verdict” and “Gota go home.” Gota is a shortened version of Rajapaksa’s first name.
The president pledged “an impartial and transparent inquiry” into the police shooting.
Rajapaksa wrote on Twitter that he was “deeply saddened” over the incident and urged “all citizens to refrain from violence as they protest.”
Sri Lankan Minister of Public Security Prasanna Ranatunga said that police had been patient, but needed to use minimal force to stop the protests from escalating into major violence.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa asked parliament: “Does killing a protester mean the use of minimal force?”
“What this murderous and terrorist government does today is the suppression of the people,” he added.
Much of the anger expressed in weeks of growing protests has been directed at Rajapaksa and his elder brother, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who head an influential clan that has been in power for most of the past two decades.
Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, with nearly US$7 billion of its total US$25 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country lacks money to buy imported goods.
US Ambassador Julie Chung and UN Resident Coordinator Hanaa Singer-Hamdy urged restraint from all sides, and called on the authorities to ensure the people’s right to peaceful protest.
Chung also called for an independent investigation into the shooting.
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