Colombo, Apr 20 (PTI) Sri Lanka’s embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday said they were saddened by the Rambukkana shooting that killed a person and injured 13 others as the international community expressed outrage over the use of force on unarmed anti-government protestors demonstrating against the latest fuel price hike.
At least three of the 13 hospitalised protesters at Rambukkana, some 90 kilometers northeast of Colombo, were critical at the Kegalle hospital, according to officials. Fifteen police personnel have also been injured.
This was the first death due to clashes during the ongoing anti-government protests. Earlier, a rap musician died of a heart attack while attending the protest.
Reacting to the “tragedy”, President Gotabaya said that he was “deeply saddened” over the incident and asserted that citizens’ right to peacefully protest will not be hindered.
“Sri Lankan citizens’ right to peacefully protest won’t be hindered. @SL_PoliceMedia will carry out an impartial & transparent inquiry re the incident at Rambukkana which led to the tragedy for which I’m deeply saddened. I urge all citizens to refrain from violence as they protest,” Gotabaya said in a tweet.
Prime Minister Mahinda said he is “deeply distressed” over the Rambukkana violence and hoped for a strict and impartial investigation by the police.
“Deeply distressed following the tragedy in Rambukkana. I have every confidence that a strict, impartial investigation will be carried out by @SL_PoliceMedia who’ve always served #lka with utmost honor. I urge protesters to engage in their civic rights with equal respect & honour,” he said on Twitter.
The remarks of the President and the Prime Minister came after the global community, including the UN, the US and the UK condemned the police action against the unarmed protesters and called for an investigation.
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has appointed a three-member team to investigate the incident.
United Nations Resident coordinator for Sri Lanka Hanaa-Singer Hamdy said she was deeply concerned over the incident in Rambukkana.
“Deeply concerned by reports of harm to protestors in #Rambukkana. Violence by any party involved hinders the rights of all peaceful protestors. Restricting use of force to the minimum extent necessary is vital to protect citizens and their right to exercise fundamental freedoms,” she tweeted.
US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung also condemned the violence and called for a full, transparent investigation into the Rambukkana incident.
“I am deeply saddened by the horrible news coming out of Rambukkana. I condemn any violence – whether against protesters or police – and call for restraint & calm from all sides. A full, transparent investigation is essential & the people’s right to peaceful protest must be upheld,” she tweeted.
British High Commissioner Sarah Hulton condemned the violence in all forms and called for restraint and an independent and transparent investigation into the shooting.
“I am deeply saddened to hear of the loss of life in protests in Rambukkana. An independent and transparent investigation is essential. I condemn violence in all forms and call for restraint. The right to peaceful protest must be protected,” she said.
According to police chief Chandana Wickremaratne, the police curfew imposed in the area would continue.
“Protesters got violent yesterday and blocked the railway track. They were demanding fuel at the old price having waited in the fuel queue for a long time,” he said.
When the police arranged two fuel bowsers, the protesters took out the battery of one of the vehicles, blocking the railway track, Wickremaratne said.
“The police used minimum force by firing tear gas,” the police chief said.
The death of a protester was the first during the ongoing protests over the worst-ever economic crisis in the country’s history.
Top bureaucrat of the public security ministry Jagath Alwis said the protesters tried to set on fire a fuel tanker having 33,000 liters of fuel.
The police were forced to open fire to prevent the bowser from being set in flames by the protesters.
Alwis said a three-member probe committee has been appointed to probe if the police had used excessive power in opening the fire at protesters.
The latest fuel price hike on Monday night triggered street protests in many areas on Tuesday.
Oil entities in the island nation have been hiking the price regularly due to the shortage of fuel.
Sri Lanka is grappling with unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
The island nation is witnessing large-scale protests against the government’s handling of the debt-ridden economy – the worst-ever economic crisis in the country’s history.
Protests demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Sri Lanka Podujana (Peramuna)-led government have intensified as shortages continued and prices soared.
Last week, the Sri Lankan government said it would temporarily default on USD 35.5 billion in foreign debt as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine made it impossible to make payments to overseas creditors. PTI CPS AKJ CPS
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Source: The Print
