Protests in Columbus: 20 students arrested

Colombo (AsiaNews) - Protests continue in Sri Lanka: yesterday police used tear gas and water cannons against the Inter-University Students Federation (Iusf) who were chanting slogans against President Ranil Wickremasinghe. At least 20 people were arrested, 16 of whom were later released on bail. However, police issued detention orders against the leader of the student organization, Wasantha Mudalige, and two well-known Buddhist monks. The Defense Ministry granted permission for them to be detained for 90 days and interrogated.

Through a statement released today, the U.N. Human Rights Council condemned the repeated use of emergency law to suppress dissent. The document said that since April 22, Sri Lankan authorities have repeatedly used the state of emergency to crush criticism of the government over price increases.

Students marched from Lipton Circle to the Union Palace in Colombo, where police had erected barricades to prevent protesters from advancing. Videos circulated online show that the protest was mostly peaceful, yet riot police dispersed the protesters and chased the fleeing students. Men and women were beaten without distinction.

The officers claim that the students were violating police orders. "It's the same response as always," some activists told AsiaNews. "But we know they just want to get a promotion. Right now, however, they should be thinking about what goes beyond their uniform."

"We are witnessing the enforcement of the anti-terrorism law on Sinhala youth," others added. "It feels like going back to the 1980s. In this way the government could put an end to the Aragalaya," the name for the popular struggle against the Sri Lankan government.Sri Lanka is effectively in financial default, defaulting on more than billion in debt.

The country has been unable to import fuel for months, and inflation has exceeded 54 percent, preventing citizens from buying basic necessities, particularly food and medicine. People's protests against the caravan culminated on July 9 with the occupation of the presidential palace and the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

by Melani Manel Perera
https://www.asianews.it/news-en