Responding to Sri Lanka’s state of emergency, which followed massive protests outside the President’s residency, the European Union has raised concern and stressed the need to respect democratic rights.
On Twitter they stated:
Concerned by the state of emergency, EU strongly urges Sri Lankan authorities to safeguard democratic rights of all citizens, including right to free assembly and dissent, which has to be peaceful. Challenging times for Sri Lankan people- EU continues to follow situation closely
— EU in Sri Lanka (@EU_in_Sri_Lanka) April 2, 2022
The EU statement follows similar remarks by the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka which maintained that the right to protest is “essential for the democratic expression”.
Sri Lankans have a right to protest peacefully - essential for democratic expression. I am watching the situation closely, and hope the coming days bring restraint from all sides, as well as much needed economic stability and relief for those suffering.
— Ambassador Julie Chung (@USAmbSL) April 2, 2022
Sri Lanka’s police have enforced a strict curfew across parts of Colombo and have called in the military to suppress dissenters. Sri Lanka’s President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has decried the protesters as “extremists” whilst another government minister claimed that “terrorists” were behind the demonstration”.
The demonstrations outside the President were initially peaceful with the crowd having a mixture of mothers and children. They were responding to the dire economic situation in Sri Lanka which has seen routine power outages and shortages of essential items impacting the whole island.
As the demonstration grew Sri Lanka’s notorious Special Task Force (STF) was deployed alongside increased police personnel. Sri Lanka’s police use tear gas, water cannons, and batons against protesters without warning leading to escalating violence.
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