As his first official visit as Sri Lanka’s Acting President, Ranil Wickremesinghe visited an army hospital in Narahenpita, Colombo where he met with two dozen soldiers injured during the protests in the city’s capital.
The army reports that the soldiers were “brutally assaulted by a group of protestors on Wednesday (13) while on duty near the Parliament complex in Battaramulla”. Sri Lanka’s police have reported that 84 people were injured during clashes between demonstrators and the security forces with at least one person killed.
The person killed was 26-year-old, Jaliya Dissanayake, a youth with a respiratory condition who died during the protests after being exposed to tear gas near the Prime Minister’s Office. Following his death, Sri Lanka’s Police released a statement denying any culpability and accusing him of being “an alcoholic and a drug addict”.
Jaliya Dissanayake (26), a youth with a respiratory condition from Daladagama, 44km north of #Kurunegala in northwestern #SriLanka, died on Wednesday (13) after being exposed to tear gas while taking part in the protest near PM @RW_UNP’s office at Flower Road, #Colombo. pic.twitter.com/4aiNQIgkBg
— JDS (@JDSLanka) July 13, 2022
During the unrest, journalists were also subject to violence and were teargassed. Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International’s South Asia Regional Director, has expressed serious concern over the use of the military to suppress protesters stating:
“The armed forces should not be involved in the policing of public assemblies, since they are trained to fight against enemies and not to protect and control civilians”.
Despite growing international calls, including from the UN Human Rights Council, for restraint in dealing with demonstrators, Wickremesinghe authorised lethal force telling the military to “do whatever is necessary to restore order”.
The statement was followed by claims by Sri Lanka’s army that rifles were snatches by protesters who abused two soldiers. Wickremesinghe warned protesters to “desist from all forms of violence immediately or be prepared to face consequences”.
Throughout the day Wickremesinghe would compare the protesters to fascists stating that:
"We can't tear up our constitution. We can't allow fascists to take over. We must end this fascist threat to democracy".
This follows the burning of his private residence over the weekend, which some have blamed on pro-Rajapaksa elements. Responding to the burning of his house, he maintained that “only Hitlerists would do things like” this.
Thus far, Sri Lanka’s President has not released a statement on the civilians injured and killed during the unrest.