Sri Lanka's besieged presidential office reopens after crackdown on protesters
Colombo (Sri Lanka), July 25: The besieged presidential office reopened on Monday after the Sri Lankan military's crackdown on the anti-government protestors.
Earlier this month, demonstrators enraged by Sri Lanka's unprecedented economic crisis stormed the Presidential office building. Then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country at that time and flew to Singapore by way of the Maldives. After fleeing the country, Rajapaksa offered his resignation.
To disperse demonstrators from the area, the police and a sizable military force launched a raid on Friday near the Presidential Secretariat and the Galle Face protest site. There were several arrests.
The armed soldiers were stationed outside the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat in an effort to disperse protesters who were demonstrating against the country's newly elected president, Ranil Wickremesinghe. Security personnel allegedly raided the anti-government demonstration camp in the capital early on Friday, according to protesters.
At least nine people were arrested during which the tents of protestors are being dismantled by the armed security personnel outside the premises of the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat.
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Meanwhile, the US Ambassador to Colombo, EU, and Human Rights Commission criticised the actions taken by the authorities of the island nation against protestors at Galle Face in the middle of the night.
"Deeply concerned about actions taken against protestors at Galle Face in the middle of the night. We urge restraint by authorities and immediate access to medical attention for those injured," Ambassador Chung said on Twitter.
The European Union (EU) has also highlighted the importance of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
The military operation started within 24 hours of Wickremesinghe being sworn in as the President and just before a new cabinet was appointed.
Wickremesinghe was elected as president in an election held in Parliament on Wednesday and was sworn in on Thursday before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.
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-PTC News
