Colombo declares emergency after anti-Muslim mob attacks
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA — Sri Lanka’s president declared a state of emergency Tuesday amid fears that anti-Muslim attacks in several central hill towns could spread.
Details of the emergency decree were not immedi- ately announced, and it was unclear how it would affect life on the South Asian island nation, where Buddhist-Mus- lim tensions have flared in recent years with the growth of extremist Buddhist orga- nizations. Life went on as normal Tuesday afternoon in the capital, Colombo, and many other towns and cities, with no signs of increased security.
The areas where the vio- lence eru p ted Monday, outside the town of Kandy, remained under curfew Tuesday, with soldiers and police patrolling the streets and no one allowed outside except for emergencies.
A tweet from the office of President Maithripala Sirisena said the decree would “redress the unsatisfactory security situation prevailing in certain parts of the country.” It said the country’s security forces “have been suitably empowered to deal with criminal elements in the society and urgently restore normalcy.”
While government officials did not specifically mention Buddhist extremists, many comments appeared aimed at them.
The government will “act sternly against groups that are inciting religious hatred,” Cabinet minister mobs swept through the Rauff Hakeem said after a towns outside Kandy, burnmeeting with the president. ing at least 11 Muslim-owned
The emergency announce- shops and homes. The ment came after Buddhist attacks followed reports that a Buddhist man had been killed by a group of Muslims. Police fired tear gas into the crowds, and later announced a curfew in the town.
So far no violence has been reported in other parts of the island nation.
Lakshman Kiriella, a lawmaker from Kandy, said in Par- liament that the attacks were “carried out by outsiders.”
“I am ashamed as a Buddhist and we must apologize to the Muslims,” he declared.
Prime Minister Ranil Wick- remesinghe said the govern- ment condemned the “racist and violent acts.”
“As a nation that endured a brutal war we are all aware of the values of peace, respect, unity and freedom,” he said on Twitter.
Sri Lanka has long been divided between the major- ity Sinhalese, who are overwhelmingly Buddhist, and minority Tamils who are Hindu, Muslim and Christian. The country remains deeply scarred by its 19832009 civil war, when Tamil rebels fought to create an independent homeland. While the rebels were eventually crushed, a religious divide has taken hold in recent years, with hard-line Sinhalese groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert and destroying sacred Buddhist sites.
The U.S. Embassy urged the governm e nt to act quickly against the perpetrators, protect the rights of religious minorities and “conclude the state of emergency swiftly, while protecting human rights and basic freedoms for all.”