Shoot-on-sight order in Lanka, UN criticises violence
GENEVA: UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on tuesday condemned the escalating violence insri Lanka amid the severe economic and political crisis and urged the authorities to prevent further unrest.
She urged restraint and meaningful dialogue to address the grievances of the population, ater deadly clashes in the worst violence in weeks of protests.
“I am deeply troubled by the escalation of violence in Sri Lanka ater supporters of the prime minister atacked peaceful protesters in Colombo yesterday May 9 and the subsequent mob violence against members of the ruling party,” Bachelet said in a statement.
“I condemn all violence and call on the authorities to independently, thoroughly and transparently investigate all atacks that have occurred. It is crucial to ensure that those found responsible, including those inciting or organising violence, are held to account.”
Sri lank an authorities issued shoot-on-sight orders on Tuesday to quell further unrest that has seen buildings and vehicles set ablaze a day ater the island was rocked by deadly violence and rioting.
With thousands of security forces enforcing a curfew, the defence ministry said troops “have been ordered to shoot on sight anyone looting public property or causing harm to life”.
On Monday, government supporters atacked with sticks and clubs demonstrators in Colombo protesting peacefully for weeks over a dire economic crisis and demanding President Gotabaya Raj a pa ks a’ s resignation. mobs then retaliated across the country late into the night, torching dozens of homes of ruling-party politicians and trying to storm the prime minister’s official residence in the capital. Police said on Tuesday eight people had died. Protests continued on Tuesday despite the curfew, with some people defying the shoot-on-sight order to torch buildings and vehicles.
Protesters and a key trade group in Sri Lanka called for a new government to take control of the crisis-hit country on Tuesday.
For months, its totering economy has been largely supported by India, which has provided assistance of more than $3.5 billion as the country began much-delayed talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a rescue package and also sought help from China.
The European Union on Tuesday condemned the “vicious atack” on civilians in Sri Lanka that sparked deadly rioting on the island and called on all sides to avoid further violence.
“The European Union (EU) and its 27 Member States are monitoring closely developments in Sri Lanka. The EU condemns the recent vicious atack against peaceful protestors in Colombo, which triggered further violence ater a month of peaceful demonstrations,” the bloc said in a statement.
Sri Lanka gave emergency powers on Tuesday to its military and police to detain people without warrants, ater a day of clashes that killed seven people and injured more than 200, in violence that prompted Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign.
As the Indian Ocean nation batles its worst economic crisis in history, thousands of protesters had defied curfew to atack government figures, seting ablaze homes, shops and businesses belonging to ruling party lawmakers and provincial politicians.
Despite sporadic reports of unrest, the situation calmed by Tuesday, said police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa, adding that about 200 people had also been injured in violence that led to an islandwide curfew until 7:00am the following day.
The government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the younger brother of the prime minister, outlined broad powers for the military and police to detain and question people without arrest warrants.
The military can detain people for up to 24 hours before handing them to police, while private
The military can detain people for up to 24 hours before handing them to police, while private property can be searched by force, including private vehicles, said the government in a gazete
property can be searched by force, including private vehicles, the government said in a gazete notification on Tuesday.
“Any person arrested by a police officer shall be taken to the nearest police station,” it said, fixing a 24-hour deadline for the armed forces to do the same.
Some analysts expressed concern over the potential for abuse of the emergency measures.
“In a situation where there is both a state of emergency and curfew who can monitor to ensure these regulations are not abused?” said Bhavani Fonseka, of the Centre for Policy Alternatives think tank based in Colombo.
The president had already declared a state of emergency on Friday as protests escalated.
The atacks on government figures came in apparent reprisal for an incident just hours before Rajapaksa’s resignation.
Rajapaksa spoke to hundreds of supporters gathered at his official residence on Monday following reports that he was considering stepping down.
Ater his remarks, many of them, armed with iron bars, stormed a camp of those protesting against the government, beating them and setting fire to their tents.
Police fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse the skirmishers, ater having initially done litle to hold back the government supporters, according to Reuters witnesses.
Thousands streamed into the streets in celebration ater Rajapaksa’s resignation, but the mood quickly became tense.
Protesters atempted to tear down the gates of Temple Trees, his residence in the centre of Colombo, where broken glass and discarded footwear litered the surrounding streets on Tuesday, ater some of the night’s worst clashes.
Military troops patrolled the area, where eight torched vehicles lay partially submerged in a lake. Discarded files and smashed equipment litered the ransacked offices of government officials.
Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic crisis follows a pandemic that hit key tourism earnings, leaving the government grappling with rising oil prices and the impact of populist tax cuts.
It has sought assistance from multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as Asian giants India and China.
Former finance minister Ali Sabry, who resigned on Monday, along with the rest of Rajapaksa’s cabinet, has said useable foreign reserves stand at as litle as $50 million.
Shortages of fuel, food and medicine have brought thousands onto the streets in more than a month of protests that had been mostly peaceful until this week.
Under Sri Lanka’s political system, even with a new unity government, the president will have the power to appoint and fire ministers as well as judges, and enjoy immunity from prosecution.
“Unless President Rajapaksa steps down, no one - whether the masses in the streets or key political stakeholders - will be appeased,” analyst Michael Kugelman from the Wilson centre told AFP.
The protests came ater the coronavirus pandemic hammered the island’s vital income from tourism and remitances, which starved the country of foreign currency needed to pay off its debt.