Everything you need to know about the emergency In Sri Lanka
Sinhalese Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the districts ofKandy and Ampara.- A state of
emergency was declared inSri Lanka on March 6th. - The situation has since stabilised. The government has blocked access to social media and messaging platforms in the affected regions.
The move was a direct response to the outbreak of riots and clashes between members of the Sinhalese Buddhist community, which comprise 75% of the national population, and the Muslim minority, which make up about 10%, in the central district of Kandy and the eastern district of Ampara.
Sri Lanka is no stranger to
Since coming to power in early 2015, the coalition government of President Maithripala Sirisena has done a poor job of quelling communal dissent and clipping the wings of organisations like the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), a Sinhalese extremist group. The most recent clashes follow a strong performance by the party of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa in local elections. A number of hardline Sinhalese outfits like the BBS are known to support Rajapaksa.
Timeline:
Feb 22nd
Feb 27th
A group of Sinhalese men, who were said to be intoxicated, raided a Muslim-owned restaurant in Ampara, claiming that the establishment laced its food with ‘vandapethi’, a chemical that is believed to result in impotence. The anger of the men stemmed from the belief that Muslims have a clandestine agenda to become the majority group in the Sri Lanka. A cashier at the restaurant was forced to admit that the food was adulterated.
The raid was followed by riots, in which a number of shops and a mosque were vandalised. A police force was deployed to the area.
Police investigations underway to arrest a group who destroyed a mosque & several shops in Ampara town early this morning pic.twitter.com/3k9rJTQRVJ
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) February 27, 2018
March 3rd
March 4th
In response to Kumarasinghe’s death, a Sinhalese mob attacked and looted Muslim establishments, residences and mosques in Teldeniya. A number of Sinhalese men also shut down their shops to protest the police’s supposed lack of action against Mr Kumarasinghe’s killers.
Night: Two Buddhist extremist clerics, Ampitiye Sumana and Amith Weerasinghe, were reported to be seen inciting riots in the area.
March 5th
11 AM: A mob of Sinhalese men banded together in Teldeniya after a call to assemble was disseminated via social media. They started burning Muslim properties in the town soon after. They also called for the release of 24 men who were arrested.STF security provided to Teldeniya, Kandy after several racially motivated incidents reported after a death of a person few days ago due to a personal dispute, murderers arrested, Over 12 arrested for attacking a shop last night
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) March 5, 2018
4 PM: A curfew was imposed in Kandy by the police until 6 AM the following morning.
8 PM: Mangala Samaraweera, Sri Lanka’s minister for finance and media, made his voice heard.
10:44 PM: The Sri Lankan government issued an official statement condemning the violence.Enough is enough. Inciting racial violence must be made a nonbailable offence & politicians who give leadership should have their civic rights revoked. #lka pic.twitter.com/XLRnxnASZx
— Mangala Samaraweera (@MangalaLK) March 5, 2018
Statement by the Government on recent incidents of violence in #Ampara and #Digana areas in #SriLanka. #lka pic.twitter.com/Bz9XTBeDkI
— Mahishini Colonne (@MFASriLanka) March 5, 2018
March 6th
Morning: The body of Abdul Basith, a 27-year-old Muslim, was found in the remains of a shop in Kandy. The shop was reportedly set ablaze the previous day by Sinhalese Buddhists.
5:34 PM: The country’s Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a national state of emergency on Twitter.
As a nation that endured a brutal war we are all aware of the values of peace, respect, unity & freedom. The Govt condemns the racist & violent acts that have taken place over the last few days. A state of emergency has been declared & we will not hesitate to take further action.
— Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) March 6, 2018
Around four mosques, 46 shops, 37 houses and 35 cars in Kandy had been vandalised up until this point, according to Hidayath Sathar, a member of Kandy’s provincial council.
9:23 PM: The Sri Lankan government sent military reinforcements to Kandy as the violence continued.
Govt decides deploy more Army personnel to Kandy after reports of more tension in past few hours #lka
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) March 6, 2018
11:03 PM: The US Embassy in Sri Lanka issued a security alert for US citizens.
March 7th
Morning: The police curfew was re-imposed in Kandy again. The government decided to prevent access to social media websites like Facebook and Twitter in the affected regions.
No one in Sri Lanka can be marginalized or threatened or harmed due to their ethnicity or religion. We are One Country and One people. Love, trust and acceptance should be our common mantra. No place for racism and violence. STOP. Stand together and stand strong.
— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) March 7, 2018
2:10 PM: A tweet from DialogAxiata, Sri Lanka’s major internet provider, confirmed that access to social media platforms and messaging services would be curtailed indefinitely.Disgusting and sickening to see the acts of violence in Sri Lanka. I condemn strongly and to bring the involved culprits to justice. I request people of Sri Lanka to be wise and stay together in these tough times
— Sanath Jayasuriya (@Sanath07) March 7, 2018
Notice to Subscribers | විශේෂ නිවේදනයයි | வாடிக்கையாளர்களுக்கான அறிவித்தல் pic.twitter.com/j2TVGP7Yzy
— Dialog Axiata (@dialoglk) March 7, 2018
The mob violence continued in Kandy as dozens of Muslim shops and houses were attacked. All government schools in the region were ordered shut until further notice.
March 8th
Morning: Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division arrested Amith Weerasinghe and 9 other people for their role in inciting violence.
10 AM: The police curfew was lifted.
12:44 PM: A government official told the police that the rumored sterilising substance that triggered the violence in Ampara on February 27th was actually flour.
Particles that were found in food at an shop in Ampara, which was earlier rumoured to be sterilizing pills, were clumps of flour, Govt Analyst reported to Police.
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) March 8, 2018
Afternoon: A peaceful march took place in the capital city of Colombo. Two prominent television actors were said to be in attendance.
A peaceful protest held in Colombo showing solidarity against the clashes . #Koombiyo stars Jehan, Maldeniya also seen #kandy #srilanka #Unity pic.twitter.com/vMx84XMMUk
— Umair Wolid (@umairwolid) March 8, 2018
5:24 PM: The Colombo Gazette reported that Jeffrey Feltman, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, had arrived in Sri Lanka.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs arrives in Sri Lanka https://t.co/dUjhmEgeBN via @colombogazette #srilanka #lka
— Colombo Gazette (@colombogazette) March 8, 2018
The streets have been cleared out and the situation was reported to be improving. As things stand, the emergency is expected to last for ten days, after which the Sri Lankan Parliament will debate an extension.
- CEO says he tried to hire an AI researcher from Meta, and was told to 'come back to me when you have 10,000 H100 GPUs'
- We bought a house in Japan for $30,000. We'll have more land than we could afford in the US, and our kids will be more independent.
- Rumors Prince William is having an affair with Rose Hanbury are flooding social media again after Stephen Colbert waded into 'Katespiracy'
- Lenovo launches new lineup of gaming laptops with AI features in India
- Famous temples to visit in Madhya Pradesh
- Mobile Number Portability revamped to reduce SIM swap frauds – Here are the new rules
- Local production of EVs a work in progress: Audi India Head
- AI can identify clinically anxious youth based on brain structure: Study