Reuters
Sri Lanka’s new president says non-violent protests can continue after crackdown
Sri Lanka’s new President Ranil Wickremesinghe told diplomats this week that non-violent protests against his government will be allowed to continue, including in the commercial capital Colombo, his office said in a statement on Sunday. In a pre-dawn raid on Friday, hundreds of security personnel dismantled part of an anti-government protest camp outside the presidential secretariat, raising fears of a wider crackdown by Wickremesinghe who was sworn in a day earlier. “President Ranil Wickremesinghe has reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to upholding the rights of peaceful, non-violent assembly,” his office said in a statement, describing a meeting with Colombo-based envoys.
