Special Police To Sri Lankan Military Raid Protester's Headquarters, Nine People Arrested

Protests in Sri Lanka. (Wikimedia Commons/AntanO)

JAKARTA - Sri Lankan security forces raided a protest camp that occupied a government courtyard in the main city of Colombo on Friday morning and cleared parts of it, a sign that the country's new president is cracking down a day after taking his oath.

Media footage showed soldiers in riot gear and armed with assault rifles tearing down the camp, which was set up in April by protesters angered by the country's economic collapse, which has led to severe shortages of fuel, food and medicine.

"A joint operation involving military, police and police special forces was launched in the early hours of the morning to recover the presidential secretariat from the protesters as they have no legal right to detain them," police spokesman Nalin Thalduwa told Reuters, quoted on July 22.

"Nine people, including two who were injured, have been arrested."

Protesters fear a crackdown is imminent under new President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is seen as an ally of his ousted predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Protest organizers said hundreds of security personnel surrounded the "Gota Go Gama" protest camp, named after Rajapaksa, after midnight and then dismantled part of it.

As dawn broke, dozens of troops marched through the area and the rows of protest tents that stood on both sides of the main road that ran in front of the president's office were completely emptied. Dozens of protesters stood, looking at the newly erected barricades and security personnel.

At least 50 protesters were injured, organizers said, including several journalists who were beaten by security forces. Hospital sources said two were hospitalized.

"They beat us very badly," said Buddhika Abeyrathne, a protester who witnessed the raid but did not appear injured.

"Mr. Wickremesinghe doesn't know what democracy is," he cried.

After besieging the protest camp, security officers moved in front of the presidential secretariat, began to dismantle several tents and attack protesters, protest organizer Manjula Samarasekara said.

Security forces appear to have taken control of the entire secretariat, with more personnel seen inside the perimeter of the building seized earlier this month by protesters, along with the official residences of the president and prime minister. The residence was then handed back to government authorities.

Protest organizer Chameera Dedduwage told Reuters they had planned to hand over the presidential secretariat to government authorities by Friday afternoon. Police say they have no information about it.

"The excessive force and violence used to evict protesters is a stark contrast to what Sri Lanka needs right now, especially when the protesters have said they will vacate the premises," said Bhavani Fonseka, a senior research fellow at the think tank based in the US. Colombo Policy. Alternative Center.

Sri Lanka has been under a state of emergency since Monday. Emergency regulations have previously been used to give the military powers to detain and arrest protesters, and limit the right to protest.

Wickremesinghe, a former prime minister, was sworn in on Thursday after winning a parliamentary vote this week, following the resignation of Rajapaksa who fled to Singapore amid massive public protests sparked by the country's worst economic crisis in seven decades. Read more

The president is expected to appoint Rajapaksa ally Dinesh Gunewardena as prime minister along with the new cabinet on Friday.