Sri Lanka’s international image dealt a body blow after brutal assault on peaceful protestors

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s parliament-elected new President Ranil Wickremesinghe saw his presidency get off to the worst possible start, as hundreds of police and military personnel carried out an all-out assault on peaceful protestors, journalists and lawyers at the GotaGoGama protest site at the Galle Face Green, drawing widespread condemnation at home and internationally.

The military in Sri Lanka took control of the presidential secretariat in Colombo on July 22, after what members of the country’s months-long protest movement described as a “brutal assault” in the dead of night. Protestors were beaten and assaulted as soldiers overnight destroyed tents at the adjacent GotaGoGama protest site, arrested several protest leaders and cordoned off the area together with about 100 protesters, preventing access to media, lawyers and activists. More than 50 were injured and 9 people were arrested and later released on bail. The military assault came hours after the protesters had earlier withdrawn from the camp in front of Temple Trees, the prime minister’s official residence and announced their intention to withdraw from the presidential secretariat in the afternoon of July 22.

Western nations led by the US severely condemned the use of force on peaceful protestors and international human rights groups urged President Wickremesinghe to immediately order security forces to cease use of force against protesters after troops and police cleared their main camp following months of demonstrations over the country’s economic meltdown. Even as Sri Lanka awaits some sort of progress in its talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to kick-start economic recovery, the latest attack on peaceful protestors places a big question mark on the government’s true intentions.

US ambassador Julie Chung, tweeted that she had met President Wickremesinghe to express “my grave concern over the unnecessary & deeply troubling escalation of violence against protesters overnight.   The President & cabinet have an opportunity and an obligation to respond to the calls of Sri Lankans for a better future.”

“This is not the time to crack down on citizens, but instead to look ahead at the immediate and tangible steps the Government can take to regain the trust of the people, restore stability, and rebuild the economy.”

British Ambassador Sarah Hulton: “Very concerned about reports from the Galle Face protest site. We have made clear the importance of the right to peaceful protest.”

Canadian ambassador David Mckinnon: “Hearing what is happening at the Galle Face protest site. Not sure why this is happening now. It is crucial the authorities act with restraint and avoid violence”.

Swiss ambassador Dominik Furlger : “Follow developments at Galle Face with deep concern. The right to peacefully demonstrate and express opinions remains important. We urge for restraint and full access of medical services. Sri Lanka needs mutual respect and cooperation to get on.”

United Nations resident co-ordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy: “Actions that stifle protests and the right to peaceful assembly can worsen economic and political instability in Sri Lanka.”

UN Human Rights Council’s Sri Lanka Core Group (Canada, Germany, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, US and UK)

“Peaceful protest is fundamental to any democracy. The Human Rights Council Sri Lanka Core Group is dismayed at the violence which took place at Galle Face last night. We call for full respect for human rights and the rule of law.”

European Union expects the new Government of Sri Lanka to work in full compliance with its GSP+ commitments

“Following Sri Lanka’s Parliament swift action to elect Ranil Wickremesinghe as new President of the country in the wake of President Rajapaksa’s resignation, the EU underlines the need of upholding freedom of opinion and expression and individual rights of Sri Lankan citizens in the process of a democratic, peaceful and orderly transition. In the light of reports of unnecessary violence against protestors, the EU stresses the importance of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and condemns the unwarranted use of force against peaceful demonstrators.

“The urgency of the domestic situation requires the swift establishment and implementation of a structured plan of reforms in order to return the country’s economy back onto a sustainable path. In this context, it is essential to safeguard human rights and the rule of law while fostering good and inclusive governance and promoting reconciliation efforts.

“The EU will continue to support all efforts in favour of Sri Lankan people, aimed at returning to more stability and economic recovery and advancing reconciliation agenda, in full respect of democratic values.

“Over the years, the EU and its member states have provided more than EUR 1billion in assistance to the Sri Lankan people. The re-introduction in 2017 of preferential access to the European Single Market under the GSP+ scheme has been essential for Sri Lanka’s economic development. The EU expects the new Government to work in full compliance with its GSP+ commitments. Current and future cooperation programmes (EUR 70 million) are being aligned with Sri Lanka’s most pressing needs. In addition to delivering medicines through the EU’s Joint Civil Protection Mechanism, member states and the EU are closely monitoring food security on the island in order to fund actions targeting the most vulnerable communities.”

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence, commented: “We are alarmed by the unnecessary use of force reportedly employed by Sri Lanka’s security forces to break up a protest camp near presidential offices in Colombo – only hours before the protesters indicated that it was due to be dismantled. We condemn the reports of beatings of protesters, journalists and lawyers.

“In the early hours of Friday, when most of the protesters were sleeping, an estimated 2,000 security personnel, including police and military, stormed the area and tore down their tents. The security forces allegedly beat protesters and at least 48 people were injured. Protesters were not allowed to leave the protest site for several hours and those who were injured could not receive medical attention.

“It was reported that security forces attacked journalists and lawyers, especially those trying to record the events or carrying cameras or phones, and at least two were arrested. At least four journalists were beaten and assaulted by the security forces. Two have been hospitalized. Property belonging to the protesters, including tents, IT equipment and kitchen items were destroyed or confiscated.

“According to the Bar Association, two lawyers were assaulted by the security forces.

“Journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders have a right to monitor and report on the demonstrations and therefore should be protected in the exercise of these functions and not obstructed in any way.

“The use of force against peaceful protesters runs contrary to international law, and we urge authorities to immediately halt the use of such force. Under applicable international law, gatherings can only be dispersed in exceptional cases, with use of force as a last resort where absolutely necessary and proportionate to the lawful objective sought.

“We have concerns that the raid on the camp sends a chilling message to peaceful protesters, including elsewhere in the country. Everyone has the right to peacefully demonstrate and to publicly express their frustration over the economic and political crisis, and the effect that it is having on their livelihoods and their families’ wellbeing.

“Sri Lanka’s economic and political crises cannot be resolved by force. Only through broad consultations and dialogue, can Sri Lankans start rebuilding trust with the support of the international community. We hope the new President and his government will address impunity to bring genuine structural and institutional reforms for the benefit of all Sri Lankans.”

Amnesty International

Amnesty International called on the new Sri Lankan President to immediately stop “the shameful, brutal assault on peaceful protestors”.

“Amnesty International strongly condemns the pre-dawn attack by security forces on peaceful protestors at the iconic protest site ‘GotaGoGama’ at Galle Face. It was the main anti-government demonstration site and had drawn global attention to the dire situation faced by the people of Sri Lanka following the economic crisis in the country. It is shameful that the new government resorted to such violent tactics within hours of coming to power. The people’s right to protest needs to be respected. Any pending charges against those arrested for peacefully exercising their right must be immediately dropped,” said Kyle Ward, Amnesty International’s Deputy Secretary General.

“The protesters have a right to demonstrate peacefully. Excessive use of force, intimidation and unlawful arrests seem to be an endlessly repetitive pattern in which the Sri Lankan authorities respond to dissent and peaceful assembly. These repressive actions clearly do not meet Sri Lanka’s obligations under international human rights law including with regard to people’s freedom of expression.”

“Amnesty International calls for an independent and impartial investigation into the incident. The perpetuators of the violence, and those who commanded the attack, must be identified and held accountable for their actions.

“Sri Lankan authorities must refrain from arresting people for exercising their right to peaceful assembly within sight and sound of the intended target of the protest’s claims. In addition any arrest must follow due process safeguards such as prompt access to legal counsel. We are very concerned by the human rights violations currently taking place in Sri Lanka as the authorities are using unlawful force and restrictions on movement in an attempt to quell dissent,” said Kyle Ward.

“Justice and accountability from the Sri Lankan authorities is the need of the hour as Sri Lanka looks towards stability ahead of an IMF bailout to address the economic crisis. Amnesty has repeatedly called for restraint from security forces amidst the emergency regulations enforced in the country. Using them as a pretext for more human rights violations is deeply concerning and reflects poorly on the new administration in Sri Lanka. They must not lose their chance to start afresh and break off from the cycle of repression of people’s rights which further compounds the mistrust and fear in the people of Sri Lanka. Their right to peaceful protest must be protected,” added Ward.

Human Rights Watch

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe should immediately order the security forces to cease all unlawful use of force against protesters, release everyone arbitrarily detained, and investigate and appropriately prosecute those responsible for abuses. Foreign governments and multilateral agencies that have sought to address Sri Lanka’s economic crisis should emphasize to the new government that respect for human rights is critical for economic recovery.

“Just one day after taking office, President Wickremesinghe oversaw a brutal assault by security forces on peaceful protesters in the heart of Colombo,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This action sends a dangerous message to the Sri Lankan people that the new government intends to act through brute force rather than the rule of law.”

Several hundred police, army, navy, and air force personnel carried out the July 22 raid. Hours earlier, protest organizers had announced that they would leave the protest site the following day. Using batons, the security forces attacked demonstrators who had remained at the protest site, along with several journalists and two lawyers who were there. Protesters told Human Rights Watch that air force personnel detained a small group of people for several hours and severely beat them before they were released.

Since the beginning of 2022, Sri Lanka has experienced an escalating economic crisis and the government has defaulted on its foreign loans. The United Nations warned that 5.7 million people “require immediate humanitarian assistance.” With many Sri Lankans experiencing extreme shortages of essentials including food and fuel, peaceful protests began in March. The protests led then-Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign on May 9, and his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to flee the country on July 13 and resign the following day.

Wickremasinghe became acting president, and parliament elected him as the new president on July 20 with the support of the Rajapaksas’ political party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He had previously described some protesters as “fascists” and declared a state of emergency on July 18.

On July 21, Wickremesinghe issued an order to “call out with effect from July 22, 2022 all the members of the Armed Forces . . . for the maintenance of public order.” Under emergency powers the president can override, amend, or suspend a provision of any law, except the constitution. Emergency powers can be used to detain people while bypassing the ordinary process of the courts and have repeatedly been used in the past to enable human rights violations.

While international law permits the suspension of certain rights during an emergency, protections against torture, excessive use of force, and other fundamental rights must never be violated.

Law enforcement for public assemblies should normally be carried out by civilian police, not military personnel, as military personnel typically have little training in crowd control. All security forces should abide by the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Human Rights Watch said.

“Urgently needed measures to address the economic needs of Sri Lankans demand a government that respects fundamental rights,” Ganguly said. “Sri Lanka’s international partners should send the message loud and clear that they can’t support an administration that tramples on the rights of its people.”

President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), Saliya Pieris tweeted: “The BASL condemns the attack by the forces on protestors. It is a black day for the country. The attacks happen on the first day in office of the new President. Shame!!”

In a statement the Bar Association of Sri Lanka said the crackdown could destabilize the country, which is in need of foreign aid and a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

“The use of the armed forces to suppress civilian protests on the very first day in office of the new president is despicable and will have serious consequences on our country’s social, economic and political stability,” the collective of lawyers said in a statement.

Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka

Rohini Marasinghe, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, said: “The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka(HRCSL) condemns the brutal and despicable attack on the peaceful protesters at Gallface vicinity by the Military in the early morning hours on Friday, July 22.

“A total violation of the fundamental rights of the people by the actions of the Executive. The HRCSL advises the State to identify the perpetrators and take appropriate action and ensure such actions by the Military or any action within the control of the State to violate the fundamental rights of the people will never occur in the future,”

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa tweeted: “A cowardly assault against peaceful protestors, who agreed to vacate the sites today” –  “A useless display of ego and brute force putting innocent lives at risk & endangers Sri Lanka’s international image, at a critical juncture.”

Opposition politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who lost the vote for the presidency, said on Twitter: “Let’s bring down the brutal Ranil-Pohottuwa regime that viciously attacked the protesters at Galle Face.”

Statement from President’s Office 

Following the strongly worded statements from the international community, President Wickremesinghe met Colombo-based diplomats to explain the situation, with the President’s Office later issuing a statement on the military response.

“President Ranil Wickremesinghe has reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to upholding the rights of peaceful, non-violent assembly. The President expressed this stance to the Colombo based Diplomats at a meeting held on Friday.

“The meeting had been convened to brief the Diplomats on the removal of the protesters who had been illegally occupying the Presidential Secretariat. President Wickremesinghe stated that both Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 14 (1)(b) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, which governs the rights of peaceful assembly, would be upheld by the Government.

“The President further explained that the instructions given by the American Civil Liberties Union stated that protesters were not permitted to block government buildings and interfere with other purposes the property was designed for.

“The Diplomats were also briefed on the measures being taken to ensure that non-violent protests were allowed to proceed within the city without endangering property or lives. Facilities within Colombo, such as the Open-Air theatre at Viharamahadevi Park, New Town Hall, Hyde Park and Campbell Park were all being made available to non-violent protests.

“Addressing concerns regarding the GotaGoGama protest site, it was explained that it had not been removed by security forces, contrary to erroneous social media reports. Furthermore, the participants were also briefed by the Attorney General on the legal avenues being pursued, including producing all those arrested by the police before the Colombo Magistrate Court.

Police say action was taken after protestors procrastinated over vacating the Presidential Secretariat

Police spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that the police were operating with restraint over the past couple of months, letting the public to engage in peaceful protests at the Presidential Secretariat’s entrance. He said the protesters who entered the presidential secretariat on the 9th of July were requested to vacate the premises by the OIC of the Colombo Central Police Division, his assistant and the OIC of the Fort Police on July 14th and 18th.

However, they responded aggressively to the request and refused to vacate the premises, he continued, adding that, as a result, the police had a problem with placing their trust in the protesters.

“The entrance to the Presidential Secretariat was blocked by the protesters for some time now. The Colombo Fort Police had requested the protesters on nine occasions to stop blocking the entrance. However, they disregarded that request.”

“The new President does not have an office to carry out his duties, and responsibilities. The Presidential Secretariat is the only office. The Presidential Secretariat is the main administrative building where decisions are taken for the people of the country. After a new executive president is elected, it is our duty to have the premises cleared up in order to ensure that the officers could carry out their respective duties. We were in a situation where we could not trust their word when they stated that they would vacate the premises on an alternative day. This is why the tri-forces, the police and the STF worked together to remove the protesters who were illegally stationed at the premises,” he said adding that even then, the police did not use emergency laws, and that the law enforcement authorities and the military operated as per the common law of the country.

“Soon after, they cordoned off the area and brutally assaulted the peaceful protesters as if we were thugs.”

He sustained minor injuries, he said, while trying to run away from the military crackdown.

As the military attack began, Jayasekara streamed it live but later lost his phone in the chaos.

“Some were very badly assaulted; inhumanely assaulted as if they have no heart. We have nowhere to go now. We are locked in GotaGoGama. I have nothing now; not even my phone. I’m now using an old phone now. I am left with only my clothes,” he said.

It is estimated that about 10 protesters were badly injured after being attacked.

​​​​​The assault on the protest sites came after Ranil Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister, took the oath as the country’s new president. His predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had fled the country after weeks of protests triggered by the country’s economic collapse and growing public anger over the Rajapaksas longtime political influence.

‘Sea of soldiers’

Protester Anjana Bandarawatta told Al Jazeera of the chaos as the armed forces swooped.

“There was no warning at all. The military suddenly came in and chased us away assaulting us and shouting with filthy language,” he said. “There may be 200 protesters but the whole area looks like a sea of soldiers.”​​

Shabeer Mohamed, a young protest leader, said he was assaulted by an air force officer while reporting the raid live through social media.

“He came from behind and assaulted me on the head and threw away my mobile phone while I was live streaming. Several other people were also assaulted when they were doing live broadcasts,” Shabeer Mohamed told Al Jazeera.

“They have sealed off GotaGoGama and no journalist is allowed in.”

Several people aired the assault live on social media but the streams stopped several times, thought to be interrupted by the authorities.

Video footage shared on social media showed how soldiers approached the protest site and turned away from one man when he shouted “media, media, BBC”. They then continued on to inspect the tents erected by the protesters.

​Melani Gunathilake, a leader of the protest movement, was stopped by the troops as she was walking towards the GotaGoGama site together with a friend. When she took some photos of the scene, a soldier grabbed her phone and deleted the images.

When her friend questioned it, the troops picked him up as well.

A young protester, who did not want to give their name, said they were “grabbed” by an air force personnel who put a rifle to their head.

“‘Have look around, these are your last hours, you will only live a little bit more’, he said and forcefully took me away to an adjacent street, beating regularly,” the protester said.

“At a side street, I was ordered to kneel down together with four other protesters. While waiting there, they constantly beat us and abused us with filthy language. I was even assaulted with their military boots. And they took all our phones and ordered to reset all the phones. I have wounds in my lips and face; my whole body aches. Several hours later, about 5am in the morning, a senior guy came and ordered others to stop beating and attend to the injured. He also spoke to us nicely,” the protester added.

“I am not sure whether they were genuine air force personnel, though; They all were in uniforms with face coverings, but nobody had their numbers or official badges on.”

“After the announcement that the protesters were planning to handover the Presidential Secretariat to the govt on 22nd July at 2.00pm, in the early hours of the 22nd morning just after 1.00am large numbers of armed forces cordoned off GotaGoGama from all sides and started attacking the unarmed protesters,” a statement by the protest leaders said.

“The IT Center, The Disabled Soldiers Tent, The Community Kitchen that fed so many hundreds of people every day for free, the SYU Tent, The Hearing Impaired Tent, The Gate Zero Tent – these among others have been destroyed completely,” it added.

Wickremesinghe has appointed Dinesh Gunawardena, a Rajapaksa ally, as the country’s new prime minister and also a new cabinet.

After being elected by the parliament, with the help of Rajapaksa backers, he said he would not allow any illegal activity such as occupying government premises or attempting to overthrow the government.

“We publicly announced that we’d leave tomorrow. We decided to give a chance to Ranil Wickremesinghe. They had no reason to do this apart from to show their power. Their intention was to intimidate and oppress the protest movement,” protester Jayasekara told Al Jazeera.

A BBC video journalist was beaten by the army and one soldier snatched his phone and deleted videos.

Anbarasan Ethirajan, a BBC journalist reporting from Colombo, said: “When we were returning from the area, a man in civilian clothes, surrounded by troops, shouted at my colleague and said he wanted to delete the videos from his phone. Within seconds, the man punched my colleague and snatched his phone. Although I explained to them we were journalists and simply doing our job, they wouldn’t listen. My colleague was attacked further and we raised strong objections. The microphone of another BBC colleague was taken and thrown away.