Ever since Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as president through the parliament route less than three weeks ago, the severe crackdown against the ‘Aragalaya’ protest continues unabated while intimidation and arbitrary arrest has become the norm.
At least three arrests were reported on today alone.
Heightening the fear of further crackdown on protesters, Police Media Division today released a list of 32 photos of men and women, taken as selfies inside #SriLanka’s presidential residence on July 9 and shared on social media. Police was seeking public assistance to identify and arrest them.
Reminding of indiscriminate abductions war times, a former leader of the country’s largest undergraduates organisation, Inter-University Students Federation of Sri Lanka Mangala Maddumage was abducted today (8) near the Colombo Public Library morning by unidentified people in a three-wheeler.
According to Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, Police have now confirmed he has been arrested and held at the Colombo Crimes Division in Bambalapitiya.
In yet another crackdown on the recent protest campaign against the government, a youth activist Piyath Nikeshala of Koswatta, Battamulla in Western Sri Lanka, when he arrived at the Colombo Slave Island police station as summoned by them.
A leader of the main opposition party the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s organiser too was arrested early today morning. The party’s Kesbewa electorate organiser Gayan De Mel was arrested and subsequently granted bail. He was arrested on related to allegations of violence that were reported during the public unrest on 9th May in Piliyandala area.
Later in the day a youth activist involved in running the makeshift library at Gota Go Gama protest site, Sasindu Sahan Tharaka of Ambalangoda in southern SriLanka, was arrested today by police when he reported to Colpetty police station upon request.
Meanwhile, religious leaders have urged the government to stop state suppression, and withdraw emergency law while staging a protest outside the Fort railway station in the capital. They have also called upon the government to the democratic right of the people to dissent.
Earlier, veteran trade union leader Joseph Stalin was released on bail by the Fort Magistrate after he was held in the Colombo remand prison for taking part in a protest in May calling for the sacking of Gotabaya Rajapaksa who waas forced to flee the country by mass protests.
