New York based NGO points finger at Lanka again Source:Island The New York based Human Rights Watch has accused Sri Lanka of using emergency regulations to harass and arbitrarily detain activists seeking political reform and accountability over the country’s economic crisis. In a statement, HRW said since Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as President on July 21, 2022, the police and military have sought to curtail protests through the intimidation, surveillance, and arbitrary arrests of demonstrators, civil society activists, lawyers, and journalists. Anti-government protests in Colombo and elsewhere in the country led the then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country before resigning on July 15. On July 22, President Wickremesinghe ordered security forces to disperse protesters and break up their main site in central Colombo. The police have subsequently targeted perceived protest leaders for arrest and detention. “The Sri Lankan government’s crackdown on peaceful dissent appears to be a misguided ...

Read More →