ONE MAN is dead, others have been injured and buildings, including shops and mosques, have been attacked or even burned to the ground as a wave of anti-Muslim violence has swept across Sri Lanka.
The violence has come in response to the bombings of churches and hotels over Easter, which led to over 250 people being killed and which have been blamed on “Muslim extremists”.
The Sri Lankan authorities have responded by imposing nationwide night-time curfews on 13th and 14th May, which will last for extended hours in the North-Western Province, where the worst violence is occurring and where police have had to fire bullets into the air to disperse the crowds looking for vengeance. Access to some social media platforms has also been suspended to prevent the spread of rumours and to make it harder to organise riots.
The Chief of Police has appeared on television, saying that his police officers will do all they can to stop the riots. The Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has called for calm – not least because the rioters are drawing the police away from the job of investigating the Easter bombings.
The UN has become involved and urged the Sir Lankan authorities to uphold the rule of law – by stopping the unrest and by ensuring that those suspected of inciting or committing violent acts are subject to due process under the criminal law.
Sri Lanka has a population of some 22 million – less than three times the population of London. Most of them are Sinhalese Buddhists, with Muslims making up just less than 10% of the population.
Tension between the faith groups is not new: anti-Muslim violence broke out early last year, for example, with the authorities having to work hard to calm it down. Muslims warned that a violent reaction to the Easter bombings was likely and many have claimed that the authorities did not act quickly enough. Community leaders have said that although the police have enforced the curfew, they have not been quick enough to intervene and stop violent acts against people and property.
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