The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense has ordered law enforcement to fire as needed as an emergency. A spokesman for the country’s military told the Colombo-based Daily Mirror.
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Sri Lanka is on fire. Even after the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, public outrage has not abated. On Monday (May 9), mass protests ignored the curfew. The riots of the angry crowd went on all night. They vandalized and set fire to six lawmakers’ homes, including a family-owned museum in Rajapaksa. The death toll in the conflict has risen to six. About 200 were injured. Police and army have been given the power to make arrests without a warrant after widespread violence across the country.
Ignoring the state of emergency and curfew, thousands of people took to the streets in various cities of Sri Lanka. Three ministers, three MPs and several politicians of the ruling party were attacked at their homes. Several buses and cars were set on fire. Protesters stormed a museum owned by the Rajapaksa family in Hambantota. The wax statue of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s parents was smashed. The town of Koranagela was set on fire at the ancestral home of Rajapaksa.
Protesters stormed the homes of several leaders of the country’s ruling political party on Tuesday (May 10th), according to the Sri Lankan media Daily Mirror. Ordinary people have also set fire to houses destroyed.
Incidentally, Sri Lanka is suffering from a severe economic crisis due to the burden of foreign debt and zero reserves. The anger of the people has been increasing for the last few months. The anti-government movement intensified in April, which turned into a spark in the last few days.
