Sri Lanka Declares State of Emergency After Mob Attacks on Muslims
- 6 years ago
Sri Lanka Declares State of Emergency After Mob Attacks on Muslims
Supported by By Mujib Mashal and Dharisha Bastians COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s government imposed a nationwide state of emergency on Tuesday after mob attacks against the minority Muslim population in a central district, violence
that has highlighted the country’s fragility as it tries to recover from decades of civil war.
" "How are minority communities supposed to feel when the police stand by and watch while their houses and their businesses are destroyed by violent mobs?" said Mr. Bathiudeen, who is Muslim.
that The Muslims stayed at home and the mobs came and burned the deserted shops.
"So a decision was made to declare a state of emergency at the cabinet today." The latest tensions, coming a week after similar mob attacks against Muslims
in an eastern region, erupted after a Sinhalese truck driver was injured by a group of Muslim men in what has been described as a road rage incident.
"We are urging our people to remain calm, but when their houses
and livelihoods go up in flames, how long will they bear it?" Anti-Muslim violence has been on the rise in Sri Lanka in recent years, as the country’s leaders have struggled to rein in the nationalist fervor of the majority Sinhalese Buddhists.
Rishad Bathiudeen said that Two controversial Buddhist monks who have been at the center
of similar anti-minority clashes before had been in the area on Sunday night,
The unrest in the district of Kandy began on Sunday, as angry mobs made up of the majority Sinhalese
ethnic group attacked dozens of Muslim businesses and houses, and at least one mosque.
"The government has decided to declare a state of emergency for a 10-day period starting at midnight to maintain law
and order" after the violence in the Digana area of Kandy, S.B.
Supported by By Mujib Mashal and Dharisha Bastians COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s government imposed a nationwide state of emergency on Tuesday after mob attacks against the minority Muslim population in a central district, violence
that has highlighted the country’s fragility as it tries to recover from decades of civil war.
" "How are minority communities supposed to feel when the police stand by and watch while their houses and their businesses are destroyed by violent mobs?" said Mr. Bathiudeen, who is Muslim.
that The Muslims stayed at home and the mobs came and burned the deserted shops.
"So a decision was made to declare a state of emergency at the cabinet today." The latest tensions, coming a week after similar mob attacks against Muslims
in an eastern region, erupted after a Sinhalese truck driver was injured by a group of Muslim men in what has been described as a road rage incident.
"We are urging our people to remain calm, but when their houses
and livelihoods go up in flames, how long will they bear it?" Anti-Muslim violence has been on the rise in Sri Lanka in recent years, as the country’s leaders have struggled to rein in the nationalist fervor of the majority Sinhalese Buddhists.
Rishad Bathiudeen said that Two controversial Buddhist monks who have been at the center
of similar anti-minority clashes before had been in the area on Sunday night,
The unrest in the district of Kandy began on Sunday, as angry mobs made up of the majority Sinhalese
ethnic group attacked dozens of Muslim businesses and houses, and at least one mosque.
"The government has decided to declare a state of emergency for a 10-day period starting at midnight to maintain law
and order" after the violence in the Digana area of Kandy, S.B.