Sri Lanka: protest met with tear gas and water cannons, many arrested
Event- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Mar 20, 2024
- Event Description
Twenty-nine persons including 02 Buddhist monks and 03 females have been arrested during the protest staged by the ‘Jana Aragala Viyaparaya’ in Pettah today (20), police said.
It is reported that Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) activist Duminda Nagamuwa and youth activist Lahiru Weerasekara are among those arrested during the protest.
Meanwhile, at least 05 police officers have been injured during the clashes with protesters, according to police.
Earlier, police had resorted to using tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters in Pettah, Colombo.
The demonstration had been organized by the ‘Jana Aragala Viyaparaya’ (People’s Struggle Movement) based on several issues including the soaring cost of living and certain foreign agreements.
The protest march had commenced from near the Fort Railway Station and they were heading in the direction of Pettah when riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them, Ada Derana reporter said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly
- Freedom of expression
- Offline
- Right to healthy and safe environment
- Right to liberty and security
- Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 6.926481366582354
Longitude: 79.85336695025076
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 20 March 2024, a group of protesters, including WHRDs, were arrested and met with police violence during a protest organised by the ‘Jana Aragala Viyaparaya’ (People’s Struggle Movement) in Pettah, Colombo, Sri Lanka.