UK urges Sri Lanka to protect the right to peaceful protest
Thursday, 8 August 2013 00:16
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The British Government has urged the Government of Sri Lanka to protect the right to peaceful protest and to ensure a swift and transparent investigation into the last week’s military crackdown on a protest resulting in three civilian deaths.
UK Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt in a statement expressed his concern over the incident and urged the authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful protest is protected and to ensure a swift and transparent investigation.
“I note with serious concern emerging reports of the violent disruption of peaceful protests by the Sri Lankan security forces in Weliweriya on 1 August, in which at least three people died,” he said. “My thoughts are with the families of those who were killed or injured,” he added.
Sri Lanka’s Army has come under severe criticism for using deadly force to control a protest staged by the residents of Weliweriya over the contamination of the ground water in the area allegedly by the acidic waste from a glove making factory.
