Sri Lanka promises impartial probe after first death in weeks of protests

[April 20, 2022]  By Devjyot Ghoshal and Uditha Jayasinghe

RAMBUKKANA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) -Sri Lankan police will launch an "impartial and transparent" investigation of clashes with protesters after the first death in weeks of unrest over the government's handling of the economy, the president said on Wednesday.

Police fired live ammunition to scatter protesters on Tuesday in the town of Rambukkana, northeast of the capital Colombo, killing one person and wounding a dozen.

Demonstrations have roiled the South Asian island nation of 22 million people for weeks, with people infuriated by shortages of fuel and other items and prolonged power cuts.

The shooting broke out after protesters blocked a railway line and stopped a fuel tanker attempting to cross it, residents and a government minister said.

"Sri Lankan citizens' right to peacefully protest won't be hindered," President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Twitter.

Police will "carry out an impartial and transparent inquiry regarding the incident at Rambukkana which led to the tragedy for which I’m deeply saddened. I urge all citizens to refrain from violence as they protest."

Senior police spokesperson Ajith Rohana said a 20-member team had been formed to investigate the incident and one person had been arrested.

K.D. Chaminda Lakshan, 41, had gone to the petrol station at Rambukkana to fill his motorcycle when he got caught up in the clashes, his family said.

"I want justice for the crime committed against my father," his daughter, Piumi Upekshika Lakshani, said as mourners sat around the family's hillside home.

'RESPONSIBILITY WITH POLICE'

Rambukkana was calm on Wednesday with minimal security on the streets. A four-member police forensics team combed the area around the railway crossing.

Police also cordoned off part of the petrol station where violence also flared, including a small dusty, blood-stained patch. Rocks, ammunition casings and spent tear gas canisters were strewn about.

Members and supporters of Sri Lanka's opposition the National People's Power Party march towards Colombo from Beruwala, during a protest against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 19, 2022. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

“One hundred percent, the responsibility is with the police,” resident Indika Priyantha Kumara, 50, told Reuters.

“You can’t blame the people,” said Kumara, who had a bandage on his forehead for an injury he said was sustained in the clash.

The director of the Kegalle Teaching Hospital said 14 people were brought in and one died of his injuries. Three were in intensive care after surgery.

“We suspect gunshot injuries,” director Mihiri Priyangani told Reuters.

Twenty police were also brought in but had been transferred to the nearby town of Kandy, she said.

Public security minister Prasanna Ranatunga told parliament the shooting happened after protesters tried to set fire to the tanker.

"Police acted according to the law," he said. "This shooting happened after police did everything they could to bring this situation under control. We will conduct multiple investigations."

Tuesday's death was the first in the largely peaceful protests that began last month.

It comes as Sri Lankan officials meet the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss an emergency loan programme to tackle the shortages of fuel and other essentials.

The IMF said the discussions were at an early stage and any deal would require "adequate assurances" that Sri Lanka could resolve its unsustainable debt situation.

(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal in Rambukkana and Uditha Jayasinghe in Colombo; Additional reporting by David Lawder in Washington; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)

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