Sri Lanka police lifts nationwide curfew, arrests 60 people for anti-Muslim riots
Colombo: Sri Lankan authorities said they have arrested 60 people linked to the communal riots as a nationwide curfew was lifted on Wednesday in the island nation, which witnessed Sinhalese mob attacks on Muslim-owned shops and businesses in the aftermath of the deadly Easter blasts.
The government imposed the island-wide curfew on Monday after the violence against the Muslim community, who account for 10 per cent of the country's population. The curfew was briefly lifted on Tuesday before being reimposed for a second straight night following reports of fresh violence in some parts of the country.
"The curfew imposed in the North-western Province and Gampaha Police division was removed at 6 am Wednesday while the curfew in the other areas of the island ended at 4 am," police media spokesman's office stated.
The situation in the province is returning to normalcy, authorities said. There were no incidents of violence overnight and groups of people responsible for taking part in mob attacks have been arrested, they said.
"Thirty-three suspects arrested in connection with the anti-Muslim riots have been remanded and over 60 people have been arrested. The suspects can be sentenced to 10 years in prison under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said.
The police media spokesman said the illegal activities committed by the persons engaged in violence will be noted in their police certificates.
The academic activities of all schools and all the state institutions in the province were resumed on Wednesday, the Wayamba Province Governor Peshala Jayaratne said.
The recent violence is a fresh backlash from the Easter attacks where nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 258 people and injuring over 500 others.
Muslims said that rioters went about destroying their properties and setting fire to them even after curfew hours. They accused the security forces and the police for becoming silent watchers to the rioting.
Muslim political parties said at least one person was killed in the riots. The attacks come during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramazan.
The government also reimposed a ban on social media following the violent clashes. The government which blocked Facebook and WhatsApp on Tuesday extended the blockade to Twitter.
The social media blockade is meant to prevent the spread of rumours and hate comments, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said. Sri Lanka has a population of 21 million which is a patchwork of ethnicities and religions, dominated by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority.
Muslims account for 10 per cent of the population and are the second-largest minority after Hindus. Around seven per cent of Sri Lankans are Christians.
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After arriving from Delhi, Shinde heads to his native village; Mahayuti meet likely on Sun
Mumbai(PTI): Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who returned to Mumbai from New Delhi on Friday morning, is travelling to his native village in Satara district amid continuing suspense over his successor a week after the assembly poll results.
Shinde had told reporters in New Delhi on late Thursday night that the next meeting of the Mahayuti alliance on government formation will be held in Mumbai on Friday.
However, the caretaker CM, who heads the Shiv Sena, is travelling to his native village Dare in Satara district in western Maharashtra and the meeting is now expected to take place on Sunday, the sources said.
The Shiv Sena leader has repeatedly said he would not be an obstacle in the government formation and abide by the decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the next chief minister.
Different viewpoints are emerging in the Shiv Sena over Shinde's place in the next government to be headed by the BJP, the biggest constituent in the Mahayuti, which posted a thumping win in the just-held assembly polls.
Many leaders in the Shiv Sena are asking Shinde to accept deputy CM's post if offered by the BJP. However, another section feels it wouldn't be right for him to accept No. 2 position after serving as CM for more than two-and-a-half years, the sources said.
"The government formation process will start after the BJP announces its legislature party leader," they said.
During his Delhi trip, Shinde had met Shah and discussed formation of the next government in the state. His deputies in the outgoing state cabinet Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) had also met the senior BJP leader.
Talking to reporters in the national capital, Shinde called the discussion “good and positive”.
Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar had also met BJP president J P Nadda.
