We will continue peaceful non-violent protests: Sri Lankan protesters

Colombo [Sri Lanka], July 24 : Calling the actions of Sri Lankan authorities against the peaceful protesters at Galle Face as "brutal and torture", the agitators condemned the act and said that they will continue the protests, even if they are attacked.
Addressing a press conference, one of the protesters said, "We just want to condemn this brutal attack on the very peaceful creative protesters. We have been protesting for more than 105 days."
The statement came after a large military group, along with the police, launched a raid on Friday near the Presidential Secretariat and the protest site at Galle Face to clear the area of protesters. Several arrests were made.

The protester said that they were attacked "brutally" on July 22 and called it "torture". He further added that he had witnessed police attacking the protesters with their weapons and said that it was an assault on them.
"And we can't understand this, as it is inhuman because we are peaceful protesters, non-violent protesters. So we condemn this kind of brutal attack on peaceful protesters. We have been doing this as a protest of love in order to change society, in order to have justice. And we will continue this peaceful non-violent protest," he added.

Meanwhile, another protester said that the attack on them on July 22 was to show Ranil Wickremesinghe's power and he is the one who is in charge. He further said that the protesters were removed from the site but after 8 hours they again headed towards the premises.
Over the police' statement on the attack, a protester said that in the conference police personnel showed the isolated incidents, justifying their action and said, "we did because of that". He further added that if they did that then the police should have acted at that very moment.
"Under no circumstances, we have incited the violence. But this is not the first time they incited violence against us," he added.
"This is the democracy that Ranil was talking to the world. He talks as if he is the saviour of democracy but clearly he doesn't want democracy. So we would like to inform Ranil and the state that if this is the way you gonna show us that democracy works, well we are ready for this too. If losing our life means saving this country, then all of us are ready for this," the protester said.

Another protester, who was also part of that conference, said that the attack on July 22 was staged and the police force has to take the responsibility for that. She further said, "But we know that the main responsible person for this attack is Ranil Wickremesinghe, we should call him Ranil Rajapaksa."
Earlier, the US Ambassador to Colombo, EU and Human Rights Commission condemned the actions taken by Sri Lankan authorities against protestors at Galle Face in the middle of the night.
US Ambassador to Colombo Julie Chung on Friday took her Twitter account and asked for restraint by authorities and immediate access to medical attention for those injured.
"Deeply concerned about actions taken against protestors at Galle Face in the middle of the night. We urge restraint by authorities and immediate access to medical attention for those injured," Ambassador Chung tweeted.
The European Union (EU) has also stressed the importance of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
A large number of protestors confronted armed security personnel as the latter setup barricades outside the premises of the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
The armed soldiers were deployed in a bid to control the protestors who have been protesting against the new Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe outside the premises of the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat. Protesters are alleging that security personnel raided the anti-government protest camp in the capital on early Friday."
Ranil Wickremesinghe wants to destroy us, they are again doing this, but we will never give up. We want to make our country free of such nasty politics," said a protestor amid an armed forces crackdown. Tents of protestors are being dismantled by the armed security personnel outside the premises of the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat.
Wickremesinghe was sworn in as President of Sri Lanka on Thursday in Parliament before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. He was elected as president in an election held in Parliament on Wednesday.
During Wednesday's vote, Wickremesinghe received 134 votes following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa from the presidency last week amid severe economic turmoil in the country.
After his official residence in Colombo was stormed by tens of thousands of angry protesters last week, Sri Lanka's ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country to the Maldives before flying out to Singapore. Rajapaksa had offered his resignation after fleeing the country.
Sri Lanka's economy is bracing for a sharp contraction due to the unavailability of basic inputs for production, an 80 per cent depreciation of the currency since March 2022, coupled a lack of foreign reserves and the country's failure to meet its international debt obligations.
As Sri Lanka scrambles to get back on track after the election of a new President, the people in the country -- who are facing severe economic hardship -- are still uncertain about the future.