Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 06-03-2018
Sri Lanka’s president declared a state of emergency amid fears that anti-Muslim attacks in a central hill town could spread.
The announcement on Tuesday comes after Buddhist mobs swept through the town of Kandy on Monday, burning at least 11 Muslim-owned shops and homes in retaliation to a Buddhist man who was reportedly killed by a group of Muslims.
Police later announced a curfew in the town.
The Associated Press reports the details of the emergency decree were not immediately announced, and it was unclear how it would affect life on the South Asian island nation, where Buddhist-Muslim tensions have flared in recent years as extremist Buddhist organizations have spread.
A tweet from the office of President Maithripala Sirisena says the decree would “redress the unsatisfactory security situation prevailing in certain parts of the country and that security forces “have been suitably empowered to deal with criminal elements in the society and urgently restore normalcy.”
Lakshman Kiriella, a lawmaker from Kandy, said in Parliament that the attacks were “carried out by outsiders.”
“I am ashamed as a Buddhist and we must apologize to the Muslims.”
Sri Lanka has long been divided between the majority Sinhalese, who are overwhelmingly Buddhist, and minority Tamils who are Hindu, Muslim and Christian.
0 Comments