Sri Lankans rally to demand release of 2 protest leaders

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Sri Lankan police blocked more than a thousand protesters who were attempting to march to the capital’s main railroad station on Wednesday to demand the release of two detained protest leaders and an end to a government crackdown on demonstrations against an economic crisis that has engulfed the island nation for months.

The protesters, including opposition lawmakers and trade union and civil rights activists, also urged the government to abolish a harsh anti-terror law under which the two student protest leaders have been held for more than two months.

The Rev. Jeewantha Peiris, a Catholic priest and prominent protest organizer said Wasantha Mudalige and Galwewa Siridhamma have been detained for 74 days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act without any legal basis.

Sri Lanka's opposition leader Sajith Premadasa leaves an anti government protest march after a group of protesters opposed his presence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. The protestors were demanding the release of two detained  protest leaders and to end the government’s crackdown on protests against an unprecedented economic crisis that has engulfed the island nation for months. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Mudalige and Siridhamma were involved in anti-government protests earlier this year, and their arrests drew wide condemnation.

The protesters marched Wednesday along the main road in Colombo toward the railroad station where they planned to hold a rally. But hundreds of police blocked the road, forcing them to abandon the demonstration.

An anti government protester shouts slogans during a protest march in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. The protestors were demanding the release of two detained  protest leaders and to end the government’s crackdown on protests against an unprecedented economic crisis that has engulfed the island nation for months. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

“We are protesting because this government is not respecting the democratic rights of people,” said opposition lawmaker Eran Wickremerantne.

Source: APN/ BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI