A Rajapaksa political ally was appointed Sri Lanka's prime minister Friday, hours after army troops and police forcefully cleared the main protest site occupied for months by demonstrators angry at the Rajapaksas over the country's economic collapse.
The overnight raid occurred even though protesters had announced they would vacate the site on Friday voluntarily, and the UN, U.S. and others denounced the heavy-handed force that was used. A lawyer said several protesters were hospitalized for injuries and that journalists and a lawyer were among people arrested.
On Monday, when he was acting president, Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency giving him the power to change or suspend laws and giving authorities broad power to search premises and detain people. On Friday, he issued a notice under the state of emergency calling out the armed forces to maintain law and order nationwide.
Some protesters were badly injured and some protesters and lawyers were arrested, said Harshani Siriwardana, a lawyer and a protester. The leader of the political opposition, Sajith Premadasa, tweeted, "A cowardly assault against PEACEFUL protestors, who agreed to vacate the sites today; A useless display of ego and brute force putting innocent lives at risk & endangers Sri Lanka's international image, at a critical juncture."
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