Crisis in Sri Lanka, police and army given the right to ‘instant fire’

After the Ministry of Defense Sri Lanka ordered the military to “immediately shoot” anyone who vandalizes public property or attacks officials, the country’s police forces were given the same authority on Monday, according to Reuters.

On the same day, Sri Lanka’s central bank governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said he would resign if political parties could not regain stability within the next two weeks. He said that without a political solution to the current crisis, the bank will not be able to take measures to revive the economy.

A car burns outside the residence of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo. afp

Sri Lankans continue to defy Curfew nationwide to protest against the government amid the country’s Economic Crisis worst since 1948. Protests turned deadly violence, forcing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resignation and then went to hide at a naval base.

Protesters also called for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the prime minister’s younger brother, to step down. Since independence, no president has been successfully removed from office in Sri Lanka.

On May 11, police and soldiers patrolled the streets of Weeraketiya, home of the Rajapaksa family, where shops and enterprise closed by a curfew that will last until the morning of May 12.

Sri Lankan police said that in addition to 38 houses of politicians destroyed, another 75 houses were damaged, according to CNN. At least nine people have been killed since the start of the week, but it is not clear if all of them were directly related to the protests. More than 200 people were injured.

Responding to NDTV on May 11 to explain the “immediate fire” order, Sri Lanka’s Defense Minister Kamal Gunaratne said this measure will be a last resort, only used when no other measures are available.

“Those who break the curfew, participate in protests and engage in violence are all Sri Lankans; so are the police and security forces. We don’t want to shoot our own people,” he said.