One civilian died after police opened fire on protesters yesterday in Rambukkana, 90 kilometres northeast of Colombo. Conservative estimates put the number of injured at around 12 but as many as 24 may have been injured. The shooting was the first in weeks of protests in the country for fuel, domestic gas and other essential commodities which have now evolved into a demand for President Gotatabaya Rajapaksa and his family members in government to step down.
The injured were rushed to the Rambukkana and Kegalle hospitals for treatment and some had to undergo surgery. Late in the day the Rambukkana police declared an indefinite police curfew in the area.
Making a statement after the incident the police said protesters had obstructed a railway crossing near a fuel station in Rambukkana. They had stopped two petrol bowsers on the railway tracks which had disrupted traffic in the area. When the protesters had been attempting to set fire to a bowser and a tuktuk the police had baton charged and teargassed the crowd to disperse them. While some of the protesters had dispersed, police had to open fire to disperse the others.
A police investigation has started to ascertain if there was a disproportionate use of force to control the crowd.
While details surrounding the incident are still hazy, one unconfirmed account is that the protesters had been waiting at the local fuel station for petrol for nearly one day but the bowser had arrived only the following day. The bowser’s arrival had been delayed to take advantage of a fuel price hike which was announced on Sunday. The fuel was to be sold at the new and higher price but the protesters had wanted it at the pre -hike price. Some of the people had been waiting for hours without food and water.
A visual which is going round on social media shows a group of at least seven policemen surrounding one protester. Some of the policemen were hitting the man who was finally bundled into a tuktuk Voices in the background of the video can be heard asking why they are hitting him.
A local media report said that a team of police officers from another area had joined the Rambukkana police and it was they who had fired at the protesters.
The incident has raised questions why the police used live ammunition instead of rubber bullets and who gave the order for them to open fire. It has also brought up procedural questions including on the appropriate use of force.
The shooting happened on a day when many other protests sprang up in various towns around the country because of the price increase in fuel and a shortage of it. In addition to fuel and domestic gas for which people have been queuing for weeks Sri Lankans are also experiencing daily power cuts and shortages of other food like milk powder.
While there was widespread condemnation in the country about the shooting the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and the US ambassador to the country were swift in calling for an investigation into it. ‘An independent investigation must be carried out to ensure the police and armed forces act with utmost restraint in light of the protesters’ genuine grievances’, the BASL said in the statement which they released.
The US ambassador Julie Chung in a tweet said she is deeply saddened by the horrible news coming out of Rambukkana. ‘A full transparent investigation is needed’.
Meanwhile the UN Resident Coordinator Hannah Singh-Handy said she is deeply concerned about reports of harm to protesters in Rambukkana. ‘Restricting use of force to the minimum extent necessary is vital to protect citizens and their right to exercise fundamental freedoms’.
