UN demands action after Sri Lanka anti-Muslim riot

June 17, 2014

Alutgama, Jun 17: Sri Lanka slapped an indefinite curfew in a popular tourist region on Monday after rioting Buddhist mobs killed three Muslims in a surge of religious violence that triggered international concern.

Riot-victim grievesLocal community leaders accused authorities of doing little to prevent Sunday night's carnage that made hundreds of Muslims homeless after attacks on their homes, shops, factories, mosques and even a nursery.

The most senior Muslim member of President Mahinda Rajapakse's government threatened to resign at the decision to allow militant Buddhists to rally in the flashpoint region.

"Three deaths have occurred and 78 people have been seriously wounded in the mob attacks... Places of Muslim religious worship have also been attacked with total impunity," Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem said as he toured the damage in the neighbouring towns of Alutgama and Beruwala.

"The government allowed the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) to hold their gathering and therefore they must take responsibility for what has happened," he said, referring to a hardline outfit better known as the Buddhist Force.

Hakeem told reporters that he was now under pressure from his own supporters to quit the government to protest the failure to prevent the attacks, the latest in a series of violent incidents involving the BBS.

The UN human rights chief Navi Pillay expressed concern that the religious riots could spread to other areas of Sri Lanka and demanded that Colombo immediately bring the perpetrators of Sunday's attacks to justice.

"The government must urgently do everything it can to arrest this violence, curb the incitement and hate speech which is driving it, and protect all religious minorities," Pillay said in a statement issued in Geneva.

"I am very concerned this violence could spread to Muslim communities in other parts of the country," she added.

The United States, which has led international condemnation of Sri Lanka's human rights record, had also urged Colombo to end the violence.

The unrest erupted on Sunday night when followers of the BBS staged a protest over a recent road rage incident in the area.

After stones were allegedly thrown at them, the BBS supporters then tore through the two towns, attacking people on the street and setting fire to property and vehicles.

Local residents said police did little to protect them when the Buddhist mobs started their onslaught around sundown in the mainly Muslim towns which are around 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of the capital Colombo.

Police fired teargas and imposed a night-time curfew but the violence went on for several hours, according to residents.

"We pleaded with the police to come and stop the mob attacking our houses but the police did nothing," said Mujahedeen, a resident of Alutgama's Milton Road where around a dozen buildings were set on fire.

Police chief NK Illangakoon said the situation was "improving" although the curfew would remain overnight Monday.

He said eight people had been arrested in connection with the riots, but added that an unspecified number of them had already been freed on bail.

President urges 'restraint'

Both towns are popular beach resorts frequented by international tourists, but there were no reports of any foreigners or hotels being caught up in the violence.

However, hotels told their guests to remain indoors while Western embassies advised their nationals to avoid travelling to the region.

Rajapakse, currently in Bolivia, said in a statement that he would not allow "anyone to take the law into their own hands" and urged "restraint".

The attacks are the latest in a series of religious clashes to hit the island following unrest in January and also last year when Buddhist mobs attacked a mosque in the capital Colombo.

BBS leader, Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara, is currently on bail after being arrested in May on a charge of insulting the Quran.

Sri Lanka, facing an international probe of its war record in crushing separatists Tamil rebels in may 2009, is also criticised for its alleged failure to protect minority religious groups.

Muslims make up about 10 percent of Sri Lanka's 20 million population.

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UN demands action after Sri Lanka anti-Muslim riot

Alutgama, Jun 17: Sri Lanka slapped an indefinite curfew in a popular tourist region on Monday after rioting Buddhist mobs killed three Muslims in a surge of religious violence that triggered international concern.

Local community leaders accused authorities of doing little to prevent Sunday night's carnage that made hundreds of Muslims homeless after attacks on their homes, shops, factories, mosques and even a nursery.

The most senior Muslim member of President Mahinda Rajapakse's government threatened to resign at the decision to allow militant Buddhists to rally in the flashpoint region.

"Three deaths have occurred and 78 people have been seriously wounded in the mob attacks... Places of Muslim religious worship have also been attacked with total impunity," Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem said as he toured the damage in the neighbouring towns of Alutgama and Beruwala.

"The government allowed the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) to hold their gathering and therefore they must take responsibility for what has happened," he said, referring to a hardline outfit better known as the Buddhist Force.

Hakeem told reporters that he was now under pressure from his own supporters to quit the government to protest the failure to prevent the attacks, the latest in a series of violent incidents involving the BBS.

The UN human rights chief Navi Pillay expressed concern that the religious riots could spread to other areas of Sri Lanka and demanded that Colombo immediately bring the perpetrators of Sunday's attacks to justice.

"The government must urgently do everything it can to arrest this violence, curb the incitement and hate speech which is driving it, and protect all religious minorities," Pillay said in a statement issued in Geneva.

"I am very concerned this violence could spread to Muslim communities in other parts of the country," she added.

The United States, which has led international condemnation of Sri Lanka's human rights record, had also urged Colombo to end the violence.

The unrest erupted on Sunday night when followers of the BBS staged a protest over a recent road rage incident in the area.

After stones were allegedly thrown at them, the BBS supporters then tore through the two towns, attacking people on the street and setting fire to property and vehicles.

Local residents said police did little to protect them when the Buddhist mobs started their onslaught around sundown in the mainly Muslim towns which are around 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of the capital Colombo.

Police fired teargas and imposed a night-time curfew but the violence went on for several hours, according to residents.

"We pleaded with the police to come and stop the mob attacking our houses but the police did nothing," said Mujahedeen, a resident of Alutgama's Milton Road where around a dozen buildings were set on fire.

Police chief NK Illangakoon said the situation was "improving" although the curfew would remain overnight Monday.

He said eight people had been arrested in connection with the riots, but added that an unspecified number of them had already been freed on bail.

President urges 'restraint'

Both towns are popular beach resorts frequented by international tourists, but there were no reports of any foreigners or hotels being caught up in the violence.

However, hotels told their guests to remain indoors while Western embassies advised their nationals to avoid travelling to the region.

Rajapakse, currently in Bolivia, said in a statement that he would not allow "anyone to take the law into their own hands" and urged "restraint".

The attacks are the latest in a series of religious clashes to hit the island following unrest in January and also last year when Buddhist mobs attacked a mosque in the capital Colombo.

BBS leader, Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara, is currently on bail after being arrested in May on a charge of insulting the Quran.

Sri Lanka, facing an international probe of its war record in crushing separatists Tamil rebels in may 2009, is also criticised for its alleged failure to protect minority religious groups.

Muslims make up about 10 percent of Sri Lanka's 20 million population.

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News Network
April 22,2020

London, Apr 22: The toll from coronavirus in the United Kingdom has jumped above 18,000 after 759 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the Department of Health and Social Care announced in a statistical bulletin on Wednesday.

In total, 18,100 people have died in the UK hospitals after contracting COVID-19 as of 16:00 GMT on Tuesday.

A further 4,451 new cases of the disease were reported over the preceding 24 hours up to 08:00 GMT on Wednesday, the ministry said. The total number of cases reported since the start of the outbreak now stands at 1,33,495.

On Tuesday, the Office of National Statistics published a report stating that the coronavirus disease death toll as of April 10, when accounting for deaths in care homes and private residences, was 41 per cent higher than the government's figures.

In parliament on Wednesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock stated that the United Kingdom has reached the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak, praising the social distancing measures enforced in the country.

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Agencies
March 25,2020

Moscow, Mar 25: An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck off Russia's Kuril Islands on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The magnitude of the quake, which occurred at 2:49 am (UTC), was registered at a depth of 56.7 kilometres, about 219 kilometres southeast of the Russian town of Severo-Kuril'sk, the USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to the property as a result of the quake.
Further details are awaited.

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News Network
May 19,2020

May 18: Risk managers expect a prolonged global recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, a report by the World Economic Forum showed on Tuesday.

Two-thirds of the 347 respondents to the survey - carried out in response to the outbreak - put a lengthy contraction in the global economy top of their list of concerns for the next 18 months.

Half of risk managers expected bankruptcies and industry consolidation, the failure of industries to recover and high levels of unemployment, particularly among the young.

“The crisis has devastated lives and livelihoods. It has triggered an economic crisis with far-reaching implications and revealed the inadequacies of the past," said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the World Economic Forum.

Environmental goals risk being discarded as a result of the pandemic, the report said, but governments should try to carve out a "green recovery".

"We now have a unique opportunity to use this crisis to do things differently and build back better economies that are more sustainable, resilient and inclusive," Zahidi said.

The report was compiled by the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Advisory Board together with Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc and Zurich Insurance Group.

Risk managers were surveyed between April 1 and 13.

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