‘Fundamental rights must be protected’ – British South Asia responds to crisis in Sri Lanka

 29 May 2022

Responding to a question posed on the current political and security situation in Sri Lanka, Britain’s Minister for South Asia, North Africa, the United Nations, and the Commonwealth, stressed that “fundamental rights including the right to peaceful protest, must be protected”.

The statement follows months of protests in Sri Lanka over the country’s dire economic situation. Last week the island formally defaulted on its international debt, becoming the first Asia-Pacific country in decades to default on foreign debt. Sri Lanka is now seeking to restructure debts of more than $50bn it owes to foreign creditors. The country has been racked with record levels of inflation and shortages of essentials such as food, medicine and fuel.

In his statement, Minister Ahmad strongly condemned the violence against protesters on 9th May which resulted in at least 10 deaths and over 200 people injured. The country’s former Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa has been called in for questioning by the police, who have recorded a 3-hour-long statement over the violent clashes between his supporters and anti-government demonstrators.

Lord Ahmad further emphasised the need for a “peaceful, democratic, and inclusive approach to resolving the current political and economic challenges”.

Read the Lord Ahmad’s statement in full here.

Read more here.