US Ambassador ‘deeply concerned’

COLOMBO: The US ambassador in Colombo, Julie Chung, said she was “deeply concerned” about the military action in Colombo against protesters.

“We urge restraint by authorities and immediate access to medical attention for those injured,” she said on Twitter.

Canadian High Commissioner (ambassador) David McKinnon said: “It is crucial the authorities act with restraint and avoid violence.”

Amnesty International urged Sri Lankan authorities to respect dissent and condemned the use of force against journalists, including a BBC photographer, covering the military action.

The overnight raid came after Wickremesinghe’s swearing-in and it was condemned by the head of the influential Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Saliya Peiris, who warned it would hurt the new government’s international image.

“Unnecessary use of brute force will not help this country and its international image,” Peiris said in a brief statement, adding a lawyer was among those arrested.

Wickremesinghe has pledged to set up a unity government to steer the country out of its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.