Muristek
Colombo, April 3
The police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesting students in central Sri Lanka on Sunday, a federal lawmaker said, as soldiers manned checkpoints in the capital to enforce a curfew imposed to curb public outrage triggered by an economic crisis.
Lakshman Kiriella, MP from second-largest city Kandy, said the police used tear gas to scatter students protesting against the government near the University of Peradeniya.
"These students have come out in defiance of the curfew and police have fired tear gas to disperse them," said Kiriella from the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya party. The university is on the outskirts of Kandy, where the students had been held back by the police, he added.
Police officials in Kandy did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency on Friday as the Indian Ocean island nation grapples with rising prices, shortages of essentials and rolling power cuts.
Nihal Thalduwa, Senior Superintendent of Police, said 664 persons who broke curfew rules were arrested by the police in the Western Province. Today, opposition leaders stopped at police barricades on the way to Independence Square, some shouting "Gota(baya) Go Home". — Reuters
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