Colombo, Sri Lanka – The Sri Lankan military has taken control of the presidential secretariat in the capital after “brutally assaulting” protesters.
Soldiers also destroyed tents at the adjacent GotaGoGama protest site, arrested several protest leaders and cordoned off the area along with about 100 protesters.
The military assault came hours after protesters withdrew from the camp in front of Temple Trees, the prime minister’s official residence. Protesters had already announced their intention to withdraw from the presidential office on July 22.
“Around midnight we heard that a huge military contingent was heading towards GotaGoGama and suddenly we saw them running towards the presidential secretariat,” Nipun Charaka Jayasekara, a young protester locked up in GotaGoGama told Al Jazeera.
“Soon after, they cordoned off the area and brutally assaulted the peaceful protesters as if we were thugs.”
He received minor injuries, he said, while trying to flee the military crackdown.
When the military strike began, Jayasekara live-streamed it, but later lost his smartphone in the chaos.
“Some were badly assaulted; assaulted inhumanely as if they had no heart. Now we have nowhere to go. We are closed at GotaGoGama. Now I have nothing; not even my phone. Now I’m using an old phone. I just keep my clothes,” she said.
An estimated 10 protesters were seriously injured after being attacked.
The assault on the protest sites came after six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country’s new president. His predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had fled the country after weeks of protests sparked by the country’s economic collapse and growing public anger over Rajapaksa’s longstanding political influence.
The Sri Lankan Bar Association said the raids had been reported and arrests had been made.
“The authorities must ensure everyone’s safety and their whereabouts must be made known,” the association’s president, Saliya Peiris, said in a statement. “I have tried to contact the IGP (Inspector General of Police) and have also sent a message to the army chief. Unnecessary use of brute force will not help this country and its international image.”
‘Sea of Soldiers’
Protester Anjana Bandarawatta told Al Jazeera that she spoke of the chaos as the armed forces swooped in.
“There was no warning at all. The army suddenly came in and chased us out, attacking us and shouting foul language,” he said. “There may be 200 protesters, but the whole area looks like a sea of soldiers.”
Shabeer Mohamed, a young protest leader, said he was assaulted by an air force officer while reporting the attack live on social media.
“He came from behind and assaulted me on the head and threw my cellphone while I was broadcasting live. Several other people were also assaulted when they were broadcasting live,” Shabeer Mohamed told Al Jazeera.
“They have closed GotaGoGama and no journalists are allowed in.”
Several people live-streamed the assault on social media, but the streams stopped several times, thought to have been interrupted by authorities.
Video footage shared on social media showed soldiers approaching the protest site and pulling away from a man when he shouted “media, media, BBC”. They then continued to inspect the tents erected by the protesters.
Melani Gunathilake, a leader of the protest movement, was stopped by troops as she walked towards GotaGoGama along with a friend. When he took some photos of the scene, a soldier took his phone and deleted the images, he told Al Jazeera.
When her friend asked, the troops picked him up too.
“Following the announcement that protesters planned to hand over the Presidential Secretariat to the government on July 22 at 2:00 p.m., early on the morning of the 22nd, shortly after 1:00 a.m., a large number of armed forces cordoned off GotaGoGama from all sides and started attacking unarmed protesters,” a statement from protest leaders said.
“The IT Center, the Disabled Soldiers Tent, the Community Kitchen that fed so many hundreds of people every day for free, the SYU Tent, the Hearing Impaired Tent, the Gate Zero Tent, among others , have been completely destroyed,” he added. .
Several protest leaders, including lawyer Nuwan Bopage, activist Lahiru Silva, Anuranga and a disabled soldier, are among those confirmed to have been taken by the military, according to other movement leaders.
Wickremesinghe is expected to name a new prime minister and cabinet later on Friday.
After being elected to parliament, with the help of Rajapaksa’s supporters, he said he would not allow any illegal activities such as occupying government premises or trying to overthrow the government.
“We publicly announced that we would leave tomorrow. We decided to give Ranil Wickremesinghe a chance. They had no reason to do this other than to show their power. Their intention was to intimidate and oppress the protest movement,” said the protester Jayasekara on Al Jazeera.