Soldiers also destroyed tents at the adjacent GotaGoGama protest site, arrested several protest leaders and cordoned off the area along with around 100 protesters. The military attack came hours after protesters left the camp in front of Temple Trees, the prime minister’s official residence. Protesters had already announced their intention to withdraw from the presidential secretariat on July 22. “Around midnight we heard that a huge group of soldiers was heading towards GotaGoGama and suddenly we saw them running to 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 attacked the peaceful protesters as if we were thugs.” He suffered minor injuries, he said, while trying to escape the military crackdown. As the military offensive began, Jayasekara broadcast it live but later lost his smartphone in the chaos. “Some were attacked very badly. they attacked inhumanely as if they had no heart. We have nowhere to go now. We are locked in GotaGoGama. I have nothing now. not even my phone. Now I use an old phone. I am left with only my clothes,” he said. It is estimated that around 10 protesters were seriously injured after being attacked. The attack on the protest sites came after Ranil Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister, 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 the Rajapaksas’ longstanding political influence. The Sri Lankan Bar Association said it had been informed of the raids and that arrests had been made. “The authorities must ensure everyone’s safety and their whereabouts must be known,” association president Saliya Peiris said in a statement. “I tried to contact the IGP (Inspector General of Police) and also sent a message to the Army Commander. Unnecessary use of brute force will not help this country and its international image.”
“Sea of Soldiers”
Protester Anjana Bandarawatta told Al Jazeera of the chaos as the armed forces left. “There was no warning. The army suddenly came in and chased us away by attacking us and shouting foul language,” he said. Shabir Mohammed, a young protest leader, said he was attacked by an air force officer while reporting the raid live on social media. “He came from behind and attacked me in the head and threw my phone while I was live streaming. Several other people were also attacked when they were broadcasting live,” Shabeer Mohamed told Al Jazeera. “They have sealed off GotaGoGama and no journalists are allowed in.” Several people live-streamed the attack on social media, but the streams stopped several times, believed to have been cut off by authorities. Video shared on social media showed how soldiers approached the protest site and removed a man when he shouted “Media, media, BBC”. They then proceeded to inspect the tents set up by the protesters. , , , Melani Gunathilake, a leader of the protest movement, was stopped by troops as she walked towards GotaGoGama with a friend. When she took some pictures of the scene, a soldier grabbed her phone and deleted the images, she told Al Jazeera. When her friend asked about it, the soldiers picked him up as well. “Following the announcement that protesters were planning to hand over the Presidential Secretariat to the government on July 22 at 2:00 p.m., in the early hours of 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 the 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 daily for free, the SYU tent, the hearing impaired tent, the hearing impaired 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 kidnapped by the military, according to other movement leaders. Wickremesinghe is expected to appoint a new prime minister and cabinet later on Friday. After being elected to parliament, with the help of Rajapaksa supporters, he said he would not allow any illegal activity such as occupying government premises or attempting to overthrow the government. “We have announced publicly that we will be leaving 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 suppress the protest movement,” protester Jayasekara told Al Jazeera.
