On January 29, 2024, police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse students protesting against a planned visit by Sri Lanka’s president Ranil Wickremesinghe to the University of Kelaniya.
President Wickremesinghe planned to visit the university to inaugurate a new building at the university’s Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies. Students organized a protest in opposition of the visit, blocking the road outside of the university. Police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters, who subsequently continued their protest by occupying the university’s administrative building.
Scholars at Risk is concerned with use of water cannons and tear gas to disperse students exercising their peaceful rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly—conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a party. State authorities have a responsibility to refrain from restricting the nonviolent exercise of such rights. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, the use of force to restrict or deter nonviolent student expression undermines academic freedom and democratic society more generally.
Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/02/01/president-visits-kelaniya-university/
https://www.newswire.lk/2024/01/31/president-visits-kelaniya-university-despite-student-protests/
https://mawbima.lk/2024/01/31/%e0%b6%9a%e0%b7%90%e0%b6%bd%e0%b6%ab%e0%b7%92%e0%b6%ba%e0%b7%9a-%e0%b7%83%e0%b7%92%e0%b7%83%e0%b7%94%e0%b7%84%e0%b7%94-%e0%b6%b4%e0%b6%bb%e0%b7%92%e0%b6%b4%e0%b7%8f%e0%b6%bd%e0%b6%b1-%e0%b6%9c/
https://mawbima.lk/2024/01/30/kelaniya-university-protest-latest-updates/