Lankans protest Libya airstrikes COLOMBO: Hundreds of Sri Lankans protested outside the United Nations headquarters in Colombo on Thursday against Western-led airstrikes on Libya.
Shouting anti-Western slogans and carrying placards, protesters organised by the party of Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa also burnt tyres near the UN compound.
"They want Libyan oil, that's why they're bombing Libya, killing innocent people," shouted one of the organisers. "Let's protect (Moamer) Kadhafi against Western forces."
Some of the protesters branded US President Barack Obama a "murderer", while others blamed UN chief Ban Ki Moon for allowing an international campaign to bomb Kadhafi's strongholds.
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris told parliament on Wednesday that Colombo "disapproves" the airstrikes.
"Ties between Libya and Sri Lanka are close, therefore Sri Lankan people feel strongly and empathise with Libya in its crisis and distress," Peiris told parliament.
Last July, the UN closed its offices in Colombo for several days during angry protests over its pressure for a war crimes investigation into the island's civil war, which ended in May 2009.
Colombo's relations with the West and the United Nations hit a low in the latter stages of the war when they criticised President Mahinda Rajapakse over civilian deaths during the fighting. The UN estimated that at least 7,000 civilians perished in the final months of fighting, while international rights groups have put the toll at more than 30,000. afp Home | |
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