The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress(SLMC) MPs will boycott parliament sitting today in protest of the Aluthgama and Beruwala incidents, SLMC Leader Rauf Hakeem told Ada Derana.
His announcement comes three days after the resort towns of Aluthgama and Beruwala were hit by clashes on Sunday. They started after the Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist group Bodu Bala Sena held a rally in Aluthgama and then tried to march through a Muslim-majority area.
Teargas and water cannons were used to disperse the clashes and a curfew was placed on the towns of Aluthgama and Beruwala until 8 a.m. local time Wednesday.
Media freedom campaigners Reporters Without Borders claimed on Tuesday however that Sri Lankan authorities requested the local media not to report on the clashes, which were publicized through social media, and used the curfew to contain the situation.
“Censorship of the media’s news coverage by the authorities is outrageous but customary in Sri Lanka whenever problems with minorities arise,” said the Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific head Benjamin Ismail. “However, banning coverage of events will not prevent the information from getting out.”
Reporters Without Borders claimed that journalists were attacked and had their equipment smashed when trying to cover the clashes.
