Sri Lanka declares emergency after Buddhist-Muslim clashes in Kandy

A temporary state of emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka in order to take 'stern action' against communal violence in the country, a government spokesperson said today.

Emergency has been in imposed in Sri Lanka for 10 days as a precautionary measure. The announcement today came a day after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the island nation's central district of Kandy.

The emergency announcement came just hours ahead of a cricket match between India and Sri Lanka. The Indian men's cricket team is scheduled to a play a T20 International cricket match against Sri Lanka later today evening.

Tension has been growing between the two communities in Sri Lanka over the past year, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites.

Some Buddhist nationalist have also protested against the presence in Sri Lanka of Muslim Rohingya asylum-seekers from mostly Buddhist Myanmar, where Buddhist nationalism has also been on the rise.

"At a special cabinet meeting, it was decided to declare a state of emergency for 10 days to prevent the spread of communal riots to other parts of the country," the government spokesman, Dayasiri Jayasekara, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"It was also decided to take stern action against people who are instigating violence through Facebook," he added, referring to postings on social media.

Earlier today, former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa spoke about the clashes on Twitter. "It is the Sri Lanka government's responsibility to maintain law and order in Digana. Action could have been taken sooner to prevent clashes. I urge residents to remain calm and act with reason," Rajapaksa said on Twitter.

Yesterday, the Sri Lankan government sent troops and elite police to Kandy after a mob set fire to a Muslim-owned shop, imposing a curfew there on Monday to prevent clashes between majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Muslims.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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