Over 600 protesters arrested in Sri Lanka for violating nationwide curfew

Colombo: Over 6oo people were arrested in Sri Lanka’s Western Province on Sunday for violating a 36-hour nationwide curfew and trying to stage an anti-government rally to protest the country’s worst economic crisis.

Opposition lawmakers, led by their leader Sajith Premadasa, had set off on a march towards the iconic Independence Square in Colombo, defying a weekend curfew imposed by the government on Saturday, ahead of the planned protest for Sunday.

We are protesting the government’s abuse of the public security ordinance to deny the public’s right to protest, Premadasa said.