United News of Bangladesh

India's Supreme Court has stayed the country's colonial-era sedition law, in a landmark order that many believe could pave the way for scrapping of the statute. The 1870 law under Section 124A of Indian Penal Code criminalises any action that "excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government". It entails a maximum punishment of life in jail. Read: India vows to support Sri Lanka's stability The sedition law "will be paused" and "all pending cases will be kept in abeyance" until the government completes its review, a top court bench said on Wednesday, in the wake of a public interest litigation plea. "We hope and expect that Centre and state will desist from registering any FIR under Section 124A (sedition law) or initiate proceeding under the same till re-examination is over," said Chief Justice NV Ramana, who led the bench. "If any fresh cases are filed under the law, the affected parties can approach the court," the top court said. Read: India remains open to travels by all nationalities Human rights activists say that the sedition law has been misused by successive Indian governments to silence their critics. "The law has been misused against people for trivial reasons such as sharing of a social media post or drawing a cartoon critical of the government," said Rajinder Taneja, a Delhi-based activist.

Sri Lanka’s defense ministry ordered security forces on Tuesday to shoot anyone causing injury to people or property to contain widespread arson and mob violence targeting government supporters. The order came after violent clashes a day earlier left eight people dead and prompted the resignation of the prime minister, who is blamed along with his brother, the president, for leading the country into its worst economic crisis. The clashes started after mobs supporting the government beat peaceful protesters who had camped out near the prime minister’s residence and president’s office demanding their resignations, as police watched and did little to stop them. Across the country, angry citizens responded by attacking government supporters and ruling party politicians. Eight people including a ruling party lawmaker and two police were killed and 219 were injured in the violence, said Kamal Gunaratne, secretary to the Ministry of Defense, He said 104 buildings and 60 vehicles were burned. Defying a 36-hour nationwide curfew, several hundred protesters continued to chant slogans against the government on Tuesday. Some people attacked the homes of government supporters, but the violence that raged Monday had largely abated. For months, people have been forced to stand in long lines to buy essentials because a foreign exchange crisis has caused imports of everything from milk to fuel to plunge, spawning dire food shortages and rolling power cuts. Doctors have warned of crippling shortages of life-saving drugs in hospitals, and the government has suspended payments on $7 billion in foreign debt due this year alone. “The defense ministry has ordered the tri-forces to shoot at persons involved in theft of public property or causing damage to individuals,” the ministry said in a text message. “There is an emergency and a curfew in force but we see sections of the youth breaking into homes committing arson, assault, killings and theft,” Gunaratne said in a statement. Despite the curfew, hundreds of protesters swarmed the entrance to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office in the capital, Colombo, for the 32nd day Tuesday to demand that he follow in his brother’s footsteps and quit.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday called on the authorities in Sri Lanka to prevent further violence, and urged restraint and meaningful dialogue to address the grievances of the population amid the severe economic crisis in the country. “I am deeply troubled by the escalation of violence in Sri Lanka after supporters of the Prime Minister attacked peaceful protestors in Colombo yesterday 9 May and the subsequent mob violence against members of the ruling party,” Bachelet said. Also read: India vows to support Sri Lanka's stability Seven people have died during the incidents - including a Member of Parliament and two local officials, over 250 were injured, and the properties of others were destroyed by arson throughout the country, according to a message received here from Geneva. “I condemn all violence and call on the authorities to independently, thoroughly and transparently investigate all attacks that have occurred. It is crucial to ensure that those found responsible, including those inciting or organising violence, are held to account.” The High Commissioner also called on the authorities to prevent further violence and to protect the right to peaceful assembly. “Authorities, including military personnel deployed in support of security forces, should exercise restraint in policing the situation and ensure that measures adopted in the context of the state of emergency comply with international human rights norms and are not used to stifle dissent or hinder peaceful protest,” she stressed. The State has a responsibility to ensure the right to life and to exercise due diligence to protect the lives of individuals against violence by private individuals or entities. The severe economic crisis has made daily life a struggle for most Sri Lankans. It has also highlighted grievances, which require national dialogue and deeper structural reforms, Bachelet said. It has brought together people from various ethnicities and religions to demand greater transparency, accountability and participation in democratic life. “I urge the Sri Lankan Government to engage in meaningful dialogue with all parts of society to find a pathway forward and address the socio-economic challenges people, especially vulnerable and marginalized groups, are facing. I call on the Government to address the broader political and systemic root causes that have long perpetuated discrimination and undermined human rights.” Also read: Sri Lanka anti-government protests continue despite curfew Bachelet said the UN Human Rights Office will continue to closely watch and report on the situation in the country. She expressed hope that Sri Lanka would find a peaceful solution to the current crisis to alleviate people’s suffering, strengthen democracy and human rights, and prevent further violence.

The city of Shanghai is doubling down on pandemic restrictions after a brief period of loosening up, frustrating residents who were hoping a more than monthlong lockdown was finally easing as the number of new cases falls in China's financial center. Teams in white protective suits have begun entering the homes of coronavirus-infected people to spray disinfectant, prompting worries among some about damage to clothes and valuables and leaving their keys with a community volunteer when they are taken to quarantine — a new requirement so disinfectant workers can get in. Also read: New tests to decide Shanghai reopening as Beijing stocks up Shanghai also has ordered people in some areas to stay in their homes again after letting them out for limited shopping in recent weeks. On Tuesday, service was suspended on the last two subway lines that were still operating, marking the first time the city’s entire system has been shut down, according to The Paper, an online media outlet. China's adherence to a “zero-COVID” strategy, as many other countries loosen restrictions and try to live with the virus, is exacting a growing economic and human cost. Evermore extreme measures have been required to bring outbreaks under control, because the omicron variant spreads so easily. China's ruling Communist Party, with an eye on a major party congress this fall, is showing no signs of backing off anytime soon. Escape from Shanghai is all but impossible, but that didn't stop an unofficial how-to guide — detailing how to navigate lockdown controls and nab a seat on the few trains and planes leaving the city — from circulating widely on social media. Many in the city of 25 million people shared their frustration with the renewed restrictions in chat groups. The daily number of new cases in Shanghai had fallen to about 3,000 by Monday, down from a peak of 26,000 in mid-April. Six more COVID-19-related deaths were reported, raising the toll from the outbreak to 553. Beijing began another round of three days of mass testing for millions of its residents Tuesday in a bid to prevent an outbreak in the nation's capital from growing to Shanghai proportions. The city, which recorded 74 new cases on Monday, has locked down individual buildings and residential compounds, shut about 60 subway stations and banned dining at restaurants, allowing only takeout and delivery. The outbreak has not exploded but it also has not stopped spreading. Beijing spokesperson Xu Hejian described the situation Tuesday as a “stalemate” and said that the city needs to continue its strict measures. Also read: Shanghai seeks ‘societal zero COVID’ with rounds of testing While traffic is sparse in Beijing, it is almost non-existent in Shanghai, where the lockdown has been going on longer and is citywide. AP video shot Monday showed a silent and deserted city, with only a very occasional vehicle and a few food delivery drivers on scooters moving down empty roads. Most people are confined to their apartments or residential complexes, though there has been some easing in outlying suburban areas without new cases in their communities. But notices issued in several Shanghai districts in recent days ordered residents to stay home and barred them from receiving nonessential deliveries as part of a “quiet period” lasting until Wednesday or longer. The measures could be extended depending on the results of mass testing, the notices said. The sudden re-tightening took residents by surprise. Shanghai official Jin Chen appeared to acknowledge Tuesday the complaints about the disinfecting of people's homes, thanking them for their cooperation and saying the government would analyze and fix any problems. He said that residents can inform the teams about any items that need protection. “Carrying out household disinfection is an important part of the overall epidemic prevention and control,” he told a daily virus news conference. A constitutional law professor, Tong Zhiwei, posted an article recently calling for Shanghai to end what he called “excessive pandemic prevention measures" such as quarantining residents and forcing them to surrender their house keys, saying the requirements contravene the rule of law. The article has been removed from the internet as the government censors criticism of its response. Thousands of people have been forced into quarantine centers after testing positive or having been in contact with an infected person, standard procedure in China's zero-COVID approach.

The son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte are the new leaders of the Philippines, an alliance that ushers in six years of governance that has some human rights activists concerned about the course their country may take with the pair in power. Here is a look at the new president and vice president of the Philippines, who ran in separate races for their posts. Also read:Sri Lanka anti-government protests continue despite curfew FERDINAND MARCOS JR. A former provincial governor, congressman and senator, the 64-year-old son who goes by his childhood nickname “Bongbong” has managed to return his family to the presidency 36 years after the “People Power” revolt ousted his father and sent him into exile for filching billions and mass human rights abuses. His mother, Imelda Marcos, twice unsuccessfully attempted to retake the seat of power after returning with her children to the Philippines from exile in the United States, where her husband died in 1989. Marcos Jr. has defended his father’s legacy and steadfastly refuses to apologize for or acknowledge the atrocities and plunder during the dictatorship. Married to a lawyer, with whom he has three sons, he has stayed away from controversies, including a past tax conviction and the Marcos family’s refusal to pay a huge estate tax. Throughout his campaign, he tenaciously stuck to a battle cry of national unity. He denies accusations that he financed a yearslong social media campaign that harnessed online trolls to smear opponents and whitewash the Marcos family’s checkered history, daring critics to “show me one.” SARA DUTERTE Sara Duterte, 43, is the outgoing mayor of Davao City, which was her father's constituency before he was elected president in 2016. Also read:Sri Lankan prime minister resigns after weeks of protests A lawyer and reserve officer in the Philippine army, Duterte has carved out her own political career and, although at times supportive of her father, is considered more levelheaded and pragmatic. Duterte's party originally wanted her to succeed him, but she chose instead to run for vice-president. A mother of three, she has been the longtime mayor of Davao, an economically vibrant city where the elder Duterte first carved a political name with his populist rhetoric and often bloody approach against criminality, especially the widespread trafficking and use of illegal drugs, before he rose to the presidency in 2016.

Defying a nationwide curfew in Sri Lanka, several hundred protesters continued to chant slogans against the government Tuesday, a day after violent clashes saw the resignation of the prime minister who is blamed, along with his brother, the president, for leading the country into its worst economic crisis in decades. Protesters swarmed the entrance to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office in the capital, Colombo, for the 32nd day to demand that he follow in his brother’s footsteps and quit. The site outside Rajapaksa’s office has seen sustained crowds of thousands for weeks, but had dropped to hundreds on Tuesday due to a strict curfew, following clashes yesterday that left four dead. Read: Sri Lankan prime minister resigns after weeks of protests A government decree issued Monday night confirmed the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the prime minister. On Tuesday, anti-government protesters shouted slogans for the president to resign and rebuilt the tents damaged in Monday’s attack. One of the protesters, software engineer Chamath Bogahawatta, said that the government “did something very despicable by bringing in people to provoke us. I don’t think people going to tolerate their attempts to rule with the help of military.” “There will be more people joining us. How long are they going to rule a country under curfew?” he asked. The prime minister’s resignation came after violence erupted in front of the Rajapaksas’ offices as his supporters hit the protesters with wooden and iron poles. Authorities swiftly deployed armed troops in many parts of the country and imposed a curfew until Wednesday. The ambush by the supporters triggered immediate anger and chaos, as people started attacking ruling party politicians. More than a dozen houses belonging to ruling party leaders were vandalized and set ablaze. At least four people including a ruling party lawmaker were killed and nearly 200 were wounded Monday night. Protester Charith Janapriya said, “If they thought they can stop a huge peoples’ struggle by destroying our tents, I think they got their answer last night itself.” “What we lost were some tents and clothes,” Janapriya said. “But we got many more people on our side than we had before.” Read: Sri Lanka deploys troops to capital after clash at protest The South Asian island nation has been seething for more than a month, as protests have spread from the capital to the countryside. It has drawn people from across ethnicities, religions and classes and has even seen a marked revolt from some Rajapaksa supporters, many of whom have spent weeks calling for the two brothers to quit. The pressure on President Rajapaksa to quit mounts following his brother’s resignation, analysts say, and comes as the country’s economy has dramatically fallen apart in recent weeks. Imports of everything from milk to fuel have plunged, spawning dire food shortages and rolling power cuts. People have been forced to stand in lines for hours to buy essentials. Doctors have warned of crippling shortages of life-saving drugs in hospitals, and the government has suspended payments on $7 billion in foreign debt due this year alone. Rajapaksa initially said the crisis wasn’t created by him, laying the blame on global factors like the pandemic battering its tourism industry and the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushing up global oil prices. But unable to escape the public anger, both he and his brother have since admitted to mistakes that exacerbated the crisis, including conceding they should have sought an International Monetary Fund bailout sooner. In March, after citizens had been enduring critical shortages of fuel, cooking gas and medicine for months already, the president reached out to the IMF. Talks to set up a rescue plan are being held, with progress dependent on negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors. But any long-term plan would take at least six months to get underway.

Sri Lanka's prime minister resigned Monday following weeks of protests demanding that he and his brother, the country's president, step down for dragging the nation into its worst economic crisis in decades. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Twitter that he submitted his resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a move that followed a violent attack by government supporters on the protesters, prompting authorities to deploy armed troops in the capital, Colombo. Four people, including a ruling party lawmaker, died in Monday's violence, police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa told the Associated Press. President Rajapaksa imposed a countrywide curfew Monday evening lasting until Wednesday morning. For more than a month, protests have spread across the country, drawing people across ethnicities, religions and class. For the first time middle-class Sri Lankans also took to the streets in large numbers, marking a dramatic revolt by many former Rajapaksa supporters, some of whom have spent weeks protesting outside the president’s office. The protests underscored a dramatic fall from favor of the Rajapaksas, Sri Lanka’s most powerful political dynasty for decades. The brothers were once hailed as heroes by many of the island’s Buddhist-Sinhalese majority for ending the country’s 30-year civil war, and despite accusations of war atrocities, were firmly entrenched at the top of Sri Lankan politics until now. The prime minister’s resignation comes as the country’s economy has swiftly unraveled in recent weeks. Imports of everything from milk to fuel have plunged, spawning dire food shortages and rolling power cuts. People have been forced to stand in lines for hours to buy essentials. Doctors have warned of crippling shortages of life-saving drugs in hospitals, and the government has suspended payments on $7 billion in foreign debt due this year alone. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa initially blamed Sri Lanka's economic woes on global factors like the pandemic battering its tourism industry and the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushing up global oil prices. But both he and his brother have since admitted to mistakes that exacerbated the crisis, including conceding they should have sought an International Monetary Fund bailout sooner. Sri Lanka has been holding talks with the IMF to set up a rescue plan but its progress depends on negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors. Any long-term plan would take at least six months to get underway. Sri Lanka was in financial trouble even before the Ukraine war drove up food and oil prices and made things worse. The Sri Lankan government has been running big budget deficits after cutting taxes in 2019 and struggling to collect taxes during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also has piled up massive foreign debt — much of it owed to China — and has scant foreign exchange reserves to pay for imports and to defend its embattled currency, the rupee. Sri Lanka is at the top of a list compiled by Liliana Rojas-Suarez of the Center for Global Development that ranks the countries most exposed to financial shocks. Those most vulnerable rely on commodity imports and have low foreign exchange reserves compared to what they owe other countries. Monday's violence triggered widespread anger, with people singling out Rajapaksa supporters and attacking them in many parts of the country. Ruling party lawmaker Amarakeerthi Athukorale and his bodyguard were killed in Nittambuwa, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Colombo after the car they were traveling in was intercepted by an angry crowd, the police spokesman said. Athikorale or his bodyguard had fired gunshots at the protesters, who chased them and trapped them inside a building where their badly beaten bodies were recovered by police several hours later, the spokesman said. Three people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds from the shots fired from the lawmaker's vehicle, he said. Separately, in the Rajapaksas' hometown of Weeraketiya, a crowd that tried to set fire to a local politician's home was fired upon killing two protesters, he said. Also read: Mahindra Rajapaksa sworn in as Sri Lanka PM Protesters tried several times to break into the prime minister's official residence Monday night forcing police to fire tear gas. Homes of government ministers and politicians supporting the Rajapaksas were also attacked and some set on fire. The memorial for the brothers' parents was vandalized. Jayadeva Uyangoda, a political scientist in Colombo, said the prime minister's resignation marked a new chapter in the country’s political crisis. “The prime minister had to resign in disgrace after his supporters unleashed such violence,” he said. He added that it would be difficult for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to maintain credibility after Monday's violence. But the president has so far refused to resign and Parliament must go through a difficult process if it attempts to oust him. The resignation of the prime minister meant the entire Cabinet was dissolved. Earlier on Monday, the prime minister's supporters attacked protesters who had been demonstrating outside the prime minister’s official residence for weeks, hitting them with wooden and iron poles. They then marched to the president’s office, where they attacked protesters there and set their camps on fire. Police fired tear gas and a water cannon, but not forcefully enough to control the mob. The attack occurred despite a state of emergency declared by the president Friday that gave him wide powers for riot control. Hundreds of armed soldiers were deployed in the capital, as the protesters accused police of not preventing the attack, despite using tear gas and water cannons on protesters on Friday. “Police did not protect us, therefore we have taken it into our own hands,” said Druvi Jinasena, who was helping block roads to protect the protest site. An official at the main hospital in Colombo said 173 people were treated, most for minor injuries, though 15 were seriously injured. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media. The country’s foreign reserves have plummeted below $50 million and it owes nearly $25 billion in foreign debt for payment by 2026. Its total foreign debt is $51 billion. Meanwhile, popular anger at the Rajapaksa clan has only grown, ramping up pressure on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit too. “There has been sustained pressure for the last several weeks for the president to resign but he hasn’t paid much attention to that," said Bhavani Fonseka, a senior researcher at the Colombo-based Center for Policy Alternatives. “People are furious – and that anger is not going away anytime soon.”

Arooza was furious and afraid, keeping her eyes open for Taliban on patrol as she and a friend shopped Sunday in Kabul's Macroyan neighborhood. The math teacher was fearful her large shawl, wrapped tight around her head, and sweeping pale brown coat would not satisfy the latest decree by the country's religiously driven Taliban government. After all, more than just her eyes were showing. Her face was visible. Arooza, who asked to be identified by just one name to avoid attracting attention, wasn't wearing the all-encompassing burqa preferred by the Taliban, who on Saturday issued a new dress code for women appearing in public. The edict said only a woman's eyes should be visible. The decree by the Taliban's hardline leader Hibaitullah Akhunzada even suggested women shouldn't leave their homes unless necessary and outlines a series of punishments for male relatives of women violating the code. Also read: Afghanistan's Taliban order women to cover up head to toe It was a major blow to the rights of women in Afghanistan, who for two decades had been living with relative freedom before the Taliban takeover last August — when U.S. and other foreign forces withdrew in the chaotic end to a 20-year war. A reclusive leader, Akhunzada rarely travels outside southern Kandahar, the traditional Taliban heartland. He favors the harsh elements of the group's previous time in power, in the 1990s, when girls and women were largely barred from school, work and public life. Like Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, Akhunzada imposes a strict brand of Islam that marries religion with ancient tribal traditions, often blurring the two. Akhunzada has taken tribal village traditions where girls often marry at puberty, and rarely leave their homes, and called it a religious demand, analysts say. The Taliban have been divided between pragmatists and hardliners, as they struggle to transition from an insurgency to a governing body. Meanwhile, their government has been dealing with a worsening economic crisis. And Taliban efforts to win recognition and aid from Western nations have floundered, largely because they have not formed a more representative government, and restricted the rights of girls and women. Also read: Taliban blocked unaccompanied women from flights Until now, hardliners and pragmatists in the movement have avoided open confrontation. Yet divisions were deepened in March, on the eve of the new school year, when Akhunzada issued a last-minute decision that girls should not be allowed to go to school after completing the sixth grade. In the weeks ahead of the start of the school year, senior Taliban officials had told journalists all girls would be allowed back in school. Akhunzada asserted that allowing the older girls back to school violated Islamic principles. A prominent Afghan who meets the leadership and is familiar with their internal squabbles said that a senior Cabinet minister expressed his outrage over Akhunzada's views at a recent leadership meeting. He spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely. Torek Farhadi, a former government adviser, said he believes Taliban leaders have opted not to spar in public because they fear any perception of divisions could undermine their rule. “The leadership does not see eye to eye on a number of matters but they all know that if they don’t keep it together, everything might fall apart," Farhadi said. “In that case, they might start clashes with each other.” “For that reason, the elders have decided to put up with each other, including when it comes to non-agreeable decisions which are costing them a lot of uproar inside Afghanistan and internationally,” Farhadi added. Some of the more pragmatic leaders appear to be looking for quiet workarounds that will soften the hard-line decrees. Since March, there has been a growing chorus, even among the most powerful Taliban leaders, to return older girls to school while quietly ignoring other repressive edicts. Earlier this month, Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of Sirajuddin, who heads the powerful Haqqani network, told a conference in the eastern city of Khost that girls are entitled to education and that they would soon return to school — though he didn't say when. He also said that women had a role in building the nation. “You will receive very good news that will make everyone very happy... this problem will be resolved in the following days,” Haqqani said at the time. In the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday, women wore the customary conservative Muslim dress. Most wore a traditional hijab, consisting of a headscarf and long robe or coat, but few covered their faces, as directed by the Taliban leader a day earlier. Those wearing a burqa, a head-to-toe garment that covers the face and hides the eyes behind netting were in the minority. “Women in Afghanistan wear the hijab, and many wear the burqa, but this isn't about hijab, this is about the Taliban wanting to make all women disappear," said Shabana, who wore bright gold bangles beneath her flowing black coat, her hair hidden behind a black head scarf with sequins. “This is about the Taliban wanting to make us invisible." Arooza said the Taliban rulers are driving Afghans to leave their country. “Why should I stay here if they don't want to give us our human rights? We are human," she said. Several women stopped to talk. They all challenged the latest edict. “We don't want to live in a prison,” said Parveen, who like the other women wanted only to give one name. “These edicts attempt to erase a whole gender and generation of Afghans who grew up dreaming of a better world,” said Obaidullah Baheer, a visiting scholar at New York’s New School and former lecturer at the American University in Afghanistan. “It pushes families to leave the country by any means necessary. It also fuels grievances that would eventually spill over into large-scale mobilization against the Taliban," he said. After decades of war, Baheer said it wouldn’t have taken much on the Taliban’s part to make Afghans content with their rule “an opportunity that the Taliban are wasting fast.”

Authorities in New Delhi stopped a demolition drive in a Muslim-dominated neighborhood after hundreds of residents and a number of opposition party workers gathered in protest Monday. No buildings were razed down before the bulldozers retreated. Anti-Muslim sentiment and attacks have risen across India in the past month, including stone throwing between Hindu and Muslim groups during religious processions, followed by demolition drives in a few states where many Muslim-owned properties were razed down by local authorities. Also read: India’s Muslims mark Eid ul-Fitr amid community violence This was most recently seen last month in a northwest neighborhood in New Delhi where bulldozers destroyed several Muslim properties before the Supreme Court halted the drive. The demolitions were carried out days after communal violence there left several injured and sparked arrests. Amid heavy police presence Monday, bulldozers arrived in Shaheen Bagh, a neighborhood that in 2020 became a site of intense protest after the Parliament passed a controversial bill the previous year that amended the country's citizenship law. The new law would fast-track naturalization for persecuted religious minorities from some neighboring Islamic countries, but excludes Muslims, sparking many to call it discriminatory. It unleashed months of demonstrations from across India and Shaheen Bagh quickly became a symbol of the resistance, with the protests there led by a peaceful sit-in by Muslim women along a highway that passed through the neighborhood. Officials have said these demolition drives target illegal buildings and not any particular religious group. But critics argue such moves are the latest attempt to harass and marginalize Muslims, who are 14% of India’s 1.4 billion population, and point to a pattern of rising religious polarization under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. As the bulldozers drove away, Mohammed Niyaz, a 47-year-old resident in the neighborhood, called it “vote-bank politics” intended to divide the Hindu and Muslim communities. Also read: Extreme heatwave batters millions in India, Pakistan Residents in Shaheen Bagh also questioned the timing of the move to bring in bulldozers, saying many buildings in the neighborhood have existed for decades with no interference from local authorities. Previously, officials termed the recent demolition drives as “routine exercises” to bring down illegal properties.

Authorities deployed armed troops in the capital Colombo on Monday hours after government supporters attacked protesters who have been camped outside the offices of the country's president and prime minster, as trade unions began a “Week of Protests” demanding the government change and its president to step down over the country’s worst economic crisis in memory. The Indian Ocean island nation is on the brink of bankruptcy and has suspended payments on its foreign loans. Its economic woes have brought on a political crisis, with the government facing widespread protests and a no-confidence motion in Parliament. Supporters of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa rallied inside his office earlier Monday, urging him to ignore the protesters' demand to step down and requesting he remain in office. After the meeting, they went to the front of the office where protesters have been demonstrating for several days. Local television channel Sirasa showed pro-government supporters attacking protesters with clubs and iron bars, demolishing and later burning down their tents. Also read: Diplomats concerned by state of emergency in Sri Lanka After the attack, hundreds of armed soldiers were deployed in Colombo as the protesters made accusations on Sirasa TV that police did not interfere to prevent the attack, despite using tear gas and water cannons on protesters as recently as Friday. Sirasa TV showed government lawmaker Sanath Nishantha was among the government supporters who attacked the protesters. At the main hospital in the capital Colombo, 23 wounded people have been admitted and their condition is not critical, an official said on condition of anonymity as she is not authorized to speak to the media. Also read: Sri Lanka leader declares emergency amid protests The attack came as protesters marked their 31st day outside the president’s and prime minister's offices. They have been demanding that the president, his older brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and other powerful Rajapaksa family members quit. Similar protests have spread to other locations, with people setting up camps opposite the prime minister’s residence and in other towns across the country. So far, the Rajapaksa brothers have resisted calls to resign, though three Rajapaksas out of the five who were lawmakers stepped down from their Cabinet posts in April. Meanwhile, trade unions on Monday called for protests throughout this week, trade union activist Saman Rathnapriya said, and more than 1,000 unions representing health, port, education, and other key service sectors have joined the “Week of Protests" movement. He said during the week, the workers will stage demonstrations at their workplaces across the country. At the end of the week, they will launch a huge march up to Parliament, demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's removal and a new government. For several months, Sri Lankans have endured long lines to buy fuel, cooking gas, food and medicine, most of which come from abroad. Shortages of hard currency have also hindered imports of raw materials for manufacturing and worsened inflation, which surged to 18.7% in March. People blocked main roads to demand gas and fuel. On Sunday, local television channel Hiru showed people in some areas fighting over fuel. Sri Lanka was due to pay $7 billion of its foreign debt this year out of nearly $25 billion it must pay by 2026. Its total foreign debt is $51 billion. Sri Lanka’s finance minister announced earlier this week that the country’s usable foreign reserves have plummeted below $50 million. As oil prices soar during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sri Lanka’s fuel stocks are running out. Authorities have announced countrywide power cuts will increase to about four a day because they can’t supply enough fuel to power generating stations. Protesters have crowded the streets since March, maintaining that Rajapaksa and his family — who have dominated nearly every aspect of life in Sri Lanka for most of the last 20 years — are responsible for the crisis. On Friday, Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency, which empowers him to authorize detentions, property seizure and search of any premises. He can also change or suspend any law in the interests of public security and for the maintenance of essential supplies. Diplomats and rights groups have expressed concern over the move. Sri Lanka has been holding talks with the International Monetary Fund to get an immediate funding facility as well as a long-term rescue plan but was told its progress would depend on negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors. Any long-term plan would take at least six months to get.