Description

On 31st of March, Police disrupted the first anniversary of the Aragalaya that was planned to
be held at the Jubilee Post in Mirihana area in Nugegoda in Colombo suburbs, with a protest
calling for abolition of the executive Presidency system. A large number of Police and military
personnel deployed in the area did not allow people to gather, or protest. Social media
posts published by activists said that three activists who were arrested around 5.45pm were
taken to Police and beaten, and then released after a few hours without any formal records
being made on the arrests. However, such an incident was not reported by the mainstream
media. The protest was planned to be held in remembrance of the beginning of the anti-government protest movement ‘aragalaya’ in 2022, where thousands of protesters gathered next to the private residence of then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa demanding the resignation of the President and measures to resolve the economic crisis that had led severe shortage of
essential items. The Aragalaya protest movement led to a political regime change in the last
year, forcing the then President to flee the country.