Tag: Sri Lanka emergency

Photo Courtesy: scmp Sri Lanka said it has received 707,924 tourists in the first three months of this year, recording an increase of 17.1 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year. “Lanka could have attracted more tourists in March if not for the outbreak of communal violence in Galle and the subsequent declaration of the state of Emergency,” said Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga referring to the emergency declared in the island country last month following a communal violence between muslims and Buddhist groups. India, China, Germany, France and the UK are the biggest tourist markets for Sri Lanka. ... Read more

A week after blocking social media websites and apps to prevent the spread of communal violence, the Sri Lankan government is planning to lift the ban. The clash between Sinhalese Buddhists and Muslims in the central Kandy district, a popular tourist destination, was instigated by postings on Facebook threatening more attacks on Muslims. And, in view of this, the government declared a social media ban on March 7 for three days. But, Facebook and Whatsapp still remains blocked, indicating that the ban has been extended. On arrival of the senior Facebook company officials in the country tomorrow, it is likely that the ... Read more

February seems to be the perfect time to visit the sunny Sri Lanka but, the communal riots and political unrest followed by a 10-day emergency period declared by the government has lead speculations about travelling to the island nation. Adding to this the nation had put a social media ban yesterday so as to ward off negative news from spreading further. Though the Sri Lanka Tourism says the situation in Kandy is improving and the area is fast returning to normalcy as no violent incident has been reported from the district in the last 24 hours, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister ... Read more

A day after violent clashes between the Muslims and Buddhists in the popular destination of Kandy, the Sri Lankan government has declared a state of emergency in the region. “The curfew was imposed to control the situation in the area and Police officers are placed on heightened alert in Kandy to ensure the “situation does not spiral into inter-communal conflagration”, the government said in a statement.   Religious and ethnic violence can be at its heights in Sri Lanka, where Muslims account for 10 per cent of the population and Buddhists Sinhalese make up nearly 75 per cent. THe emergency was ... Read more