COLOMBO: The High Commission of India in Colombo dismissed on Monday circulating reports that New Delhi is sending troops to Sri Lanka following one of the biggest anti-government marches in the crisis-hit country this year.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948 and has suffered through months of food and fuel shortages that have forced schools to shut. The country has suffered record inflation, reaching 54.6 percent in June.
Nationwide protests that have rippled amid the devastation reached new heights on July 9, as thousands of people marched to Colombo and hundreds of protesters stormed the homes of the president as well as prime minister in fury over the economic meltdown, forcing the country’s leadership to announce their resignations.
Reports of India sending its troops swirled in the media after a dramatic day in the bankrupt nation, prompting the Indian Embassy in Colombo to issue a statement.
“The High Commission would like to categorically deny speculative reports in sections of the media and social media about India sending her troops to Sri Lanka,” the High Commission of India in Colombo said.
“These reports and such views are also not in keeping with the position of the Government of India.”
The Indian Embassy in Colombo also issued a similar statement in May, after reports of New Delhi sending troops surfaced online following deadly clashes in Colombo that eventually led to the resignation of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
India, Sri Lanka’s only immediate neighbor, has been its principal source of foreign assistance during the crisis, providing more than $3.8 billion in credit lines, swaps and aid for the island nation.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs claimed that Sri Lanka occupies a “central place” in its foreign policy for South Asia, spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Sunday.
“We continue to closely follow the recent developments in Sri Lanka. India stands with the people of Sri Lanka.”
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that he would step down on July 13, according to an announcement made by the Parliament speaker, while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that he would leave office when a new government was formed.
Sri Lankans are still occupying the president and premier’s buildings as of Monday, with protest leaders vowing to stay until both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe officially resign.
As the political and economic turmoil continues, Jehan Perera, executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, said that India should help to ensure that democratic rights to protest are respected.
“India should continue to support Sri Lanka economically as it has been doing very generously,” Perera told Arab News.
“It must ensure that the democratic rights of the people are respected including the right to protest against a failed government.”
Perera added that the events in Sri Lanka should serve as a warning to the island nation’s neighbors.
“Sri Lanka is giving an advance warning to neighboring countries and to the world about the need for accountability and checks and balances in governance.”
