Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday lifted the island-wide State of Emergency that he imposed on March 6 to contain spiralling anti-Muslim violence in the central highlands.
"Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday," he tweeted, on his return from his visits to India followed by Japan over the last week.
Targeted attacks against Muslims
Early March, Sinhalese groups carried out a series of targeted attacks against the Muslim-owned mosques, shops and homes in Kandy located in the Central Province. The death of a Sinhalese driver, who succumbed to injuries caused by four Muslim youth in a road-rage incident, is said to have triggered the incident. The ensuing anti-Muslim violence claimed at least two lives and injured many, in addition to causing losses worth millions to Muslim traders.
Locals in the area accused the police of inaction and the government summoned the army to tackle the tensions. Police said they have arrested nearly 200 suspects, including a key suspect associated with a hard-line Sinhala Buddhist organisation who has in the past posted messages attacking Muslims on social media.
Following the violent episodes the government banned social media networks, including Facebook, Whatsapp and Viber that authorities said contributed to an escalation in tensions. The services were restored last week, amid growing criticism over the government's apparent inability to monitor or act upon instances of hate speech online.
Buddhists must apologise: Minister
Senior Minister and Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella recently called for a resolution in parliament, and said: "Buddhists should apologise to the Muslims" for the violence and destruction.
The country has witnessed a rise in anti-Muslim attacks since 2012, with hard line Sinhala Buddhist groups turning increasingly antagonistic towards minority Muslims, who make up about 10 per cent of Sri Lanka's population.
