Sri Lankans march against government crackdown on protests

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Thousands of Sri Lankans have marched in the capital to urge the government to halt its crackdown on protests against an unprecedented economic crisis that has engulfed the Indian Ocean nation for months. Trade union and civil rights activists, university students and others marched in the streets and then joined a rally in Colombo condemning government moves to intimidate protesters and its failure to ease people’s economic woes. A trade union leader says the demonstrators wanted to give a clear message to the government to stop harassing people expressing their grievances and give relief to the people.