Photos from Colombo, one day after Presidential polls
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2 little girls peer onto the road with their guardians by their side
2 young boys, one with a flag larger than himself, watch the crowds
3 little girls giggle for the camera, waving a blue flag (my fav pic)
A family of supporters smile for the camera
Amongst the fuss, a baby sleeps (taken by Ahmed Shifan)
Blue flags
Boy looks out from behind barricades
Cops
Crowd parades with banners
Crowd whipped into a frenzy of chanting and flag-brandishing
Hurried shot of Cin Grand exterior (before the guys with the guns told me to fuck off) – Jan 27, 11 am
Lining the streets
MR poster put up this morning in anticipation of the win
National flags
STF
The triumphant SL flag
Good selection of shots, thank you.
But how come a wee lass like you weren’t allowed to photograph the Cinnamon Lake hotel even from outside, while allowing indi.ca to walk right in, with camera and all, and take photos inside — and upload them too while from there? http://indi.ca/2010/01/the-occupation-of-cinnamon-lakeside-photos/
Siribiris – Thanks. I don’t know why they wouldn’t let me take photos. The armed personnel outside Cinnamon Lakeside were very, very testy in the morning. When we tried to just talk to them to ask what was happening they physically pushed us back – one man put his palm on my colleague’s shoulder and pushed him back and told him to go away, that nothing was going on and to just wait quietly outside the hotel. We had to wait for them to calm down a little before we attempted to go inside the hotel – which we were allowed to do with relative ease. Strange, but it was a tense morning.
I am a student residing in the UK for the last 4 months. I am an eager follower of local politics in Sri Lanka… I am thoroughly confused at the conflitcing reports i have received from my friends back home.. can some objective and impartial person give me an update to the ground truths in Sri Lanka.. My friends who where supporting Gen. Fonseka to the hilt allege that the elections commissioner was under house arrest and that Basil Rajapaksa had manipulated the results. Furthermore, MTV, Sirasa TV, and Swarnavahini journalists where surrounded by the army. Vote counters where attacked, and their phones confiscated… Gen. Fonseka and Sarath N. Silva were also under house arrest… Can someone please explain to me what is going on? Then I read the Island newspaper as I feel in my opinion is quite an independent and impartial newspaper.. however, in the newspaper, there was no mention of any of the above. the editorial went on to congratulate President Rajapaksa and mentions that everything is hunky dory.. I love my country very much and I can’t watch my country turn into another Zimbabwe..
Can someone please provide specific and credible details about what is really happening..
thank you,
Amjed Hassen
I think the military presence at the hotel he was holed up in was well justified. Considering what a paranoid nut Sarath Fonseka appeared to be at the post-defeat press conference, the government’s fears of violence and trouble were not surprising. The defeat has turned his man in to a complete lunatic, and he could have attempted something completely idiotic and put his life and the lives of others at risk.
Period: May 2009 to January 2010. Sri Lanka 3. Enemies 0.
i think that it was an excellent move by the powers to be to have had the hotel surronded and in the end it was a story of all that’s well will end well.
no untoward incidents took place, the vanquished was allowed to move out with his protectors, the victor did not stoop to the low level of biting the hand that fed him.
the general and his band of merry men and women of the four armed forces, laid the foundation for the president’s popularity to grow in leaps and bounds, he on his own or had a mentor who had advised him to call the elections well ahead of it’s due date, played with the empathy of the average man / women on the street. good positive thinking is what i will say. a j.
It’s sad how we Sri Lankans have changed so much that we’re willing to accept state sponsored thuggery and intimidation, even on the day when we are exercising our voting franchise.
You missed the best post election photo I have seen.
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/96205374/AFP
So cute! That kid’s eyes describe hope!