US concerned over Weliweriya shooting

( August 10, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The United States has expressed its concern over the shooting incident in Sri Lanka that resulted in the death of three people, and communicated its concerns to the Sri Lankan Government.

“We are concerned by recent violent incidents, including shootings in Weliweriya, Sri Lanka.

“We are particularly concerned by reports that people seeking refuge in a Catholic Church were attacked there.
There is never any excuse for violence particularly in a house of worship,” State Department spokesperson,
Jen Psaki, said.The United States offered its condolences to the family of the deceased and injured and urged all sides to exercise restraint and respect right to people protest.

“We communicated our concerns as well to the Government of Sri Lanka,” Psaki said in response to a question on the death of three unarmed civilians, northeast of Colombo and surrounding villages when they were protesting a factory’s discharges of chemical waste that were polluting drinking water.

The Rajapaksa Government has announced compensation to the victims’ families.