Thousands attend funeral of worker killed in Sri Lanka demo

Deutsche Presse-Agentur | Monsters & Critics
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Some 30,000 people attended Saturday the funeral of a factory worker shot by police during a demonstration at a foreign investment zone in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.

The body of Roshen Shanaka was removed ahead of schedule from the house in Minuwangoda, 35 kilometres north of the capital, in an apparent move to prevent trade unionist and political parties from parading the coffin.

An estimated 5,000 soldiers were deployed to provide security at the funeral.

Shanaka died on Wednesday, two days after he was injured when police attacked employees demonstrating against a planned pension scheme.

The incident has sparked concern among foreign investors, with the German and Japanese embassies taking up the issue with the government.

Monday's protests were the country's biggest since government forces defeated Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka two years ago.

© M&C