“Do they think I feel the pain?” President questions pin-sticking rituals

Daily Mirror reports that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake questioned the reasoning behind opposition protests that involved placing pins in clay figures. Newswire also reports that he challenged the belief that injuring a clay figure could make another person suffer pain.

Newswire reports that Dissanayake addressed the National Intellectuals Organization’s national convention on Saturday, October 31. He said groups that had gained from the earlier political order were finding it difficult to accept changes made by the National People’s Power government, and accused them of spreading hostile remarks, false assertions and carrying out unusual protest actions.

Newswire reports that Dissanayake also questioned allegations that the government intended to cause the Ruwanwelisaya Stupa to sink. He said protests organised around clear aims would not harm the country, while warning that directionless groups could unsettle society. He urged opposition groups to stage protests with a defined political outlook and said the government would stay watchful for attempts to provoke instability.

The demonstration began in mid-October and involved religious chanting and ritual practices; the report says clay figures were used in curse rituals.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.