The Beach Paints An Ugly Picture

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[h=1]The Beach Paints An Ugly Picture[/h]
Tourists on a beach resort

The idyllic beaches and traces of Dutch architecture of the popular Southern town of Tangalle, have drawn visitors from around the world for many years. However, in the recent past, the picture-postcard town has been marred by a series of alarming events – from theft to murder.
As lawlessness and impunity prevails, the seedy coastal stretch of the popular beach is fast becoming known as a dangerous site for female tourists. TripAdvisor reviews of the beach warn women of drinks allegedly spiked with a date-rape drug and subsequent theft, molestation and sexual assault, at a well known restaurant in the area.
The owner of the restaurant allegedly remains above the law. A sound example is the number of complaints lodged with the Police against him and his gang by female tourists whom he has taken advantage of. Their encounters range from theft to sexual assault, and possibly rape. Five women, who visited Sri Lanka at different times over the past year, contacted The Sunday Leader relating their traumatic encounters with this man. Two of the victims hail from the UK, two others from Slovenia and one from Singapore.

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[h=1]Government Insists Tangalle Safe[/h]
While complaints have been made that female tourists are unsafe in Tangalle, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) insisted that the Southern town is safe for female tourists.
Recently The Sunday Leader published an article with interviews with women who had been allegedly sexually harassed and abused at a notorious beach front restaurant in Tangalle.
“We strongly deny that such a situation prevails in Tangalle. According to our sources legal action has been taken against the owner of this hotel for a filed complaint. The case is being heard in courts. As you are aware the legal process in Sri Lanka takes time to deliver a verdict and as such the decision on this is still pending. Therefore we are unable to pass judgement on this by superseding the laws of the country,” SLTDA said in response to questions posed by The Sunday Leader.
Addressing the issues of harassment the SLTDA asserted that if there are any records on those incidents with formally lodged complaints, they will investigate them by following the proper legal procedure.
“However it should be understood that if you compare the number of similar incidents reported in other Asian countries like Phuket in Thailand, India and Malaysia for example, our situation is far better. In these countries many incidents are reported daily where men and women tourists get harassed by locals,” SLTDA added.

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