{"id":103251,"date":"2024-02-28T22:48:57","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T22:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.estaql.com\/outrage-over-whites-only-party-at-russian-run-nightclub-in-sri-lanka-world-news\/"},"modified":"2024-02-28T22:48:57","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T22:48:57","slug":"outrage-over-whites-only-party-at-russian-run-nightclub-in-sri-lanka-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/outrage-over-whites-only-party-at-russian-run-nightclub-in-sri-lanka-world-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Outrage over ‘whites-only’ party at Russian-run nightclub in Sri Lanka | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Outrage over ‘whites-only’ party at Russian-run nightclub in Sri Lanka | World News<\/h2>\n

Outrage over ‘whites-only’ party at Russian-run nightclub in Sri Lanka | World News<\/p>\n

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Thousands of Russian and Ukrainian tourists who moved to Sri Lanka amid the war in Ukraine could be forced to leave after a “whites only” party was allegedly advertised at a Russian-run nightclub.<\/p>\n

A poster for a “White Party” last weekend at the Sarayka Lounge, in the popular resort town of Unawatuna, specified a white dress code, as is normal for such events.<\/p>\n

However, the poster, which was shared online widely, also included a line saying “Face Control: White,” prompting outrage from people who interpreted it as meaning none-white people would not be allowed in.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the anger erupted in the southern coastal town, authorities in the South Asian country said they were cancelling long-term tourist visa extensions.<\/p>\n

But President Ranil Wickremesinghe raised doubts over whether the government would go through with the cancellations as they would threaten much-needed tourist income, according to Sky News’ US partner network NBC news.<\/p>\n

The country of 22 million people has been struggling with an economic crisis <\/strong>since declaring bankruptcy two years ago with more than \u00a365bn in debt.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Authority said Russian and Ukrainian tourists must leave the country by 7 March, after the expiration of their final free visa extension.<\/p>\n

The Immigration Department had said last month that the visas were being extended due to the “non-operation of airlines in the region” but the commissioner-general of immigration has since said the flight situation had “normalised”.<\/p>\n

However, the president ordered an investigation into the notice, saying the visas could not be cancelled without cabinet approval.<\/p>\n

“The government hasn’t officially decided to revoke visa extensions previously granted to these tourists,” his office said in a post on X.<\/p>\n

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\n Unawatuna beach, Sri Lanka. Pic: Reuters
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After many countries placed restrictions on Russian nationals following the invasion of Ukraine two years ago, many flocked to Sri Lanka <\/strong>when it effectively offered near-indefinite stays.<\/p>\n

Nearly 200,000 Russians<\/strong> and 5,000 Ukrainians visited the country last year, according to Sri Lanka’s tourism department.<\/p>\n

It’s unclear how many of those remained in the country beyond the usual 30-day duration of a tourist visa.<\/p>\n

But thousands are believed to have remained – including many attempting to avoid being drafted into the military.<\/p>\n

It is also unclear whether the end of the visa extensions was related to the recent outcry over the alleged “whites only” event.<\/p>\n

Read more:
Russia jails Nobel Peace Prize winner
UK ship sinking in Red Sea after Houthi attack drifts north<\/strong>
One of Europe’s most wanted fugitives arrested<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a post on Instagram last Friday, the bar said it had cancelled the event, where three Russian DJs were due to perform, and “will never support various racist statements or organisations.”<\/p>\n

A user who claimed to be one of the party’s organisers apologised, saying “There was no malice or racism in this.”<\/p>\n

“We wanted to meet expats who have been living here for a long time and love Sri Lanka,” the user said, adding that he and his family had to leave the island due to abuse and threats.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the Russian Embassy in Colombo said, “according to unconfirmed data, the main promoter as well as the owners of a bar who agreed to accommodate the party are Russian citizens”.<\/p>\n

Russia “strongly condemns all forms of racial discrimination,” it added, saying it expected citizens to follow local laws and customs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Outrage over ‘whites-only’ party at Russian-run nightclub in Sri Lanka | World News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Outrage over ‘whites-only’ party at Russian-run nightclub in Sri Lanka | World News Outrage over ‘whites-only’ party at Russian-run nightclub in Sri Lanka | World News Thousands of Russian and Ukrainian tourists who moved to Sri Lanka amid the war in Ukraine could be forced to leave after a “whites only” party was allegedly advertised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7711],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7711"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}