Sri Lankans protest outside the presidents office in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Highlights
- A state of emergency will be declared by the President of Sri Lanka with effect from midnight.
- The state of emergency gives police, security forces power to arbitrarily arrest, detain people.
- Sri Lanka’s government has been facing a wave of protests amid country's worst economic crisis.
Sri Lanka news: A state of emergency was declared by the President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday with effect from midnight today, reported Sri Lanka's DailyMirror citing President's Media Division.
The state of emergency gives the police and the security forces power to arbitrarily arrest and detain people. Rajapaksa’s decision was to ensure public security and maintain essential services so as to make sure a smooth functioning of the country, the presidential media division said. Rajapaksa had declared emergency on April 1 also after a mass protest opposite his private residence. He had revoked it on April 5.
Sri Lankan student activists had earlier in the day warned to lay a siege to Parliament as trade unions launched a crippling island-wide strike to demand the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government over their inability to tackle the economic meltdown which has caused unprecedented hardships to the public.
Sri Lanka’s government has been facing a wave of protests around the country with an increasingly furious public demanding its resignation.
All trade unions of health, postal, port and other government services have joined the strike. However, several pro-ruling party trade unions have declined to join.
Businesses remained shut and roads appeared empty in most usually crowded areas.
The government said it was holding an urgent meeting of the Cabinet to assess the situation in the country.
Since April 9, the protesters have been staying near the presidential secretariat in the ‘Gota go home gama’ or Gotabaya Go home village and since April 26 the ‘Mynah go home village’ or ‘Mahinda Go Home Village’.
Sri Lanka is currently in the throes of unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
Also Read | Sri Lanka govt to provide cash to low income families hit by economic crisis
(agencies inputs)
