Sri Lanka Imposes Nationwide Curfew Till Monday Amid Economic Crisis
Mumbai: The Sri Lankan government on Saturday imposed a nationwide curfew until Monday morning amid growing unrest in the country due to a severe economic crisis.
“Under the powers given to the president, curfew has been imposed countrywide from 6 p.m. (1230 GMT) on Saturday to 6 a.m. (0030 GMT) on Monday,” the government’s information department said in a statement. Also Read: Sri Lanka Declares State Of Emergency Amid Protests Over Economic Crisis
Rajapaksa imposed tough laws on Friday to deal with the growing unrest in the unprecedented crisis. In the past, a state of emergency order has allowed the military to arrest and detain suspects without warrants.
A rights lawyer said the current restrictions were not immediately clear.
Bhavani Fonseca, a senior researcher at the non-profit Colombo Center for Policy Alternative Rights Group, said rules defining the president’s emergency powers are yet to be issued.
Shops opened and traffic was normal, while police were deployed at some petrol pumps.
The Indian Ocean island nation of 22 million people is battling a rolling blackout of 13 hours a day as the government scrambles to secure foreign currency to pay for fuel imports.
Rajapaksa said the state of emergency was necessary to protect public order and maintain essential supplies and services.
Responding to the state of emergency, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka
US Ambassador Julie Chung said, “Sri Lankans have the right to protest peacefully – essential to democratic expression.
“I am watching the situation closely, and hope the coming days bring restraint from all sides, as well as much needed economic stability and relief for those suffering,” she tweeted.
https://twitter.com/USAmbSL/status/1510092795452981248?s=20&t=rgVmST7hxDjGMaZp_fNs1w
The ongoing crisis – the result of economic mismanagement by successive governments – has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit tourism and remittances.
It also marked a sharp turn in political support for Rajapaksa, who came to power in 2019 promising stability.
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