Sri Lanka goes under 36-hour nationwide curfew to quell unrest amid economic crisis
By Team Newsable | First Published Apr 2, 2022, 6:22 PM ISTThis comes close on the heels of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declaring a public emergency amidst a spate of protests against severe shortages of essential supplies.
Police in Sri Lanka have announced a 36-hour curfew ahead of planned mass anti-government protests and deployed troops backed with sweeping new powers under a state of emergency to quell protests against the president, his relatives and even his most trusted shaman.
The curfew will go into effect at dusk on Saturday and be lifted on Monday morning, police said a day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa imposed a state of emergency giving authorities sweeping powers in the wake of mass protests against the unprecedented economic crisis.
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This comes close on the heels of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declaring a public emergency amidst a spate of protests against severe shortages of essential supplies.
Many economists say the crisis has been exacerbated by government mismanagement, years of accumulated borrowing, ill-advised tax cuts and the impact of Covid on the economy.
The ire of a mob in the near-bankrupt country was directed on Saturday at a woman identified as a soothsayer frequently consulted by Rajapaksa in the northern town of Anuradhapura.
Rights activist and former opposition legislator Hirunika Premachandra led dozens of women to storm seer Gnana Akka’s shrine and residence, but armed police stopped them.
The coronavirus pandemic has torpedoed tourism and remittances, both vital to the economy, and authorities have imposed a broad import ban in an attempt to save foreign currency.
The opposition parties fear that authorities will use the sweeping powers to crack down on the protests and stifle dissent.
They have expressed the need to rescind the emergency regulations. The island nation has seen unprecedented anti-government protests in recent weeks.
In normal times, Sri Lanka’s military can only play a supporting role to police, but the state of emergency gives them authority to act alone, including to detain civilians.
Also read: Sri Lanka imposes state of emergency amid its worst economic crisis in decades
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