Sri Lanka declares state of emergency amid protests and economic crisis

Asia-Pacific, News April 3, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa implemented tough laws against the violent protests that had been going on all over the country due to the worsening economic crisis

A state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka on April 1, a day after protesters tried to storm the President’s house in anger against the severe economic crisis. The emergency law provided security forces with sweeping powers.

The President allowed military and law enforcement departments to arrest and imprison any individual or group without a trial that they may suspect of causing violence in the country.

During his announcement of the state of emergency, President Rajapaksa stated that the decision has been made for the “protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community.”

Soon after the imposition of the state of emergency, security forces personnel armed with assault rifles stormed the streets in all the major cities to take control of the protesting crowd. The police imposed a curfew in all major cities including the capital Colombo.

The island nation of 22 million people has been facing a severe shortage of essentials with a sharp increase in prices. The country is also facing a severe energy crisis due to a lack of energy resources. It is termed as one of the worst economic crises in Sri Lanka since its independence in 1948.

The Sri Lankan government imposed a strong ban on imports in March 2020 in a bid to save the foreign currency that the country needs to pay back its $51 billion dollar debt. As the country was already swirling into an economic crisis due to the ban on imports, the diesel shortage sparked an outrage. The state-run electric supply company announced that it was enforcing a 13 hours-a-day power cut because it did not have enough diesel to run the generators.

^{Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (C) addresses the nation along with Navy Chief Nishantha Ulugetenne (2L) and Air Force Chief Sudarshana Pathirana (R) during Sri Lanka’s 74th Independence Day celebrations in Colombo on February 4, 2022. (Image Credit: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP)}

Thousands of activists and protesters took the streets on March 31, carrying placards that blamed President for the economic crisis and extreme inflation. One of the President’s brothers, Mahinda Rajapaksa, serves as the country’s Prime Minister while his youngest brother, Basil Rajapaksa, serves as the finance minister of Sri Lanka. His eldest brother and nephew also hold key positions Sri Lankan cabinet.

The protest that first started in the country’s capital soon spread into the southern cities of Galle, Matara, and Moratuwa. Some protesters also blocked a flower exhibition that was being organized by the Prime Minister’s wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa. Soon after the protests gained momentum, the crowd turned violent setting ablaze buses and police vehicles while throwing bricks and stones at the police.

The country’s opposition parties have shown their reservations against the implemented state of emergency in the country. The opposition leaders stated that the government would use sweeping powers to suppress their genuine concerns about the economic situation of the country. The opposition parties of Sri Lanka expressed a need to rescind the emergency regulations.

President Rajapaksa justified his decision by stating that the protectors wanted to throw the country off track by creating an ‘Arab-spring’ kind of movement to disrupt state affairs.