Crisis-Hit Sri Lanka Declares 36-Hr Nationwide Curfew, India Sends Aid | Top Developments

The lockdown, according to police, will go into effect at dusk Saturday and be lifted on Monday morning, AFP reported.

Special Task Force (STF) personnel standing on guard along a street in Colombo. (Image: AFP)

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing economic crisis, Sri Lanka on Saturday declared a 36-hour nationwide curfew to curb protests.

In tune with the same, Sri Lanka deployed troops backed with sweeping new powers under a state of emergency to quell protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The lockdown, according to police, will go into effect at dusk Saturday and be lifted on Monday morning, AFP reported.

Key Developments:

• The order came a day after the President invoked a state of emergency following a violent attempt to storm his house.

 

• The curfew and state of emergency in the island nation came as social media posts called for protests on Sunday.

 

• “Do not be deterred by tear gas, very soon they will run out of dollars to re-stock,” AFP reported one post as saying while encouraging people to demonstrate even if police attempt to break up gatherings.

 

• Earlier in the day, the ire of a mob was directed 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. They were, however, stopped by the armed police.

 

• In a bid to save foreign currency, the concerned authorities have imposed a broad import ban. This comes as the Covid-19 pandemic has torpedoed tourism and remittances, both vital to the economy.

 

• The crisis, according to many economists, has been exacerbated by mismanagement on part of the government, years of accumulated borrowing and ill-advised tax cuts.

 

• “Sri Lankans have a right to protest peacefully - essential for 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,” US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, tweeted.

 

• The state of emergency, according to travel trade specialists, could be a new blow to hopes of a tourism revival in Sri Lanka as insurance rates usually rise when a nation declares a security emergency.