Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa revokes state of emergency
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revoked the state of emergency with immediate effect in the island nation late on Tuesday night.
In a gazette notification no 2274/10 issued on Tuesday night, the President said that he has withdrawn the emergency rule ordinance, which gave security forces sweeping powers to curb any disturbance in the country.
President Rajapaksa had declared a public emergency on April 1, amid a spate of protests over the worst economic crisis in the country.
The emergency was imposed because of the mass scale protests planned for April 3 against the current economic hardships faced by the people.
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Later, the government imposed an island-wide curfew.
Protests continued despite the curfew and the state of emergency, with senior ruling party figures having their homes surrounded by angry protesters, who urged the government for solutions to the economic crisis.
Several people were injured and vehicles were set on fire as the agitation turned violent. Police fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters, after they pulled down a steel barricade placed near the President’s residence. Following the incident, several people were arrested and a curfew was briefly imposed in most parts of Colombo city.
A foreign exchange crunch in Sri Lanka has led to a shortage of essential goods such as fuel and cooking gas. Power cuts last up to 13 hours a day in Sri Lanka.
The revocation of the gazette assumes significance, as the ruling coalition appeared to have lost its majority in the 225-membered Parliament, with over 40 MPs declaring independence from the ruling coalition.
The emergency approval needs to be ratified in the Assembly after two weeks of its coming into effect.
The Opposition demanded in Parliament to debate the emergency for its approval on Monday.
The second largest group within the ruling Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) coalition had officially conveyed to Rajapaksa that their 14 members would not back the motion.
If those who declared independence did not vote with the government, there was a chance that emergency regulLankan crisis: Gotabaya sacks FinMin brother; central bank head quits  ations could not be passed in the Assembly.
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Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts, the public has been suffering for weeks.
Rajapaksa has defended his government’s actions, saying that the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic-driven, where the island’s tourism revenue and inward remittances waned.
(With inputs from Agencies)
