Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency during the worst economic crisis ever.
Colombo:
The Sri Lankan government, which has been protesting the economic crisis across the country, has blocked access to all social media sites in its latest effort to quell protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
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Access all social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube, following a government order late Saturday. The Sri Lankan government said the decision was taken to curb misinformation.
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A 36-hour curfew is already in place on the island of 22 million inhabitants. The curfew, which started at 6pm on Saturday, has been set until 6am Monday – a period that includes planned mass anti-government protests against growing shortages of fuel, food and medicine.
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The curfew and state of emergency in the nearly bankrupt country came as social media posts called for protests on Sunday. “Don’t be put off by tear gas, very soon they will run out of dollars to resupply,” said one message, encouraging people to demonstrate even as police try to break up rallies.
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The strict laws allow the military to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without trial. In defense, Mr Rajapaksa said the state of emergency was necessary to protect public order and preserve essential supplies and services.
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Sri Lanka suffers from an acute lack of foreign currency to pay for even the most essential imports. Hundreds of people have defied the curfew and gathered in several suburban towns, police and residents said.
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“#GoHomeRajapaksas” and “#GotaGoHome” have been popular on Twitter and Facebook for days in the island, which has suffered severe shortages of essential supplies, sharp price hikes and crippling power cuts in the most painful downturn since Britain’s independence in 1948.
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The ongoing crisis – the result of economic mismanagement by successive governments – has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit tourism and remittances.
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It also marked a sharp turnaround in political support for Mr Rajapaksa, who came to power in 2019 and pledged stability.
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The government has said it is seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and loans from India and China. New Delhi recently announced that it will provide a USD 1 billion line of credit to Colombo as part of its financial assistance to the country to help it cope with the economic crisis following a previous USD 500 billion (LoC) line of credit in February to help with the purchase of Petroleum products.
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India also supplied a lot 40,000 tons of diesel to Sri Lanka on Saturday, New Delhi’s fourth such aid, to mitigate the spike in power cuts in the island.
-
Access all social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube, following a government order late Saturday. The Sri Lankan government said the decision was taken to curb misinformation.
-
A 36-hour curfew is already in place on the island of 22 million inhabitants. The curfew, which started at 6pm on Saturday, has been set until 6am Monday – a period that includes planned mass anti-government protests against growing shortages of fuel, food and medicine.
-
The curfew and state of emergency in the nearly bankrupt country came as social media posts called for protests on Sunday. “Don’t be put off by tear gas, very soon they will run out of dollars to resupply,” said one message, encouraging people to demonstrate even as police try to break up rallies.
-
The strict laws allow the military to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without trial. In defense, Mr Rajapaksa said the state of emergency was necessary to protect public order and preserve essential supplies and services.
-
Sri Lanka suffers from an acute lack of foreign currency to pay for even the most essential imports. Hundreds of people have defied the curfew and gathered in several suburban towns, police and residents said.
-
“#GoHomeRajapaksas” and “#GotaGoHome” have been popular on Twitter and Facebook for days in the island, which has suffered severe shortages of essential supplies, sharp price hikes and crippling power cuts in the most painful downturn since Britain’s independence in 1948.
-
The ongoing crisis – the result of economic mismanagement by successive governments – has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit tourism and remittances.
-
It also marked a sharp turnaround in political support for Mr Rajapaksa, who came to power in 2019 and pledged stability.
-
The government has said it is seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and loans from India and China. New Delhi recently announced that it will provide a USD 1 billion line of credit to Colombo as part of its financial assistance to the country to help it cope with the economic crisis following a previous USD 500 billion (LoC) line of credit in February to help with the purchase of Petroleum products.
-
India also supplied a lot 40,000 tons of diesel to Sri Lanka on Saturday, New Delhi’s fourth such aid, to mitigate the spike in power cuts in the island.