Sri Lanka protests: Emergency declared after economic crisis and violent protests
A state of emergency has been declared into Sri Lanka following violent protests outside the president,s Gotabaya residence.
Sri Lanka Protests : set up barricades & set fire to vehicles near the private residence of President Gotabaya Raja paksa in Colombo on Thursday. Since then Sri Lankan army has been deployed & is now empowered to arrest suspects without a warrant.
Sri Lanka protests: it should be noted that Sri Lanka is facing a major economic crisis which is partly due to the depletion of foreign exchange reserves.
Sri Lanka protests: With a population of over 20 million in Indian Ocean country is facing massive power outages fuel shortages food shortages & medicines which has led to a sharp rise in public anger against Sri lanka government.
It is to be noted that protest started peacefully outside house of President of Sri Lanka Rajapaksa on Thursday but the participants said that police fired tear gas, water cannon & beat people present there after which Bad situation became violent. & protesters had responded to the police during protest.
Sri Lanka Protests Burnt vehicles represent violent incidents
At least 2 dozen police officers were reportedly injured in clashes Reuters news agency quoted an official as saying. More than 5,000 people took to the streets last night in Colombo capital of Sri Lanka & marched on house of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka protests: A mob clashed with police during an attempt to attack president,s GotaBaya home after which 45 people were arrested & 1 was seriously injured.
Curfew which was imposed on Thursday night was lifted on Friday morning, but the police &army presence in the city has been increased. A burnt bus is still parked in the middle of the road leading to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa house.
Sri Lanka Protests and What happened on Thursday?
Thousands marched on the home of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday night demanding his resignation due to the ongoing economic crisis in country. The protesters included several unidentified social media workers.
Protesters set fire to tires and blocked the capital,s Of Sri Lanka main highway. Violent protests erupted with protesters setting fire to 2 army buses and a jeep & hurling stones at police.
Sri Lanka protests: Security forces used tear gas & water cannons to disperse crowd. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving post.
AFP news agency quoted official sources as saying that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was not at home at time of the incident but that top military officials had discussed ways to deal with the crisis.
A private TV network was broadcasting demonstration live Protest which was immediately stopped. Journalists say this is due to government pressure.
Sri Lanka protests: In videos shared on social media men & women chanted slogans against President Rajapaksa and his family & demanded that all members of powerful Rajapaksa family resign.
Sri Lanka protests and Powerful Raj Paksha family
The Rajapaksa family is considered very powerful in Sri Lanka. Gotabaya Rajapaksa,s elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa is Prime Minister of country & he has been President of the country Sri Lanka.
Protests Sri lanka : His younger brother Basel is finance minister. eldest brother Chamal is the Minister of Agriculture while his nephew Namal is the Minister of Sports.
How did the situation get here? And Sri Lanka protests
Kood 19 epidemic is believed to be responsible for Sri Lanka dire economic situation as it has severely affected its tourism sector. At same time many economists say that such a bad situation has arisen due to mismanagement of government & persistent borrowing.
Sri Lanka banned imports in March 2020 to save foreign exchange & saved 51 51 billion to pay off foreign debts.
At the same time there has been a flurry of diesel shortages in Sri Lanka in recent days. Demonstrations have taken place in many cities of country but no protests have been seen against any of the major leaders.
Sri lanka protest : According to officials and media reports diesel Oil was not available at all petrol pumps in Sri Lanka country on Thursday. The Sri Lanka state owned power company had said it was going to carry out 13 hour power outages from Thursday because it didn't have diesel for generators & this was going to be longest power outage in history.
At the same time country's public transport has come to a standstill as diesel is used as fuel in most buses & commercial vehicles which is not available in the country.
We are extracting oil from buses parked in the garage so that it can be used in moving buses said Transport Minister Dalam Amunogama.
Sri Lanka protests: On the other hand one third of the country,s electricity comes from hydropower plants but the country,s reserves have reached dangerously low levels. Many government hospitals have stopped surgery because they don't have life saving drugs.
The Sri Lankan government says it has asked International Monetary Fund 4 a bailout package & has asked for more loans from India & China.
Sri Lanka protests: International Monetary Fund spokesman Gary Rice told reporters in Washington on Thursday that such talks should begin in coming days. Sri Lanka,s finance minister is said to be arriving in the US capital for talks.
However President Rajapaksa said that decision to declare a state of emergency was taken to ensure public safety protection of public order & restoration of essential services.
Sri Lanka protests: Hina Singer Hamdi Uited Nation special envoy to country in a tweet called on all groups to show restraint.
Demonstrations mark a major shift in the popularity of President Rajapaksa who came to power in 2019 with a landslide victory & promised stability & a strong hand to rule country.
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