COLOMBO (Reuters): Streets in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo were calm on Saturday after the president declared a state of emergency following escalating anti-government protests. Details of the latest emergency regulations were not yet made public, but previous emergency laws have given greater powers to the president to deploy the military, detain people without charge and break up protests.
“The President has taken this decision due to the public emergency situation in Sri Lanka and in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community,” a statement released by his office said. There were no initial reports of late-night disturbances following the emergency declaration shortly before midnight, while traffic proceeded as normal in Galle Face, a central area of Colombo that has been a major site of protests and marches.
At the main protest site in the city outside the Presidential Secretariat, around 100 people gathered to listen to anti-government speeches despite the state of emergency, while passing cars sounded their horns in support. “This emergency will not stop the protests,” said Waheeda Lafir, a teacher delivering food supplies to the village of tents that has stood at the site for almost a month. “The government has brought this on themselves, they should resign.”
The announcement – the second time President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared emergency law in little over a month – drew condemnation from Sri Lanka’s opposition and several western countries. “Concerned by another state of emergency,” United States ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung said in a tweet. “The voices of peaceful citizens need to be heard.”
Police fired tear gas at dozens of demonstrators outside parliament, in the latest in more than a month of sporadically violent anti-government protests amid shortages of imported food, fuel and medicines. Aid agency UNICEF said it was concerned that children had been among those affected by the tear gas.
“Every adult must act with a sense of responsibility and avoid exposing children to any form of violence, including during protests,” it said in a statement. Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising oil prices and government tax cuts, Sri Lanka has been left with as little as $50 million in useable foreign reserves, the finance minister said this week. The country has approached the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. The IMF will meet with Sri Lankan officials in a virtual meeting beginning on Monday, a statement from Masahiro Nozaki, the IMF’s mission chief for Sri Lanka, said on Saturday.
Shops, offices and schools closed and transport came to a near standstill in Sri Lanka on Friday amid nationwide demonstrations against the government over its alleged inability to resolve the worst economic crisis in decades. Protesters also hung undergarments by a road leading to Parliament and chanted: “This is all we are left with!”
Factories, banks and government offices also closed, and employees demonstrated in front of them. Black flags were displayed at closed shops, heeding a call from trade unions and other civil organizations, and many protesters wore black T-shirts. The Indian Ocean island nation is on the brink of bankruptcy and has suspended payments on its foreign loans. Its economic woes have brought on a political crisis, with the government facing protests and a no-confidence motion in Parliament.
Sri Lanka was due to pay $7 billion of its foreign debt this year out of nearly $25 billion it must pay by 2026. Its total foreign debt is $51 billion. Sri Lanka’s finance minister announced earlier this week that the country’s usable foreign reserves have plummeted below $50 million. For several months, Sri Lankans have endured long lines to buy fuel, cooking gas, food and medicine, most of which come from abroad. Shortages of hard currency have also hindered imports of raw materials for manufacturing and worsened inflation, which surged to 18.7% in March.
As oil prices soar during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sri Lanka’s fuel stocks are running out. Authorities have announced countrywide power cuts extending up to 7 1/2 hours a day because they can’t supply enough fuel to power generating stations. Protesters continued to occupy the entrance to the president’s office for a 28th day on Friday demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his older brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and other powerful Rajapaksa family members quit. Similar protests have spread to other locations, with people setting up camps opposite the prime minister’s residence and other towns across the country. So far, the Rajapaksa brothers have resisted calls to resign, though three Rajapaksas out of the five who were lawmakers stepped down from their Cabinet posts in mid-April. Protesters who have crowded the streets since March hold Rajapaksa and his family— who have dominated nearly every aspect of life in Sri Lanka for most of the last 20 years — responsible for the crisis.
Sri Lanka has been holding talks with the International Monetary Fund to get an immediate funding facility as well as a long-term rescue plan but had been told its progress would depend on negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors. Any long-term plan would take at least six months to get underway.
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