Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency in an effort to calm the unrest before parliament votes for the president.
Ranil Wickremesinghe the acting president announced the new laws, which he claims are in the interests of public safety and are aimed at maintaining public order and supplies to the community. Under these guidelines, the military has arrested and detained people, searched private property, and dampened public protests.
Sri Lanka’s leaders had imposed a state of emergency several times since April 2022 when mass protests started against the country’s economic crisis and persistent shortage of essentials. Though Capital Colombo remained calm on Monday morning, with traffic and pedestrians out on the streets, there was widespread violence in other parts of the country.
“Why is he declaring a state of emergency? Jayamapthy Wickremeratne, an expert on constitutional affairs, told reporters on Monday: There is no emergency situation at all.”
With arbitrary actions, Sri Lanka’s acting president is trying to stop people from going on the streets.
Bhavani Fonseka, senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the government had been using emergency declarations to deal with internal issues and it was less effective when applied to national problems.
Rev. Father Jeewantha Peiris, a leader of the protest movement, said the declaration made by state forces intends to intimidate protesters.
“What changed in 100 days that provoked the government to declare a state of emergency?” he told reporters
“Ranil Wickremesinghe is getting ready to oppress our struggle. However, we will not be oppressed by his actions. Our struggle has a democratic right to protest and we will continue until they achieve their last demand.”