A day after hundreds of people attempted to attack his resident amid an unprecedented economic crisis, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa proclaimed a state of emergency, giving security personnel broad powers.
Sri Lanka has imposed a state of emergency due to rising protests over the country’s economic crisis, which has sparked widespread public outrage. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared an emergency a day after hundreds of people gathered outside his house and demanded his resignation. According to reports, several people were arrested and some were injured as a result of police use of force. The crisis in South Asia comes at a time when Europe is already dealing with worst situation in Ukraine.
Rajapaksa was described in reports as saying that the decision to declare an emergency was made to ensure public security, public order, and the maintenance of supplies and essential services.
The island nation is in the midst of one of the biggest economic crises in its history, which began as a result of the pandemic, when the tourism industry was struck hard. Protesters and cops battled outside the president’s house on Thursday, it indicates that the public is losing tolerance.
As the protestors torch multiple police and army vehicles, police deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds outside the president’s house on Thursday.
At least two dozen police officers were injured in clashes, according to one official, although he wouldn’t say how many demonstrators were hurt.
Such protests, according to Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, will undermine the country’s economic prospects.
“The major issue facing Sri Lanka is a currency shortage, and such protests will harm tourism and have economic implications,” Ranatunga added.
The South Asian country is experiencing daily power outages of up to ten hours, and a diesel shortage has been reported in numerous areas.
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) recently indicated that the government has a “solvency problem.” According to its staff analysis, the fiscal consolidation required to decrease debt to safe levels would necessitate excessive adjustment over the next years, pointing to an obvious solvency problem,” the IMF said in a study, according to Bloomberg.
The crisis, according to analysts, is the result of poor economic management. “Sri Lanka’s economy is a classic example of a twin deficit economy. When a country’s national expenditure exceeds its national income, it indicates that the country’s production of tradable goods and services is insufficient “According to a 2019 Asian Development Bank working paper cited by Reuters.
Sri Lanka is saddled with a $4 billion debt and only $2.31 billion in cash reserves. The Asian Development Bank, Japan, and China are among the key lenders.
Sri Lanka has agreed to a $1 billion credit line with India for the import of basic commodities, and it is seeking another $1 billion from the neighboring country.
Published By :- Tarsem Singh
Edited By :- Khushi Thakur
