Colombo: Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday declared emergency in the country. During the period of emergency, the security forces would have the wide authority to arrest and detain suspects with immediate effect.
Rajapaksa has issued the ‘Extraordinary Gazette’ declaring a public emergency after hundreds of protesters gathered in the capital and many of them tried to storm the President’s residence to protest against the government for ‘poor management of economic policies, which has created mess in the country’.
The government has also imposed a nationwide curfew from Saturday evening to Monday in view of massive public protest on Sunday.
The curfew will be effective from Saturday 6 pm to Monday 6 am.
A massive public protest is being planned on Sunday over severe economic crisis including lack of fuel, LPG, electricity and food.