Colombo [Sri Lanka], April 3 (ANI): Ahead of an ‘Arab Spring” style protest scheduled to be staged on Sunday, a nationwide curfew has been declared by Sri Lanka. An island-wide curfew has been declared from 6 pm this evening (Saturday) to 6 am on Monday, reported Colombo Gazette. A major protest is scheduled to take place today against the Sri Lankan Government amid an economic crisis in the country.
The island nation is facing an unprecedented economic crisis. Sri Lanka’s economy has been in a free fall since the COVID-19 pandemic due to the crash of the tourism sector. Sri Lanka is presently facing a foreign exchange shortage which has led to a food, fuel, power and gas shortage and has sought the assistance of friendly countries for economic assistance.
Sri Lanka is witnessing at least 13-hour daily power cuts. Sri Lanka’s currency has been also devalued by almost SLR 90 against the US dollar since March 8. Some had claimed the protest will be similar to the Arab Spring protests in the Arab world, reported Colombo Gazette.
The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in response to corruption and economic stagnation and was first started in Tunisia.
From Tunisia, the protests then spread to Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain, where either the ruler was deposed or major uprisings and social violence occurred including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies. Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Iranian Khuzestan, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Sudan. Minor protests took place in Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.
Sri Lanka prohibits people from staying in public places
Colombo [Sri Lanka], April 3 (ANI): President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday issued an Extraordinary Gazette barring people from staying in public places ahead of a planned protest for Sunday. As per the Gazette, it prohibited anyone from being on any public road, railway, public park, public recreation ground or other public ground or seashore in such areas with effect from 6.00 pm on April 02 to 6.00 am on April 04, reported Daily Mirror.
President considers that it is necessary to maintain public order in the area. “Whereas I consider that it is necessary to maintain public order in the areas specified in the Schedule hereto, I, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President, by virtue of the powers vested in me under Section 16 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40) do by this Order direct that no person shall be on any public road, railway, public park, public recreation ground or other public ground or the seashore in such areas, from 18.00 hour of April 02nd, 2022 to 06.00 hour of April 04th, 2022, except under the authority of a written permit granted by Secretary, Ministry of Defence or Secretary, Ministry of Public Security or Inspector-General of Police or any officer authorized by them,” read the government notification signed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka government has also imposed a nationwide social media blackout after midnight on Sunday, April 3, according to an internet observatory. Some two dozen social media platforms were affected including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.
Ahead of the planned protest for Sunday, the island nation had declared a 36-hour curfew from Saturday to Monday as the country faced a severe power crisis and rising inflation.
The island nation of 22 million people is having a hard time dealing with blackouts for up to 13 hours a day as the government scrambles to secure foreign exchange to pay for fuel imports. (ANI)
