Despite the curfew, dozens of opposition deputies gathered Sagit Premadasa In front of the house of an opposition leader on Sunday and I headed to Independence Square in the center of the capital.
The army stopped their movement.
Only those who have an official written permit can be on the street. The curfew began at dusk on Saturday and lasts until six in the morning. A police official said 664 people had been arrested in the western province, which includes the capital, Colombo, for violating the curfew.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp are now unavailable in the country
NetBlocks, which monitors internet access, wrote on Twitter. The local police confirmed this information. The restrictions are intended to prevent further demonstrations.
An angry mob set cars on fire on Thursday Gotabaya Rajapaksha Near the president’s house and clashed with the police. At least twenty police officers were injured. 53 protesters were arrested on Friday. According to local media, five photojournalists were arrested and tortured. The government promised to investigate the matter.
The protests spread to other parts of the country.
Following the movements, the president declared a state of emergency on Friday and ordered the army to take to the streets.
The protesters demanded the departure of not only the president but also members of the Rajapaksha family, who had great influence in the country. Gotabaya Rajapaksha’s brother, Mahinda, is the brother of the Prime Minister, and Bassel holds the position of Finance Minister. Another brother and nephew have a place in the Sri Lankan Cabinet.
The South Asian island nation has been facing unprecedented economic difficulties since gaining its independence in 1948, which have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the consequent lack of revenue from tourism.
Experts say Sri Lanka, with a population of 22 million, is heavily indebted and urgently needs money to import fuel, natural gas, food and medicine.
There is no electricity in the country for hours a day due to a lack of fuel, and food prices have also fallen.
Colombo’s leadership relied on additional loans from India and China, and also requested assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
We have written more about the situation in Sri Lanka in this article:
Cover photo: A protester, due to the severe economic crisis, tries to set a bus on fire near the presidential residence in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, on April 1, 2022.MTI / AP / Eranga Jayawarden
