Sri Lankan nuns demonstrate against the economic crisis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Eranga Jayawardena / AP
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Eranga Jayawardena / AP
Sri Lankan nuns demonstrate against the economic crisis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Eranga Jayawardena / AP
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka’s president canceled a day-long state of emergency after massive public protests demanded his resignation over the country’s worst economic crisis.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa protested the calls even after ruling party lawmakers said an interim government should replace him and otherwise would hold them accountable for the violence.
Rajapaksa’s decree issued Tuesday night said he had revoked the emergency order that had given him the power to act in the interest of public security and the preservation of public order, including suspending any laws, for detention and confiscation of property.
Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency last week after crowds of protesters demonstrated near his home in the capital Colombo. Initially, the protests began due to shortages of essentials such as cooking gas, gasoline, electricity and milk powder. They have spread to every corner of the Indian Ocean island nation and now protesters are demanding the resignation of Rajapaksa and his government.
Television and social media images from Monday showed protesters storming the offices and homes of ruling party lawmakers and vandalizing several facilities. On Tuesday, lawmakers at the first new session of Congress since protests erupted asked speakers to ensure their safety.
The president and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, remain in power in Sri Lanka, despite their politically powerful family being the focus of public outrage.
The cabinet resigned on Sunday night, and Rajapaksa invited all parties to join a unity government, but the main opposition party rejected the proposal. On Tuesday, nearly 40 lawmakers from the ruling coalition said they would no longer vote under the coalition’s guidelines, significantly weakening the government.
Sri Lanka has huge debts and dwindling foreign exchange reserves, leaving the country unable to pay for imported goods.
For several months, Sri Lankans had to wait in long lines to buy fuel, food and medicine, mostly from abroad and paid in local currency. Fuel shortages, coupled with lower hydroelectric capacity during dry weather, have caused power cuts that last for hours each day.
Rajapaksa last month said his government was in talks with the International Monetary Fund and turned to China and India for loans while he urged people to limit their use of fuel and electricity.
