Sri Lanka Economic Crisis Live Updates: Social media platforms blocked; Govt imposes 36-hour curfew
Sri Lanka Voted For Communalism
Apparently, the Sri Lankans voted for President Rajapaksa in a bid to suppress Muslims and other communities, and the history of Sri Lanka is spiked with communal riots which are often washed away from public eyes as “isolated incidents”. Communalism rose in Sri Lanka where even in 2019, mobs were storming through towns in Sri Lanka, ransacking mosques burning Qurans, and attacking Muslim-owned shops. The Indian Ocean country has been ravaged by it time and time again, an occurrence that predates the country’s independence.
Sri Lanka’s politicians and local media tend to ignore it pretending these are personal disputes, but in the past few years, they have risen in frequency, with increasingly violent acts. Mosques are attacked, businesses destroyed, and homes under siege. Goods are looted, and Muslims are killed in their homes.
They voted for communalism above development and seem to be paying for the fruits of it today by a badly managed government. Poverty sweeps through the nation with a dearth of fuel, electricity, paper, and simple essentials such as sugar, and flour, all of which are imported and not available.
Protests Against the President
Protests outside President Rajapaksa’s house have been curbed. The Sri Lankan government on Saturday imposed a 36-hour curfew as a nationwide public emergency has been enforced ahead of a planned anti-government rally over the worst economic disaster in the island nation that has hit the common people hard.
Power cuts lasting over 13 hours were imposed on Thursday, the longest cut since 1996 when a strike by the state power entity employees caused a 72-hour blackout. Officials of the state fuel entity, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), said the Indian diesel supplies would ease the ongoing power cuts. The power cuts effective Saturday are over 8.5 hours. (PTI)
Curfew Imposed and Internet Closed in Sri Lanka
The island-wide curfew has been imposed with effect from 6 pm Saturday to 6 am Monday.
Internet users in most parts of Sri Lanka were unable to access Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp, and other social media platforms on Sunday.
Hundreds of lawyers urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to revoke a state of emergency
Sri Lanka’s government inflicted a weekend curfew on Saturday even as hundreds of lawyers urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to cancel a state of emergency to assure that freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are respected under the country’s economic crisis.
“Under the powers given to the president, curfew has been imposed countrywide from 6 p.m. (1230 GMT) on Saturday to 6 a.m. (0030 GMT) on Monday,” the government’s information department said in a statement.
India sends 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel to Sri Lanka
In the meantime, a consignment of 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel from India reached Sri Lanka on Saturday, the fourth such help from New Delhi, to alleviate the spike in power cuts in the island nation, which is facing an unprecedented economic and energy crisis caused due to shortage of foreign exchange.