Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Key points:
- Sri Lanka is struggling to pay for essential imports of fuel, food and medicine
- Many people are calling for the president to resign
- The Bar Association says the “curfew is blatantly illegal and a violation of fundamental rights.”
The island nation has been paralyzed by a shortage of foreign exchange that has made it struggle to pay for essential imports of fuel, food and medicine.
Its 22 million people have suffered for months the weight of record inflation, currency depreciation and power cuts.
The students began their protest march from a university on the outskirts of the city and marched on the official residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the heart of the business district, barricaded by police.
Protesters planned to spend the night next to police barricades until the second wave of protesters joined them on Saturday morning.
Protesters said they would harass the president’s residence.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Many protesters called for the resignation of Mr Rajapaksa, whom they blame for the country’s economic crisis, the worst since independence in 1948.
Police used water cannons to disperse students protesting in Colombo. (AP: Amitha Thennakoon)
They also blame Ranil Wickremesinghe, who became prime minister two months ago, for failing to deliver on promises to end the shortage.
Police said the curfew, starting at 9 a.m. Friday, would last until further notice in Colombo and its suburbs.
The curfew provoked criticism from opponents of the government and the Sri Lankan Bar Association, who said the curfew was “blatantly illegal and a violation of fundamental rights.”
The statement from the Bar Association called on police to immediately withdraw what the association described as an “illegal order” imposing a curfew.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa called the curfew “fraud.”
“Take to the streets tomorrow. Challenge the dictatorship and join the people to make democracy victorious,” he wrote on Twitter.
Police said the curfew would last until further notice in Colombo and its suburbs. (AP: Amitha Thennakoon)
Sri Lanka’s “collapsed” economy
Sri Lanka is nearly bankrupt and has suspended $ 7 billion ($ 10.2 billion) in foreign debt repayments maturing this year.
It must return more than $ 5 billion annually by 2026. Its foreign reserves have almost been wiped out and it cannot import food, fuel, cooking gas and medicines.
Lack of fuel to run power plants has led to prolonged daily power outages.
People have to queue for hours to buy fuel and gas. The country has survived mainly thanks to lines of credit granted by neighboring India to buy fuel and other commodities.
Due to the economic crisis, inflation has skyrocketed and commodity prices have skyrocketed, hitting poor and vulnerable groups hard.
Due to fuel and electricity shortages, schools have been closed for weeks and the government has asked state employees not to be in essential services working from home.
The country is negotiating a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund, but Wickremesinghe said this week that negotiations were difficult because Sri Lanka was effectively bankrupt.
Earlier he said the country’s economy had “collapsed”.
Sri Lankan car rickshaw drivers line up to buy petrol in Colombo. (AP: Eranga Jayawardena)
Months of anti-government protests
The economic crisis has caused a political upheaval, with widespread anti-government protests.
Protesters have blocked main roads to demand fuel and people in some areas have been fighting for limited stocks.
Many people accuse the president and his powerful family, which includes several brothers who until recently held office in the cabinet, of precipitating the crisis through corruption and misgovernment.
Furious at the fuel shortage, Sri Lankans have staged protests, blocked roads and confronted police. (AP: Eranga Jayawardena)
Months of protests have nearly dismantled the Rajapaksa political dynasty that has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades.
One of Rajapaksa’s brothers resigned as prime minister last month, and two more brothers and a nephew left their posts in the cabinet earlier.
Rajapaksa has admitted that he did not take steps to prevent the economic collapse well in advance, but has refused to step down.
It is almost impossible to remove presidents in accordance with the constitution unless they resign on their own.
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ABC / children