Sri Lanka has defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt and is in negotiations with the IMF.
Colombo:
An indefinite curfew was imposed on Friday in the capital of Sri Lanka and the military was put on readiness ahead of a planned rally demanding the ouster of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Police Chief Chandana Wickramaratne said Colombo and its suburbs would be under a general curfew from 15:30 GMT until further notice and urged residents to stay indoors.
The order came as thousands of anti-government protesters poured into the capital on Friday ahead of Saturday’s demonstration to pressure Rajapaksa to quit amid the country’s worsening economic crisis.
The island nation suffers from an unprecedented shortage of essential necessities, and its 22 million people have faced runaway inflation and prolonged blackouts since the beginning of the year.
Protesters have been camping outside Rajapaksa’s Colombo office for months to demand his resignation for economic mismanagement.
Thousands of soldiers armed with assault rifles were taken by buses to Colombo earlier in the day to bolster police guarding the official residence of Rajapaksa, which anti-government protesters have vowed to storm on Saturday.
“An operation was launched this afternoon involving nearly 20,000 troops and police officers and women,” a senior defense official told AFP. “We hope that tomorrow’s protest will not turn violent.”
He said more troops were brought from the provinces to the capital after at least three judges refused to ban Saturday’s protests.
The United Nations urged both the Sri Lankan authorities and the protesters to ensure that Saturday’s demonstrations are peaceful.
“We urge the Sri Lankan authorities to exercise restraint in overseeing meetings and make all necessary efforts to prevent violence,” said the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Nine people were killed and hundreds injured as clashes broke out across the country after Rajapaksa loyalists attacked peaceful protesters outside the president’s office in May.
Sri Lanka has defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt and has been negotiating with the International Monetary Fund.
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