Sri Lanka protests continue despite state of emergency | Abroad
However, protesters in Sri Lanka have taken to the streets to demonstrate against, among other things, high inflation and the economic policy of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He declared a state of emergency for at least two weeks this weekend and imposed a lockdown until Monday morning.
About 100 protesters, including MPs such as opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, marched in the capital Colombo today. The army and police closed their way near Independence Square in the center. According to local media, more than 660 people have already been arrested for ignoring the lockdown on Saturday night and night.
According to the Daily Mirror, social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are no longer available or hardly accessible in the country.
In addition to high inflation, the country suffers from significant shortages of energy, food, medicine and fuel. The island of 22 million people has seen 70 percent of its foreign payment evaporate within two years and can no longer afford to import essential products.
Sri Lanka has already turned to China, India and the International Monetary Fund for help. India is helping with a €900 million loan to ship rice and other basic needs to Sri Lanka, among other things. Rice is already twice as expensive as it was a year ago.
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