Over 6oo people were arrested in Sri Lanka’s Western Pro✅vince on Sunday for violating a 36-hour nationwide curfewꦛ and trying to stage an anti-government rally to protest the country’s worst economic crisis.
Opposition lawmakers, led by their leader Sajith Premadasa, had set off on a march towards the iconic Indಌependence Square in Colombo, defying a weekend curfew imposed by the government on Saturday, ahead of the planned protest for Sunday.
“We are protesting t🐼he government’s abuse of the public security ord🍃inance to deny the public’s right to protest,” Premadasa said.
The protest was organised by social media a♐ctivists against the ongoing economic crisis and hardships heaped on people dꦐue to shortages of essentials.
A total of 664 people were arrested in the Western Province on Sunday. A countrywide curfew was declared ahead of an “Arab Spring” style protest sched🎀uled to be staged on Sunday, Colombo Gazette reported.
In an apparent move to block the planned protest, the Sri Lankan government imposed a 3꧃6-hour curfew on Saturday. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa issued a special gazette notification late on Friday night, declaring a public emergency in Sri Lanka with immediate effect from April 1.
In another regulation after his action to impose a state of emergency which followed an order to impose a nationwide curfew, Rajapaksa said no one sh𝄹ould come out and visit public places without permission during the curfew hours.
“I consider that it is necessary to maintain public order in the areas….direct that no person shall be on any public road, railway, public park, public recreation ground or othe༺r public ground or the seashore in such areas from 1800 hour of Aprꦫil 2, 2022, to 0600 hours of April 4, 2022, except under the authority of a written permit granted,” he said.
The government on Sunday barred gatherings and ordered internet service providers to rest🦋rict social ꦐmedia access, tightening curbs amid planned demonstrations calling for President Rajapaksa’s ouster over soaring living costs and a foreign exchange crisis.
The move to ꧑block social media platforms has c𒅌ome in for criticism from the government’s own ranks.
Dialog Telecom, a leading service provider, said access to Facebook, Messenger, YouTube, WhatsApp, Viber, Twitter, IMO, Instagram, Telegram, Snapcha🍎t and TikTok have been restricted.
Namal Rajapaksa, the sports minister and President Rajapaksa’s nephew, told rꦏeporters that the blockade was useleꦆss as many people would use VPNs to access social media sites.
The🐻 blockade𝄹 came on a request from the defence ministry to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
The government’s blockade of social m🅘edia platforms forced top government information communications technology official Oshada Senanayak♛e to resign.
“I 🗹am sorry I could not do more but circumstances are such and as I always said I would vehemently stand by my principles and ethos I believe in,” he tweeted.
Theꦯ island nation is undergoing the worst economic crisis in history which has led to a severe shortage of food and fuel a📖s the country it runs out of dollars to pay for imports. The public has been suffering for weeks with long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts.
Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven.(With ꩵPTI inputs)
