Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reimposes state of emergency

Colombo, May 6

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency with effect from Friday midnight, said the presidential media division. The state of emergency gives the police and security forces the power to arbitrarily arrest and detain people. The decision has been taken to ensure public security and maintain essential services, the presidential media division said.

The move comes amid weeks of public protests demanding the resignation of the President and the government. Sri Lanka is going through its worst economic crisis in its history. Rajapaksa had declared emergency on April 1 also after a mass protest near his residence. He had revoked it on April 5.