Lanka's defence ministry asks people to assist in managing economic crisis

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a public emergency for the second time in two months as protests against spiraling inflation and discontent with the government escalated.

The declaration, made in an extraordinary gazette late Friday, gives Rajapaksa sweeping powers to suspend laws, detain people and seize property as a 24-hour general strike by workers ground the country to a near halt. 

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa criticized the emergency declaration, saying it “runs counter to seeking any solution to the crisis.” 

US and European envoys tweeted calls for the restoration of citizens’ right to protest peacefully.

Trade unions have joined protesters in demanding that Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa step down for their role in what has been described as the worst economic crisis since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948. 

A survey published this week showed nine out of 10 Sri Lankans want the Rajapaksa family to quit politics.