Crisis-hit Sri Lanka imposes curfew, social media blackout amid calls for mass protests | Top Points
India Today
The Sri Lankan government has imposed a 36-hour curfew and blocked access to social media amid calls for countrywide protests over the economic meltdown in the island nation.
The Sri Lankan government imposed a curfew from Saturday 6 pm to Monday 6 am amid calls for countrywide protests over the economic meltdown in the island nation.
The action came a day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency and social media was blocked in an attempt to prevent more unrest after protesters took to the streets blaming the government for its poor handling of the economic crisis that has triggered a shortage of food, fuel and other essentials, on top of power outages that last up to 13 hours a day.
1. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered on Saturday that no one should visit public places without permission during a 36-hour curfew imposed by the government. “I consider that it is necessary to maintain public order in the areas,” Rajapaksa said amid
2. Access to social networking sites has been temporarily prohibited on a request from the Ministry of Defence, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission said. As a result, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram have been out of service since Saturday.
READ: Opposition demands removal of Rajapaksas from govt as Sri Lanka crisis unfolds | Exclusive
3. The move was widely seen as an attempt to quell unrest as public anger mounts over the unprecedented economic crisis. Social media posts had called for mass anti-government protests on Sunday against worsening shortages of food, fuel and medicine and crippling power cuts.
4. The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry on Saturday rejected social media speculation that Indian Armed Forces had arrived in the island nation to help maintain law and order. Secretary, Defense Ministry, Kamal Gunaratne said that local troops were capable of handling any national security emergency and no such aid from outside was required. The Indian High Commission also issued a statement categorically dismissing the reports.
