COLOMBO —
Sri Lanka will not extend a state
of emergency imposed to control anti-government protests as the situation in
the impoverished nation has “stabilized”, the president’s office said Tuesday.
اضافة اعلان
Ranil Wickremesinghe invoked the tough laws four
days after his predecessor fled the country and resigned on July 14 after
months of protests over acute shortages of food, fuel and medicines.
The emergency imposed by Wickremesinghe is due to
lapse on Thursday and he has the power to renew it every month thereafter.
“The situation in the country has stabilized, there
is no need to reimpose the state of emergency when it lapses this week,”
Wickremesinghe’s office quoted him as saying.
The emergency regulations allow troops and police to
arrest and detain suspects for long periods.
The state of emergency has been widely criticized by
rights groups as a draconian step that allows the president to make regulations
and limit citizens’ freedoms without judicial review.
Wickremesinghe’s predecessor
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was
forced to flee the country and resign when tens of thousands of protesters
overran his official residence.
The nation’s 22 million people have been enduring
severe shortages of essentials since late last year, after the country ran out
of foreign exchange to finance even the most vital imports.
The country defaulted on its $51 billion foreign
debt in mid-April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a
possible bailout.
Sri Lanka is currently facing hyperinflation, with
the overall rate at 60.8 percent while food inflation was at a much higher 90.9
percent last month, according to official data.
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