(Bloomberg) — Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa barred gatherings and restricted access to social media amid demonstrations calling for his ouster over the government’s handling of inflation and a foreign exchange crisis.
People are banned from being on any public grounds or property without prior permission during a curfew that has been imposed from Saturday evening through 6 a.m. Monday, according to an extraordinary gazette issued late Saturday. Metrics on NetBlocks, an internet observatory, showed restrictions on multiple social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Viber and YouTube in Sri Lanka from the early hours of Sunday.
The private Adaderana news website cited the director general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka as saying that service providers have been advised to temporarily restrict access to social media websites, on the request of the Ministry of Defence.
Calls made by Bloomberg to the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Department went unanswered.
The government declared a public emergency late on Friday after citizens protesting spiraling inflation and widespread power cuts clashed with police outside the Sri Lankan leader’s private residence. The emergency declaration gives Rajapaksa sweeping powers to suspend laws, detain people and seize property. The step was essential for the protection of public order and maintenance of supplies and services, he said in Friday’s extraordinary gazette.
The island nation is undergoing a severe shortage of food and fuel as it runs out of dollars to pay for imports. Inflation has accelerated to almost 19%, the highest in Asia.
Sri Lankans had taken to social media to call people to gather in Colombo and surrounding areas on Sunday afternoon to peacefully protest against the economic crisis. The curfew prevents such demonstrations from taking place.
Police said they had arrested 664 people who had violated curfew in the Western province where the capital is situated, between 10 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday.
Rajapaksa’s administration in recent weeks has devalued the rupee, raised interest rates, placed curbs on non-essential imports, and reduced stock-trading hours to preserve electricity and foreign currency. He has also dropped resistance to seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and is simultaneously in talks with nations including India and China for bilateral aid.
The IMF last month said Sri Lanka faces a “clear solvency problem” due to unsustainable debt levels, as well as persistent fiscal and balance-of-payments shortages.
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