Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has once again declared a state of emergency for the second time in five weeks.
A spokesman for Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he invoked emergency laws on Friday to “ensure public order” after shops closed and public transport was halted by the strike action, bringing the nation of 22 million people to a standstill after weeks of unrest.
The state of emergency gives powers to security forces to arrest and imprison suspects for long periods without judicial supervision. The emergency powers also allow the deployment of troops to maintain law and order in addition to police.
The presidential spokesman said the laws will go into effect from midnight.
Beleaguered Rajapaksa had declared an earlier state of emergency on April 1, a day after thousands of protesters attempted to storm his private home in the capital. That emergency was allowed to lapse on April 14.
