Sri Lanka lifts curfew after protests over economic crisis

In Sri Lanka, Police Police on Saturday lifted overnight curfew  which was imposed on Friday night in some parts of  Colombo after protests over the government's handling of the country's worst economic crisis in decades turned violent. The protests heated up on Thursday after hundreds of protesters tried to storm the home of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the capital Colombo, demanding his resignation. Police resorted to the use of tear gas and water cannons to quell the protests. Protesters were  shouting "lunatic, lunatic go home" and demanding that all members of the powerful Rajapaksa family step down.

The island of 22 million people is experiencing rolling blackouts for up to 13 hours a day because the government does not have enough foreign exchange for fuel imports. The government is turning off street lights to save electricity, Power Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi told reporters, as a continuing shortage of diesel brought more power cuts and halted trading on the main stock market. The power cuts add to the pain of Sri Lankans already dealing with shortages of essentials and rocketing prices.Retail inflation hit 18.7% in March over the same period a year ago, the statistics department said on Thursday. Food inflation reached 30.2% in March, partly driven by a currency devaluation and last year's ban on chemical fertilisers that was later reversed.

Water levels at reservoirs feeding hydro-electric projects had fallen to record lows, while demand had hit record highs during the hot, dry season, she said. The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) cut daily trading to two hours from the usual four-and-a-half because of the power cuts for the rest of this week at the request of brokers, the bourse said in a statement. The crisis is a result of badly-timed tax cuts and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic coupled with historically weak government finances, leading to foreign exchange reserves dropping by 70% in the last two years. Many economists also blame government mismanagement including tax cuts and years of budget deficits. Colombo imposed a broad import ban in March 2020 in a bid to save foreign currency needed to service its $51 billion in foreign debt. The government has said it is seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund while asking for more loans from India and China.

The President's elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa serves as prime minister while the youngest, Basil Rajapaksa, holds the finance portfolio. The eldest brother Chamal Rajapaksa is agriculture minister while nephew Namal Rajapaksa holds the cabinet post for sports.