Sri Lanka Imposes Nationwide Curfew Ahead of Public Protest

Curfew has been declared from 6 pm this evening (Saturday) to 6 am on Monday, reported Colombo Gazette.

A major protest is scheduled to take place today against the Sri Lankan Government amid an economic crisis in the country.

The island nation is facing an unprecedented economic crisis. Sri Lanka's economy has been in a free fall since the COVID-19 pandemic due to the crash of the tourism sector.

Sri Lanka is presently facing a foreign exchange shortage which has led to a food, fuel, power and gas shortage and has sought the assistance of friendly countries for economic assistance.

Sri Lanka is witnessing at least 13-hour daily power cuts. Sri Lanka's currency has been also devalued by almost SLR 90 against the US dollar since March 8.

Some had claimed the protest will be similar to the Arab Spring protests in the Arab world, reported Colombo Gazette.

The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in response to corruption and economic stagnation and was first started in Tunisia.

From Tunisia, the protests then spread to Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain, where either the ruler was deposed or major uprisings and social violence occurred including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies.

Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Iranian Khuzestan, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Sudan. Minor protests took place in Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.