Key foreign envoys to Sri Lanka and rights groups have expressed concern over President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decision to declare a state of emergency for the second time in about 5 months, fearing that the security forces might use sweeping powers against peaceful protesters amid the country’s worst economic crisis.
However, India was yet to issue any statement and was coordinating with the Rajapaksa government to deliver humanitarian aid to the country, ET has learnt.
US ambassador to Lanka, Julie Chung, tweeted on Saturday that she was “concerned”, adding that “voices of peaceful citizens need to be heard”.
Canadian high commissioner David McKinnon said Lankans have a right to peaceful protest and that it was “hard to understand why it is necessary, then, to declare a state of emergency”.
The European Union said that the ordinance “could have a counter-productive effect” and noted that a month of anti-government protests had so far been peaceful.
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka said it was deeply concerned about the promulgation of an emergency. “We urge the government to explain to the public the reasons for this proclamation since protests have been largely peaceful and within the ambit of normal police operations,” it said in a statement.
Earlier, Rajapaksa had declared a state of emergency on April 1. The latest declaration is yet another blow to Lanka’s vital tourism industry.
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