Over 600 protesters arrested in Sri Lanka for violating nationwide curfew

A total of 664 people were arrested in the Western Province on Sunday.

Over 6oo people were arrested in Sri Lanka’s Western Province on Sunday for violating a 36-hour nationwide curfew and trying to stage an anti-government rally to protest the country’s worst economic crisis.

Opposition lawmakers, led by their leader Sajith Premadasa, had set off on a march towards the iconic Independence Square in Colombo, defying a weekend curfew imposed by the government on Saturday, ahead of the planned protest for Sunday.

“We are protesting the government’s abuse of the public security ordinance to deny the public’s right to protest,” Mr. Premadasa said.

The protest was organised by social media activists against the ongoing economic crisis and hardships heaped on people due to shortages of essentials.

A total of 664 people were arrested in the Western Province on Sunday. A countrywide curfew was declared ahead of an “Arab Spring” style protest scheduled to be staged on Sunday, Colombo Gazette reported.

In an apparent move to block the planned protest, the Sri Lankan government imposed a 36-hour curfew on Saturday. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa issued a special gazette notification late on Friday night, declaring a public emergency in Sri Lanka with immediate effect from April 1.

In another regulation after his action to impose a state of emergency which followed an order to impose a nationwide curfew, Mr. Rajapaksa said no one should come out and visit public places without permission during the curfew hours.