Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday declared a state of emergency for the second time in five weeks.
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Friday declared a state of emergency for the second time in five weeks, giving security forces sweeping powers as a nationwide strike demanding his resignation brought the country to standstill.
Earlier Friday, police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse students attempting to storm the national parliament demanding Rajapaksa resign.
The emergency gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without judicial supervision.
It also allows the deployment of troops to maintain law and order in addition to police.
“The President used his executive powers to invoke emergency regulations to ensure the maintenance of essential services and public order,” the spokesman said.
He said the laws will go into effect from midnight Friday.
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.
