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Armed cops stationed at Colombo fuel stations as shops re-open amid emergency
Sri Lanka economic crisis: India has agreed a $1 billion line of credit for the purchase of essential goods, over and above another $1 billion loan and $500 million fuel aid.
Shops in Sri Lanka capital Colombo opened - warily - Saturday a day after president Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared an emergency and gave military sweeping powers, including the right to arrest suspects without warrants, in response to violent protests over the country's economic crisis. Armed forces were stationed at fuel stations, Reuters said, after Rajapaksa said the measure was to protect public order and to maintain essential supplies and services.
Violence erupted in Colombo late Thursday as hundreds - irate over rocketing prices and shortage of essentials - tried to storm Rajapaksa's home.
The president was not at home, his office said, but the army and police were deployed. 15 people were injured and police vehicles were torched.
Visuals - verified by AFP - showed people shouting 'lunatic, lunatic, go home' and demanding the Rajapaksas - members of the family hold the presidency, prime ministership, and key cabinet posts - resign.
53 people have been arrested so far, as anger builds over an economic situation that has left the country without electricity for 13 hours a day, led to school exams being cancelled because of a lack of paper, and hospitals closing down.
Rajapaksa blamed unnamed 'extremist' groups for the violence and declared the state of emergency Friday. He defended his government, saying the crisis is not of its making and was driven by the pandemic that affected tourism.
READ: 'Sri Lankans have right to protest peacefully...': US envoy's tweet
The crisis has been triggered by a mountain of debt; by some estimates Sri Lanka has $51 billion in foreign debts, of which $4 billion is due this year, including $1 billion in July. The country has only $2.31 billion in reserves.
Explained: Sri Lanka economic crisis and India's $2.5 billion line of credit
Essentially Sri Lanka is running out of foreign currency and is unable to pay for essential goods like food, fuel, medicines, etc. Reuters said a ship carrying 5,500 metric tonnes of cooking gas left because the bill of $4.9 million was unpaid.
"People are struggling with an acute shortage of cooking gas... but how can we help when there are no dollars?" Laugfs Gas chairman WHK Wegapitiya told Reuters.
Sri Lanka has turned to the international community for help.
It has approached the International Monetary Fund, which will hold talks this month, and the World Bank. It has also reached out to India and China.
India has agreed a $1 billion line of credit for the purchase of essential goods (over and above another $1 billion loan and $500 million fuel aid). A shipment of diesel reached Colombo this morning and another of rice is expected soon.
India sends 40k tonnes of diesel, supply of rice soon
With input from Reuters
