Curfew imposed across Sri Lanka after clashes in commercial capital
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
June 30, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2022
Curfew imposed across Sri Lanka after clashes in commercial capital

South Asia

Reuters
09 May, 2022, 03:55 pm
Last modified: 10 May, 2022, 12:58 pm

Related News

  • 'Impossible situation' for Sri Lankans struggling for petrol
  • Sri Lanka rushes to find fuel as shortages hit schools, workers
  • Sri Lanka suspends non-essential petrol sales for two weeks
  • Cash-starved Sri Lanka to end fuel duopoly to ease fuel shortages
  • Sri Lanka struggling to secure fresh fuel supplies, minister says

Curfew imposed across Sri Lanka after clashes in commercial capital

Reuters
09 May, 2022, 03:55 pm
Last modified: 10 May, 2022, 12:58 pm
Photo: Collected
Photo: Collected

Supporters of Sri Lanka's ruling party stormed a major protest site in the country's commercial capital Colombo on Monday, attacking anti-government demonstrators and clashing with police who used tear gas and water cannon to drive them back.

A curfew has been imposed across the island nation of 22 million people after the violence in Colombo, a police spokesman said, as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, appealed for calm.

Protests against the Rajapaksa government have raged for weeks amid the country's worst financial crisis since independence, with thousands demanding Rajapaksa and his influential family quit for mishandling the economy.

On Monday, hundreds of ruling party supporters rallied outside the prime minister's official residence before marching to an anti-government protest site outside the presidential office.

Police had formed a line of personnel ahead of time on the main road leading towards the site but did little to stop pro-government protesters from advancing, according to a Reuters witness.

Pro-government supporters, some armed with iron bars, attacked anti-government demonstrators at the "Gota Go Gama" tent village that sprang up last month and became the focal point of the nationwide protests.

Police used dozens of tear gas rounds and water cannon to break up the confrontation, the first major clash between pro-and anti-government supporters since the protests began in late March.

At least nine people were taken to Colombo's National Hospital for treatment after suffering injuries or inhaling tear gas during the clashes, a hospital official said, declining to be named.

"This is a peaceful protest," Pasindu Senanayaka, an anti-government protestor told Reuters. "They attacked Gota Go Gama and set fire to our tents."

"We are helpless now, we are begging for help," Senanayaka said, as black smoke spiralled out of a burning tent nearby and parts of the protest camp lay in disarray.

Dozens of paramilitary troops with riot shield and helmets were deployed to keep both groups apart after the initial clashes. The army said it had also deployed soldiers in the area.

"Strongly condemn the violent acts taking place by those inciting & participating, irrespective of political allegiances," President Rajapaksa said in a tweet. "Violence won't solve the current problems."

'Bankrupt nation'

Hit hard by the pandemic, rising oil prices and tax cuts, Sri Lanka has as little as $50 million of useable foreign reserves, Finance Minister Ali Sabry said last week.

The government has approached the International Monetary Fund for a bailout, and will begin a virtual summit on Monday with officials from the multilateral lender aimed at securing emergency assistance.

Facing escalating anti-government protests, Rajapaksa's government last week declared a state of emergency for the second time in five weeks, but public discontent has steadily simmered.

Long queues for cooking gas seen in recent days have frequently turned into impromptu protests as frustrated consumers blocked roads.

Domestic energy companies said they were running low on stocks of liquid petroleum gas mainly used for cooking. Sri Lanka needs at least 40,000 tonnes of gas each month, and the monthly import bill would be $40 million at current prices.

"With the involvement of the President we will get $7 million from the central bank to pay for a 3,500 metric tonne (MT) shipment, which is expected to arrive on Tuesday," Vijitha Herath, chairman of state-run Litro Gas, told Reuters.

The second player in Sri Lanka's duopoly, Laugfs Gas, has less than 2,000 tonnes of gas, which has been reserved for industries and hospitals. The company is also struggling to find dollars and is currently in talks to use its overseas assets to open letters of credit.

"We are a bankrupt nation. Banks don't have sufficient dollars for us to open lines of credit and we cannot go to the black market. We are struggling to keep our businesses afloat," Laugfs Chairman W.H.K Wegapitiya said.

He estimated it would take at least another week for the company to secure a gas shipment.

Top News / World+Biz / Sri Lanka Crisis

Sri Lanka / Curfew / clash

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo: Mumit M/TBS
    Tanners to get Tk400cr bank loan to procure rawhides
  • Representational image
    Curbs on amnesty, ease for corporate tax
  • Photo: Collected
    Feed price hike, extortion on highway to increase sacrificial animal prices

MOST VIEWED

  • Pakistan foreign minister calls for easing sanctions on Afghanistan
    Pakistan foreign minister calls for easing sanctions on Afghanistan
  • Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani (L) and his son Akash Ambani (R). Photo: Collected
    India's Ambani hands Reliance telco unit to son in first step to leadership change
  • A man counts Indian currency notes inside a shop in Mumbai, India, August 13, 2018/ Reuters
    India hikes taxes on kitchenware, farm machinery
  • Demonstrators who blocked a main road with their vehicle to demand fuel near President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence, argue with a police officer, during the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 29, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
    Doctors, bankers protest 'impossible situation' as Sri Lanka runs out of fuel
  • Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Mawlavi Abdul Salam Hanafi speaks during the death anniversary of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the late leader and founder of the Taliban, in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 24, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo
    Men will represent women at gathering for national unity - Taliban leader
  • An India Rupee note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration
    India cenbank may need to tweak FX strategy, let rupee weaken, say analysts

Related News

  • 'Impossible situation' for Sri Lankans struggling for petrol
  • Sri Lanka rushes to find fuel as shortages hit schools, workers
  • Sri Lanka suspends non-essential petrol sales for two weeks
  • Cash-starved Sri Lanka to end fuel duopoly to ease fuel shortages
  • Sri Lanka struggling to secure fresh fuel supplies, minister says

Features

Dr M Mushtuq Husain. Sketch: TBS

'We did not face an extreme crisis with Omicron. But this wave is spreading faster'

2h | Interviews
Luxury Houseboat owners  distributed food, provided medical assistance, and shelter to the flood victims, till the flood waters receded Photo: Masum Billah

The first responders: How luxury houseboats became rescue centres for flood victims

4h | Panorama
Mahathir accused financial titans of seeking to reverse decades of economic development that propelled tens of millions into the middle class. Photo: Bloomberg

George Soros, Mahathir and the legacy of 1997

22h | Panorama
 If Bangladesh produces and exports high-value-added MMF products right now, we can increase our total export by around 25% in value. Photo: Mumit M

Time ripe for Bangladesh RMG sector to focus more on man-made fibres

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Khaled Masud  Pilot starts his second innings in restaurant business

Khaled Masud Pilot starts his second innings in restaurant business

3h | Videos
Severodonetsk now under Russian control

Severodonetsk now under Russian control

15h | Videos
South African boy drove ambition, says Elon's father

South African boy drove ambition, says Elon's father

15h | Videos
Why Dollar crisis will last long?

Why Dollar crisis will last long?

15h | Videos

Most Read

1
Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
Bangladesh

Padma Bridge from satellite 

2
Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'
Splash

Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'

3
Photo: TBS
Bangladesh

Motorcycles banned on Padma Bridge 

4
Photo: Courtesy
Corporates

Gree AC being used in all parts of Padma Bridge project

5
Photo: Collected
Economy

Tech startup ShopUp bags $65m in Series B4 funding

6
World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years
Economy

World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
Workers unload sacks of paddy at the BOC Ghat paddy market on the bank of the Meghna River in Brahmanbaria’s Ashuganj, the largest paddy market in the eastern part of the country. This century-old market sells paddies worth Tk5-6 crore a day during the peak season. PHOTO: RAJIB DHAR

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net