Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declares state of emergency

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency with effect from Friday midnight, according to the presidential media division. The state of emergency gives the police and the security forces power to arbitrarily arrest and detain people.

Rajapaksa's decision was to ensure public security and maintain essential services so as to make sure smooth functioning of the country, the presidential media division said. The decision came amidst weeks of public protests demanding the resignation of the President and the government.